The temperatures are dropping – take care of yourself and the planet. From ethical skincare to vegan outerwear, Sublime introduces five cool, sustainable brands that have got all your winter needs covered
Pure Lakes Skincare
Pure Lakes SkincareAward-winning, natural, and hand-made in the heart of the Lake District, Pure Lakes’ unique skincare formulas use ethically sourced plant oils and butters, infused with a variety of essential oil blends. From ‘Bath and Body’, ‘Facial Skincare’ and ‘Home Collection’ to the ‘Active & Therapeutic’ range made to relax muscles and joints after long walks, climbs and bike rides, essential oils are carefully chosen for their therapeutic properties and delicate aroma. Pure Lakes’ signature blend is ‘Grapefruit & Lemongrass’, an invigorating blend of citrus essential oils to help uplift and energise, available in a shower gel, hand wash, lotion, hand balm and as a part of Christmas gift sets.
Pure Lakes’ small team hand-make the complete range, valuing excellence, precision, and passion over mass production at every step. They know the provenance of all of the ingredients and select only those of the highest quality and standard; they never use parabens or SLS, and all products are cruelty free.
The brand uses glass, aluminium & biopolymer bottles which are made in Suffolk using sugar rusk, a biodegradable by-product of sugar production. Not only that, but customers can refill and reuse their existing bottles and receive up to 30% off their next purchase.
Pure Lakes are multi-award winning and were recently awarded ‘Gold’ in the Beauty Shortlist Awards for their Chamomile & Calendula Hydrating Hand Balm – a perfect gift for Christmas alongside other sustainable present ideas, from diffusers to cosmetic bags.
Evo3
Evo3Before you go to bed tonight, ask yourself whether you’ve done enough to leave the world in a better place than it was this morning. If the answer is ‘yes’, you can rest peacefully.
This was the ethos that inspired Stratis Kamatsos, the founder of evo3 Olive Farms, to take his family’s passion of olive oil-making to not only produce an award-winning, single-estate, extra virgin, organic olive oil, but to look further and become a vessel to do good. That is why the evo3 motto is ‘beyond olive oil’.
As the first Greek olive oil social enterprise, evo3 is a brand with a social and environmental responsibility at its core, tackling deforestation and poverty. Their mission was to create a circular value chain that began with the olive tree, and ended back in the land, establishing their ‘one bottle, one tree’ initiative – for every bottle sold, a tree will be planted in a deforested area in Africa by their tree-planting partner, creating employment for people impoverished areas.
And evo3 did not stop there. Respecting the natural contours of their mountainous olive groves on the island of Lesvos, they produce certified organic extra virgin olive oil by adhering to strict organic and sustainable farming methods. It’s no wonder, then, that they’ve been Ethically Sourced™ certified. They’re the first olive oil company to use blockchain technology to trace their product from source to shelf, too.
The aim is for everyone to share the passion and love for the olive tree, olives and olive oil. Evo3 Olive Farms is not a run-of-the-mill olive oil company, but a fully sustainable social enterprise.
Thread Tales
Thread TalesEstablished in 2016, Thread Tales is an Oxford-based, female-run, independent brand specialising in responsibly-produced lifestyle, homeware, and wellness textile accessories crafted in partnership with Indigenous artisans across Myanmar, Nepal, and India using exclusively natural fibres.
Thread Tales is proud to empower and connect cultures and communities through their work, promoting fair economic development by leveraging – and therefore preserving – traditional cloth-making techniques and the fascinating stories behind them. The founder, Katherine Maunder, is passionate about discovering rare raw materials and practices rooted in Indigenous ancestral wisdom.
The Ancestral Wellness collection was Thread Tales’ first line dedicated to the wellbeing of body, mind, and soul, produced with longevity and versatility in mind. Products like the Eri Silk Meditation Shawl and Recycled Cashmere Joggers are designed and produced responsibly in small batches, crafted in fair collaboration with artisan partners, and are completely natural and toxin-free.
The multi-purpose Shawl features a cruelty-free, regenerative alternative to traditional silk, while the Joggers fluidly shift across styles and wardrobes, crafted from a blend of wool and recycled cashmere, hand-unravelled from unsold stock in Nepal. The Lotus Meditation Shawl, on the other hand, is hand-crafted from the stems of the lotus flower on the shores of the Inle Lake, Myanmar, by native artisans following centuries-old, zero-waste principles. It’s one of the most sustainable fabrics in existence.
Riso Gallo
Riso GalloAs the first international brand in the sector to have produced rice from sustainable agriculture, Riso Gallo is proud to announce that their premium best-selling risotto rices – Gallo Risotto Tradition, Arborio, Carnaroli and Carnaroli Rustico – are fully sustainable.
The brand has created a circular economy within its rice production process, collaborating with innovative startups to give new value to the by-products of the rice mill. Rice House, for example, is an Italian initiative constructing houses from rice husks, bran, and rice straw fibres. Rice by-products are also used for furniture production by Mogu, plus the waste water from the Nero rice is used as a natural fabric dye.
In addition, all Riso Gallo plastic vacuum packaging is now suitable for recycling. The Gallo Risotto Traditional, Arborio, Carnaroli, and the Carnaroli Rustico are now packaged in FSC certified cardboard to protect the grains, while the high quality of the rice itself is guaranteed by BRC and IFS certifications and the Sustainable Rice Platform scheme. Riso Gallo are also focusing on developing rice that minimises the impact of cultivation on the environment and its resources, while not being genetically modified.
The brand is committed to reducing and monitoring greenhouse emissions and using energy from renewable resources, a priority that stems from the collaboration with farms that guarantee full respect for workers’ rights. And it’s great for farmers, because Riso Gallo guarantees fair and stable prices which are agreed before sowing.
Ella & Witt
Ella & WittLooking for stylish, comfortable, and sustainable sneakers and boots? Ella & Witt’s range is fairly produced in Portugal and 100% vegan, made using plant-based and recycled materials.
Fashion consumption with a clear conscience through significantly less environmental impact from CO2, CFCs and solvents, and, above all, without animal suffering – that is the path that Ella & Witt takes. Their goal is to show fashion lovers – and not only vegetarians and vegans – that there are beautiful, cruelty-free shoe alternatives. There are now enough plant-based materials that work well as an alternative to animal leather, such as PETA-certified corn leather, that demonstrate that sustainability and fashion go hand-in-hand. All materials used by Ella & Witt are produced in the EU, too.
It all started in 2017 in Cologne, Germany, when Birgit and Torsten Lasar saved a cow named Witt from slaughter. Since then, Witt lives happily in a sanctuary farm, together with her friend Ella and many other rescued animals.
It was clear to both founders that they would like to develop a new shoe brand without animals having to suffer and die for it. After more than three years of development, Ella & Witt launched in April 2020, with its sales supporting the work of the Weidetiere Zons farm and countless other environmental protection projects.
