How does ecostore stay true to its roots?

Malcolm and Melanie Rands founded ecostore on New Zealand’s Northland coast in 1993. The Rands set out to make their home as clean and green as the land they called home.

By creating hardworking, highly effective products for people and their home, removing harmful or unnecessary chemicals, the ecostore ethos has always been to put people’s health first and give them the choice to live clean.

From one New Zealand family to another – the Rands passed the baton to the Kraus family in 2013. Now led by Pablo Kraus, our goal is to be the world’s most trusted and sustainable home and body care brand.

Today we continue to proudly develop, manufacture and pack our household cleaners, laundry, body care, skincare, baby care and oral care products at our own carboNZero certified factory in Auckland and share them with the world.

What would a home filled with products that are good for you and the earth look and feel like to you?

In every room in the house, ecostore provide safer, effective products that care for a family’s home and health, while respecting the environment. Our household cleaners, laundry, body care, skincare, baby care and oral care products are cruelty free and made from naturally derived ingredients, selected because they are safer and more sustainable.

By creating hardworking, highly effective products for people and their homes, removing harmful or unnecessary chemicals, the ecostore ethos has always been to put people’s health first and give them the choice to live clean.

It’s all part of our mission to make the world a safer place, one person, and one home at a time.

Tell us more about how you’re working toward sustainable packaging?

Because it plays such a huge part in what we do, packaging is a key area where we work hard to make a difference.

We’re committed to using renewable, recyclable and refillable packaging for our products, while eliminating as much unnecessary packaging as possible. To demonstrate our commitment, we’ve signed the ‘New Plastics Economy Global Commitment’ by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging by 2025.

Across the ecostore range, our plastic bottles now contain a mix of sugar plastic – a renewable, recyclable plastic that captures CO2 as it grows – and locally sourced recycled plastic. Using plastic made from sugar instead of petrochemicals lets us capture CO2 from the atmosphere rather than releasing it, while incorporating recycled content helps keep this valuable material in the loop and reduces the need to create new plastic. This mix creates durable bottles, uses less energy, and resources, and cuts down on the amount of plastic in our environment.

What do you personally love about working with ecostore?

Coming from a conservation background, I have always been passionate about protecting our environment and mindful of my ecological footprint, making it important for me to work for a company whose core values closely align with my own.

From its beginnings, ecostore has always put people’s health and the environment first, ensuring products are made from naturally derived ingredients that are safer and more sustainable – and the story remains the same today. Recently, ecostore became a B Corp, a certification recognised globally as the highest standard for social corporate responsibility. B Corps are companies that formally commit to using the positive power of business to solve the world’s social and environmental problems – and it feels good to be a part of that commitment.

What’s your favourite ecostore product right now?

Currently, my favourite ecostore product is our new plastic-free haircare bars. These solid shampoo and conditioner bars are beautiful and easy to use. Mild, 4.5-6 pH formulations are ideal for hair and scalp, combat frizz, and rinse away cleanly without leaving build up. They’re made from plant and mineral-based, vegan ingredients with excellent conditioning properties, to help create soft silky-smooth hair without silicone.

Each 100% soap free shampoo bar is triple milled for a luxurious lather. We also have a solid conditioner bar, enriched with chia and coconut oils to smooth, protect and lock in moisture.