Transitioning towards a lifestyle that is guided by sustainability and zero-waste is not only about shifting difficult-to-change habits. You can begin to conserve rather than consume through small changes in the products you use and where you source your food. We’ve put together a list of companies that are worth supporting– they are putting ease and convenience into conscious living.
THE REFILLERY
The Refillery is Joburg’s first plastic-free grocery store. It only just opened its doors on 15 March 2019. They offer South Africans a planet-friendly shopping experience, doing what they can to shrink, or at least not add to, the 1.6 million square kilometres that constitute the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
When inside their store, you’ll find dry goods such as beans, grains, cereal and pasta, chocolate bark, superfoods, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices and baking ingredients. They also stock zero-waste lifestyle products such as bees wax wraps, reusable produce bags, biodegradable body exfoliators, bees wax pellets and organic cocoa butter.
The Refillery works on the weigh-and-pay system. Customers can either bring glass containers and dry-goods bags from home or purchase reusable bags and jars whilst stocking up their pantry.
If life is particularly busy, The Refillery offers a home delivery and refilling service as well as a call-and-collect facility. They aim to make eco-friendly living as convenient as possible.
Where: Shop U3.11, Cedar Square, cnr Willow and Cedar Road, Fourways
Contact: 079 860 2069 | 072 177 9311 | [email protected]
Website: therefillery.co.za
Facebook: therefillerysouthafrica
Instagram: therefillerysa
COPPA WELLNESS
Coppa Wellness founder, Anastasia brought copper water bottles to South Africa after spending time in India doing Panchakarma: an Ayurvedic cleansing system designed to detoxify and rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit. In Ayurveda, water stored in a copper vessel is known as ‘tamra jal’ and is known to balance the 3 doshas in your body.
These water bottles are not only an eco-friendly alternative to the plastic water bottles we briefly use and too-quickly replace, but they purify, ionise and alkalise the water they hold. Through ridding the water of bacteria and raising its pH level, these pure copper water bottles bring numerous health benefits to those who drink from them. These benefits include building the immune system, maintaining cardiovascular health, supporting weight loss, keeping your skin healthy and young, stimulating the brain, helping with arthritis and preventing cancer.
Simply leave the water to stand in the bottle for 6-8 hours in order to enjoy the benefits.
Where: Online
Contact: 072 222 2191 | [email protected]
Website: coppawellness.com
Facebook: coppawellness
Instagram: coppawellness
BUNDUBEARD
A good quality brush and razor can last a lifetime, eliminating hundreds of discarded plastic cartridges, shaving foam cans and plastic disposable razors from our landfills and oceans. Bundubeard aims to offer South Africans a classic and eco-friendly alternative to disposable shaving products. The budget-friendly element of their products is also worth mentioning: non-disposable shaving products can reduce a man’s lifetime shaving costs from R2 000 000 to around R10 000.
They do their best to keep their products and packaging as earth-friendly as possible, using either recycled materials or materials that can be composted or reused. Their soaps are glycerine-based, making them both earth- and human-friendly. Bundubeard’s soap ingredients can be found on their website.
In light of there being varying opinions on what is best for our planet, Bundubeard offers three different brush types. If you would choose animal products over plastic, they offer boar (also known as bristle), badger and horsehair brushes. If you are inclined to not support the use of animal products, they also supply synthetic brushes. Their brush and razor handles come in wood, metal, resins, bone, horn and a variety of other materials.
Where: D10 Rhenosterfontein Rd, Pretoria | Online
Contact: 083 564 6088 | [email protected]
Website: bundubeard.co.za
Facebook: bundubeard
Instagram: bundubeard
EARTH WARRIOR®
Launched in 2017, Earth Warrior® was founded out of a love for wellness, the outdoors and respect for Mother Nature. Their yoga products, which include mats and yoga blocks are made from cork, which is a renewable, easily recycled and sustainable resource. They also stock cotton yoga straps as well as shampoo bars, deodorant bars and a variety of package-free and/or reusable products.
The fact that their products are cork make them non-slip, anti-microbial (resistance to mould, mildew and bacteria), anti-fungal, water resistant and dust repellent- perfect for allergy sufferers.
As a result of their view that human wellness should not come at the expense of environmental wellness, their products are eco-friendly, non-toxic and are made from natural materials. They aim to reduce the use of single-use plastics and to eliminate PVC from the planet one yoga mat at a time.
Where: Online |1018 Deerhurst Cl, Riverwood, Dainfern, Johannesburg (by appointment)
Contact: 083 256 1685 | [email protected]
Website: earthwarrior.co.za
Facebook: earthwarriorsa
Instagram: earthwarriorsa
THE BAMBOO PROJECT
The Bamboo Project began after founders, Daniella and Dylan, witnessed the plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. They also came to realise that the majority of the billions of single-use plastic straws that are used daily are not included in recycling efforts due to their size and light weight.
It was out of the decision to contribute to environmental change, rather than to sit in hopelessness, that The Bamboo Project came to be. They are now supplying South Africans with bamboo straws, bamboo spoons, coconut cutlery sets and coconut bowls – lightweight, durable and biodegradable alternatives to plastic cutlery.
Bamboo is the world’s fastest growing plant, it releases 40% more oxygen and absorbs more carbon dioxide than other plants. The Bamboo project’s bamboo is sourced sustainably in Vietnam in panda-free zones. In the near future, they aim to source their bamboo locally.
Where: Online
Contact: 074 113 2652 | 082 850 3015 | [email protected]
Website: thebambooproject.co.za
Facebook: thebambooprojectstraws
Instagram: the_bamboo_project
ECO DIVA
Whilst many of us focus on the waste we create through products and product packaging, Eco Diva also reminds us not to forget about the microplastics that can be found within many of our beauty and self-care products.
Their Ecofoliant Skin Polish is microplastic-free and gently exfoliates with baobab seed powder, oats, and rice instead. It balances pH levels, assists in unblocking pores, encourages skin renewal and boosts circulation, without any negative impact on our oceans.
In the month of March, Eco Diva is inviting you to create an express at-home spa treatment with their special offer gift pack: purchase their Face Wash and Face Cream and receive their Ecofoliant Skin Polish free (worth R385).
Their range of skincare products are organic, unisex, chemical-, paraben- and sulphate-free, vegan-friendly, Beauty Without Cruelty certified and proudly made in South Africa. All Eco Diva products are soothing and assist in calming skin irritations, rashes or eczema.
#FLY (FirstLoveYourself)
Where: Online
Contact: 021 200 5900 | [email protected]
Website: ecodiva.co.za
Facebook: ecodivanatural
Instagram: ecodivanatural
Abigail Samuelson
