by Annie Button
Major brands have felt the shift in consumer priorities, and many have made public commitments around improving supply chain transparency or reducing carbon footprints. Start-ups in the sustainability space have also flourished, proving that consumers will get behind brands built primarily around these values. From food and drink to fashion and banking, these are ten sustainable brands setting the standard for 2024.
1. Wild Deodorant
Joining the growing movement of sustainability-marketed personal care brands is Wild, a company offering refillable natural deodorant among other body products. What sets them apart is their focus on reducing single-use plastic waste through their signature deodorant sticks and cases.
The deodorant itself comes in compostable paper tubes that slot into sleek metal cases. When the deodorant runs out, customers simply purchase refill tubes to insert into their existing Wild case. This cuts down on plastic waste since only the compostable paper tube needs to be replaced each time.
2. Triodos Bank
When it comes to personal banking, it can be hard to know if your bank aligns with your environmental and social values. In fact, many people don’t even realise that banking can be unsustainable. Triodos Bank makes that easy through their transparent sustainable investment portfolio and ethical banking practices.
Triodos lends to and invests in enterprises focused on environmental sustainability, organic food production, renewable energy, microfinance, fair trade, culture, and social inclusion. As an early leader in sustainable banking aligned with the Global Alliance for Banking on Values network (GABV), Triodos integrates environmental and social considerations into all lending and investment decisions.
3. Lucy & Yak
Ethical dungarees brand Lucy & Yak brings positive vibes to sustainable fashion through their fun clothing made from recycled materials. Lucy & Yak’s team oversees production locally, working closely with small, family-run factories to ensure fair wages and conditions.
Garments get stitched in small batches from deadstock fabric diverted from landfills. In addition to recycled materials, custom embroidered badges and patches on overalls use waste trimmings creatively for embellishment details.
4. Rapanui
Sustainable fashion start-up Rapanui stands out for their made-to-order production model minimising waste in clothing manufacturing. This UK brand utilises organic materials and recycled textiles to create stylish basics for eco-conscious dressers. But what truly sets them apart is their on-demand production method enabled through digitisation.
Rapanui leverages online ordering and agile manufacturing techniques to only produce apparel after a customer places an order. This process ensures no overproduction and subsequent waste of unsold inventory languishing in warehouses. Garments get cut and sewn after the sale in a made-to-order approach, revolutionary for clothing retail.
5. Fruu
Ethical beauty brand Fruu takes fruit-powered skincare to the next level through upcycled fruit extract ingredients supporting small farmers. This UK company crafts nourishing body products using vitamins and nutrients from more than 15 types of fruits that otherwise may go to waste.
True to their name, Fruu formulas feature plant-based active ingredients coming predominantly from fruit by-products like seeds, peels and pulp, leftover from juicing and other processes. They partner directly with small batch growers, upcycling fruit surplus into skincare that lets farmers gain extra revenue streams. This closed loop, mutually beneficial model makes Fruu stand out in the ethical beauty space.
6. Fill
When it comes to home cleaning, plastic waste and harsh chemicals often go hand in hand. UK-based Fill offers a refreshingly different approach with their vegan, cruelty-free household formulas free of dyes, sulphates and single-use plastics. This forward-thinking brand makes earth-friendly cleaning convenient through quality sustainable products and bulk refill options.
Conscientious consumers can replenish their reusable Fill bottles and jars with just the right product amounts needed. This helps reduce single-use plastic pollution from countless cleaning product containers. Fill offers bulk refills across their whole supply right from their website.
7. Pentire
Botanical beverage start-up Pentire offers a refreshing twist on sustainability by naturally extracting flavourful coastal plants for use in their non-alcoholic aperitifs. This brand’s small-batch drinks highlight unique botanicals thriving wild along England’s Pentire Headland, helping raise awareness around local, low-impact ingredients.
In line with their conservation-minded foraging, Pentire packages their effervescent drinks only in plastic-free glass bottling. All ingredients also meet Soil Association organic and fairtrade standards for ethical, eco-friendly sourcing. This start-up embodies sustainable innovation by letting nature shine through while benefiting rural foraging communities.
8. Composty
Composty was established in 2021 – a West Midlands-based, family-run business that provides eco-friendly, compostable cleaning products that protect the environment. From eco sponges and loofah scourers to soft baby bath sponges made from the Konjac plant, Composty centres all their decision-making around sustainability and the lifespan of cleaning products.
Their aim is to make a positive contribution to reducing plastic production which is currently responsible for a staggering 1.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. A large part of this is cleaning products, with over 400 million sponges being disposed of in the UK alone. Since their launch, Composty has been responsible for planting enough trees to combat over 320 tonnes of carbon annually from the atmosphere, and has assisted over 55,000 households to transition to eco-friendlier solutions, thereby addressing the significant plastic problem.
9. Organic Basics
Apparel brand Organic Basics elevates sustainability in ethical wardrobe essentials through their use of earth-friendly fabrics and their unparalleled supply chain transparency. This direct-to-consumer brand offers classic tees and underwear made not only from 100% organic cotton but eco-friendly textiles like lyocell and recycled wool.
Setting them apart is their commitment to publishing impact data for full supply chain visibility. Organic Basics tracks and reports granular metrics around ethical factories audits, transportation emissions, packaging waste reduction, energy usage and even employee commutes. They then optimise their entire production ecosystem based on transparency insights.
10. Boxed Water is Better
As public discourse on single-use plastics intensifies, sustainable hydration company Boxed Water is Better offers a refreshing packaging alternative. Their aptly named boxed water brand provides 75% paper cartons as an innovative substitute for plastic water bottles.
Customers can enjoy pure spring water free from BPAs and phthalates, delivered in boxes that are 100% recyclable including the cap. True to their name, the boxes ship flat to regional filling facilities rather than pre-bottled water requiring trucks. This allows one truck to deliver the equivalent of 26 plastic bottle trucks’ volume, dramatically lowering carbon emissions.
Just like the team here at WABLU, these brands recognise that conscious consumerism is here to stay. As environmental and social awareness reaches record highs, customers increasingly make purchase decisions aligned with their ethics and values. Brands wanting to attract these conscious shoppers must deliver on quality while leading with purpose.
