Epic NZ Made, Eco Friendly And Sustainable Products So You Can Keep Our Planet In Mind

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Our homes can be full of harmful chemicals and low-quality purchases (did you really need that side table from Kmart that broke a month after you got it?). Take a step towards living a more sustainable life with these local brands.

• If you're looking to graduate from hand-me-down flat furniture or want to revive your worn upholstery, Lore has a gorgeous range made from sustainable materials and it's all handcrafted in New Zealand.
• Finally, a compostable alternative to all that pesky plastic that we're still using too much of. Kiwi firm Reform will deliver their compostable, sustainable homeware products including bin liners, cling film, dog waste bags and nappy bags direct to your door. How good.
• Kiwi-owned and female-led, Fora has been specifically designed with the environment with its easily dissolvable cleaning product sachets delivered with its very own forever bottle. Simply drop the sachet in the reusable bottle and add water. Magic.
• If you want to flood your home with stunning light and fragrance look no further than these beautifully presented candles from Becca Project. Using entirely recyclable packaging and a stylishly edgy glass jar with unlimited repurposing possibilities, the organic essential oils are mixed right into the coconut/soy wax allowing you to inhale all their wellbeing-related benefits. They even feature sustainable wood wicks that emit a gentle 'crackle' as they burn. 
• Speaking of essential oils, Kiwi firm YOURS takes the magic of essential oils and combines them with powerful plant-based ingredients for highly concentrated cleaning and body products. Plus they're non-toxic, antibacterial, all bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic and the business is carbon friendly.
• We all know plastic bottles are bad for the environment but did you know only 9% will actually get recycled? Sobering. NZ eco-beauty company Ethique have just revealed their game-changing new Ethique Concentrates. Just tip the powder into water, pour into a bottle you already own and give yourself a big pat on the back for saving one bottle from 'recycling'. Epic.
• New kid on the block Cleanery is New Zealand’s first powder/sachet based cleaning product range. All you do is fill a bottle with warm water, dissolve and away you go.  
• Have you ever thought about how many fry pans we go through in our lives? You can reduce that number down to one with Ironclad Pan Co, who have a three-generation guarantee on their pans. They'll last basically forever, so you won't be throwing out a non-stick each year and instead have a pan that just gets better with age.
• If you're looking to send packages or letters but want to do so in a sustainably-minded way, look no further than The Better Packaging Co., which make compostable packaging and envelopes made from quarry waste—talk about innovation! 
• When you think of environmentally-friendly products, you don't always think of Wet & Forget but they've come out with a new line of kitchen cleaning products called BEE (Be Environmentally Enlightened) that tick all our must-have sustainable boxes.
• Finally, for a funky eco-conscious doormat look no further than dontbeadoormat. Their doormats are made from coconut fibres and natural latex, meaning that when the time eventually comes to swap it out for a new one they're 100% biodegradable. 

Nourishment

As you start making more environmentally conscious choices, don't forget to look after yourself, too. Nourish yourself with quality sustainable supplements and superfoods from these NZ brands.

• How does a plant-based beauty protein sound? It sounds like two birds, one stone to us. Moss is a brand all about conscious wellbeing, full of natural and organic ingredients and packaged in reusable glass jars. 
• With sustainability at the core of everything they do, Chia Sisters not only provide delicious drinks but were also New Zealand's first solar-powered juicery. With a range of chia seed drinks and superfood smoothies, these will become your new favourite sip.
• Plant-based protein powders are the way to go, and Dose and Co's plastic-free range sounds delish. Whether you're after a collagen creamer or a salted caramel toffee protein drink, you'll be doing your bit to be a little kinder to the planet, too.
• Though most coffee shops have moved to biodegradable cups, take your commitment to sustainability one step further with IdealCup, the first reusable coffee cup made right here in New Zealand. They're colourful and vibrant, and you can customize your unique cup. IedalCup are living wage certified and when your cup reaches the end of its lifespan, you can return it to them and they'll grind them down to reuse them in new cups. 

Fashion

Time's up for fast fashion. With billions of tonnes of wasted materials dumped each year, we need to move to slow, ethical, and sustainable products. They might cost a little extra, but the lasting quality will make it worth it.

• Whether you're looking for summer or winter footwear, TEVA is big on sustainability having diverted 40 million plastic bottles from landfills and put them to better use. Two shoes that particularly highlight their sustainable stance are the Zymic and ReEmber. Check them out.
• Moin is the consciously luxurious new NZ brand that deserves a place on your radar, stat. This female-led loungewear company uses only certified natural fibres which are designed and proudly made in Aotearoa.
• Coveted local brand Father Rabbit represents environmentally responsible brands like Vega which uses wild rubber, organic cotton, veg-tanned leathers and uppers made from recycled plastic bottles.
• Kiwi designer Rosie Shelton's Luna & Rose operates using a circular, closed-loop system, keeping waste to a minimum and as many materials in use as possible. The recycled silver is sourced from pre-used silver, laptops, computers and iPhones from Thailand. Luna & Rose also design apparel dyed with plant dye. How good. 
• Footwear brand Allbirds need to become a staple in everyone's sustainable wardrobe. Their wool comes from farms with very high standards of farming practices, their laces are made from recycled bottles and their shoe boxes are made with 90% recycled cardboard. Shout out to their carbon natural dasher shoe—a serious achievement. 
• If you need to stock up on some simple basics, look no further than Sunday Projects, who pride themselves on an ethical supply chain for their fabrics. Everything is handmade in New Zealand, so you know you're getting something special.
• If you have a wee one in your life, consider these darling bonnets and bibs which are handmade in the south of NZ, made from recycled materials and embroidered with recycled threads by The Trove—a company with more than an eye on sustainability. Guaranteed to be the best-dressed babe on the block.
• Staple + Cloth's pieces are all designed in New Zealand and most of their pieces are made right here, too. They're all about laid-back yet luxurious clothing with a local, ethical backstory.
• Mi Piaci recently launched their Miha sneaker, a slip-on shoe designed in Auckland and with an upper made from REPREVE, a traceable material made entirely with plastic bottles and preconsumer waste.
• We're all a little guilty of fast-fashion impulse buys, but with brands like Marle, you can still dress in something contemporary that won't go out of trend within a year. Marle collections are made from natural materials such as hemp, cashmere, linen and cotton to try to leave a lighter footprint on our planet.
• Take care of your little ones with some quality merino pieces made locally by MomoeMama. They'll be kept snug in matching merino pyjama sets, and pure merino beanies.
• Not content with bringing gloriously sustainable options for our feet with their runners and socks, Allbirds are now using their epic Trino material for super-soft and luxurious underwear and now t-shirts, with none of the chemical nasties that usually come with cotton. Win! 

Body

As much as we love some of our go-to beauty brands, the amount of packaging involved and chemicals we can't pronounce can get a little scary. Thankfully, there are some great NZ brands that offer more natural products for us to use.

• Ethique has changed the packaging game with a growing range of everything from solid shampoo and conditioner bars to a whole gorgeous range of skincare, all free of palm oil and other nasties. Solid bars not your thing? Introducing Ethique Powder Concentrates—just mix with water to create your favourite salon-quality liquid shampoo and conditioner and pop it in the bottles you already have at home. Winning.
• Sustainable haircare can be hard to trace, with many supermarket brands still being full of questionable ingredients. Ethaircal produces sustainable, vegan hair care products that are suitable for all hair types. Their bottles are made from aluminium, which is one of the most recyclable materials out there too.
• Another fab haircare line that ticks our sustainability boxes is Chloe Zara Hair. Formulated alongside pioneering chemists, this haircare range has a firm focus on clean and natural haircare featuring renewable sourced natural oils and plant extracts that just perform better. These NZ-made formulas champion hydration, restructuring, and strengthening all in a renewably sourced, sustainable way. 
• NZ fave brand ecostore have just released their new plant and mineral-based, plastic-free haircare range with three heavenly naturally scented shampoo bars and a conditioning bar, all soap-free, silicone-free and vegan. Lather up!
• Syrene is one of the most gorgeous skincare brands in New Zealand right now, and they're doing their part by using plastic from the ocean and beaches in the packaging on their travel companion.
• Natural deodorants can be a little hit and miss, and no one wants to get caught out by a product that doesn't work. Little Mango natural deodorants are aluminium free, vegan and all-natural, plus they nourish your skin while keeping you smelling fresh as a daisy. Oh, and they're made right here in New Zealand by an eco-warrior mum.
• A cruelty-free, vegan, toxin-free makeup line that comes in glass bottle should definitely be on your must-try list. Aleph Beauty has a small but gorgeous line of products your skin will love you for, and it's all from the mind of a Kiwi makeup artist.
• Lemon & Beaker is a New Zealand skincare line that blends science and nature to create their premium formulas. Its all-natural skincare line is made in NZ with high-grade essential oils so it smells amazing, too.

For more sustainable shopping, check out this list of the best eco-friendly stores in NZ.

Image credit: Marle, Lore, Moss Wellbeing, Luna & Rose, Little Mango.