ecostore

From humble beginnings 17 years ago making soaps at home, Malcolm Rands and his team have built ecostore into a leading New Zealand manufacturer, wholesale distributor and retailer of sustainable household and personal care products.

ecostore promotes the use of safer, healthier alternatives to conventional everyday products, without compromising on performance. All of ecostore’s products contain plant-based ingredients and are just as effective as the leading supermarket brands.

The challenge

Finding sustainably sourced raw materials was a challenge, as was managing the costs of the materials and packaging and the impact this has on product pricing for consumers. This was heightened by the fact there is no ‘well trodden path’ to follow in creating the cutting edge formulations and materials ecostore develops.

Some responses

• ecostore purchases sustainably sourced raw materials wherever possible and have joined industry groups (RSPO) to encourage and support sustainable sourcing.
• ecostore’s Enviromark programme has seen a multi-faceted and stringent minimisation of materials, energy and water usage within the company, while minimising the amounts of waste materials produced in the manufacturing processes.
• An ‘eco factory’ is in the project planning stage and, when completed, will be a fully sustainable facility incorporating leading edge sustainable technologies. The facility will become a ‘show site’ where others can see first-hand how sustainability and good business can work in unison.
• All company stationary, copy paper, t-shirts, and carry bags, are made from recycled paper or organic cotton materials.
• The formulations, raw ingredients and final products are constantly assessed and re-assessed to ensure sustainability.

The results

• Calculations show that during the last five years, consumers who have bought  ecostore laundry powder over conventional brands have saved 4.4 billion litres of nasty chemical laden grey water from going into the water system.  That’s enough for 1 million people to shower daily for 3 months!
• ecostore has a strong and loyal customer base of people who appreciate a ‘green’ alternative that is cost-effective and works.

Northern Regional Awards judges' comments

• This business is founded on and driven at every level by commitment to best environmental and social practices.   
• It produces useful everyday products and takes into account cradle-to-cradle processes, which consider every step in the product lifecycle, from design, manufacture, use and disposal.   
• This company scores very highly against many of the criteria that we associate with a sustainable business.