Sustainable small businesses: Australia’s most eco-friendly companies

Whether they’re cutting hair or serving ice cream, our most innovative small businesses are finding eager consumers willing to save the environment with their purchases.

sustainability

Our true green heroes are running some of the coolest small businesses in Australia.

Eco-warriors are rising up in small businesses across Australia.

Tapping into the groundswell on the streets, a growing number of innovative small companies are catering to conscientious consumers by going green.

Their customers drive less, recycle more, think before they buy and they care about the general ethics of a business as well as its environmental footprint.

Savvy small businesses are cashing in on this momentum by operating sustainably and finding ways to be profitable, while still caring for our environment.

From active wear to hair care, here are four small businesses doing their bit for our planet.

First Base

Alison Cotton didn’t set out to change the world when she launched her lifestyle brand First Base in 2013, she just wanted to make simple basics that people could wear every day.

Two years later, at a staff getaway in Byron Bay, her team had a chat about what was important to them.

“The standout theme was the environment. Which posed the question, what were we doing about it?” says the founder and designer.

“It was those few days that kicked off a movement for us. We all agreed we wanted to move the brand towards being a sustainable, ethically-produced fashion label.”

First step was ensuring the factories they used in China had certified standards. They moved on to biodegradable bags and 100 per cent recycled paper packaging.

“Even the string in the swing tag is recycled,” Ms Cotton says.

As for the clothes, they are made out of 100 per cent organic cotton, while recycled nylon is used in the active wear.

They also started a program called A Plant A Tree, which encourages First Base shoppers to contribute $2 with each purchase to help offset the associated carbon emissions.

Serendipity Icecream

The green journey for family-run Serendipity Icecream in Sydney’s inner west started over 10 years ago.

“We began by removing anything artificial in terms of colourings and flavourings because we wanted to turn it into an all natural product,” says co-owner Richard Single.

“Being eco-friendly had been on our minds for a long, long time and we have slowly but surely worked our way into a position where we are now carbon neutral.”

Electricity is their biggest input, so they buy 100 per cent green power along with carbon offsets for the fuel used for deliveries.

Water used to cool machinery is re-used to rinse factory equipment while waste is sorted and recycled.

“We even go so far as anyone who wants to buy ice cream in the shop gets it wrapped in recycled newspaper,” Mr Single says.

Meanwhile, by using ceramic coffee mugs in the tea room, workers at their Marrickville factory have saved 15,000 paper cups a year from landfill.

“It makes us feel good and we are the ones who essentially have to sleep at night,” Mr Single says.

“We have children and we think climate change is real and needs something done about it, pronto.”

The company also mentors other small businesses keen to go green.

“It’s quite remarkable what people can achieve just starting one small piece at a time.”

Who Gives a Crap

In 2012 three Aussie mates – Simon, Jehan and Danny – launched a crowdfunding campaign after learning that 2.3 billion people across the world don’t have access to a toilet. Their aim was to develop ‘Who Gives a Crap’. Fun name, yes, but the business had a key role to play: they wanted to offer better sanitation and save lives.

“Roughly 40 per cent of the global population don’t have access to a toilet” claims their  website, adding that almost 300,000 children under five die each year from diseases caused by poor water and sanitation.

“We thought that was pretty crap.”

It took 50 hours of Simon sitting on a toilet in a draughty Melbourne warehouse to raise enough pre-orders to kick start production on rolls of toilet paper – “it's our way of making a difference”.

All their products are made with environmentally-friendly material and 50 per cent of their profit is donated to those in need. So far, that has amounted to $1.8 million and “a heck of a lot of trees, water and energy”.

“We are amazed that most toilet paper is still made with virgin trees,” the boys say.

“Not only are we cutting them down, wiping our bums and flushing them down the toilet, but we’re consuming loads of energy and water along with the way.”

The Sustainable Salon

Hair salons aren’t usually the most eco-friendly ventures. They waste water and energy and use a multitude of chemicals.

But a small salon in Sydney’s trendy inner-city suburb of Surry Hills is providing people with a sustainable alternative.

“For me there was always the guilt. I kept seeing so much waste, so I tried minimising the amount of foil I was using and used my colours down to the last drop,” says owner Diego Padilla.

“Now we use a scale and only mix what we need.”

Ninety-five per cent of the salon’s waste is handed over to Sustainable Salons Australia, which recycles the paper, metal, hair, razors and plastic and donates the proceeds to charity. Mr Padilla’s salon is the first in Australia to use energy-efficient heat pumps for hot water. On top of that, their utility provider draws from 100 per cent renewable sources.

The salon doesn’t have a washing machine or dryer and uses coconut shells instead of plastic for its colour and tint bowls, along with biodegradable towels, plant-based soaps and sugar-cane toilet paper.

“For most of our clients, that’s the reason they come here,” Mr Padilla says.

“They are more and more aware of the impact we have on the environment, especially the younger generations, they really care.”

Originally published as Sustainable small businesses: Australia’s most eco-friendly companies