Standing behind their brands
B Corp for WE’AR
Ethically motivated yoga fashion brand WE’AR has recently gained its B Corp certification, formalising their sustainable ethos. With this certification, the New Zealand label has proven that it meets the highest of standards for social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. WE’AR joins a growing community of more than 1900 certified B Corp businesses worldwide. Through the power of their collective voice, B Corps lead a global movement of people using business as a force for good. “As a lifelong yogi, I wanted to see what was possible if I designed a business from the ground up on the principles of non-violence, fairness and holistic sustainability,” says WE’AR designer and founder Jyoti Morningstar. “Our whole team feels empowered by the energy of this meaningful and change-making movement.”
carboNZero update
New Zealand not-for-profit hostel chain YHA has become the first accommodation network to become carboNZero certified. Chief Executive Mark Wells says, “YHA has been operating an environmentally sustainable network for many years, and the carboNZero certification confirms our commitment with a globally recognised and independently audited system.”
There are more than 40 hostels around the country and in all there are extensive measures in place to maximise sustainability. These include minimising water use, reducing waste through recycling, insulating and double-glazing properties to lower electricity use, and installing solar and geothermal power as financial resources allow. Guests are able to reduce the impact of their travel by purchasing native trees through the Green Footprint Project, founded by YHA in 2004. Meanwhile, Trilogy is celebrating becoming the first New Zealand skincare brand to achieve official carbon neutrality with their recent carboNZero certification. Adding to the brand’s existing carbon neutral status, which it has held since 2007, Trilogy’s efforts have been recognised by becoming a full member of the carboNZero programme.
Trilogy invests in carbon credits from permanent native forest regeneration projects near Christchurch, as well as a wind farm project in India where its glass bottles and jars are manufactured. The brand has released an emissions management and reduction plan, targeting a 15 per cent reduction by 2020. Trilogy hero face oils are certified organic by BioGro, with the full range certified natural by NATRUE.
BioGro mark a guarantee
Ceres Organics is proud to create products that are certified organic with BioGro.
With the surge in demand for healthier, additive-free foods in recent years, consumer’s needs are being met with an ever-growing range of natural and organic foods. It’s partly due to this consumer awareness that the demand for organic foods is overtaking that of “natural” foods, claims Ceres managing director Noel Josephson.
“What some people don’t realise is that with so-called natural products, there is still a lot of harmful chemical treatment right through the process,” Josephson says. “The only way of guaranteeing a product is chemical-free is to choose certified organic.”
Ceres Organics’ products are certified organic from farm to fork. No synthetic chemical sprays or treatments are used in any part of the organic production process, from the growing of the ingredients through the entire manufacturing cycle to the end product. The products are made without genetic modification, animals are treated fairly and there is a strong ethical tie-in with the wellbeing of the rural communities that grow organic crops. There is also a large focus on the long-term health of their land, waterways, soil and livestock.
In another move, Ceres has partnered with BeezThingz to help bring back bees to Auckland city. Two honey-producing hives and four pollination hives have been installed at the Ceres Organics Mt Wellington premise, each hosting 20,000-60,000 bees and providing around 50kg of honey per year.
Ceres gets to keep the honey and plans to share it out among its staff. ceres.co.nz