Green-souled retailer to launch online
A Palmerston North couple are making a soulful effort to help Kiwis cut plastic out of their everyday lives.
Daniel Anderson and Felicia Aull’s new online business, Soul Family, which sells a range of green products, from hemp shopping bags to reusable straws, is set to open by the end of January. Aull originally had the idea for Soul Family in 2017 but set it on the backburner while she completed her masters degree in environmental management.
Her studies focused on the use of plastics, particularly singleuse plastic products, so moving into selling greener alternatives to those products was a logical step, she said.
The couple are passionate advocates for taking action, on both an individual and collective level, to reduce the environmental damage we do in our everyday lives.
Anderson said plastic pollution was in the spotlight at the moment with the Government ban on single-use plastic bags, so it was the perfect time to build on that positive move.
‘‘People’s awareness of these issues is growing and attitudes are changing. [For example] a lot of cafes and restaurants are starting to get rid of plastic straws now, too.
‘‘It’s all little steps to make a big difference ... and we wanted to make [those steps] as easy as possible for the consumer.’’
That’s why the couple’s flagship product at launch is the ‘‘Zero Waste Kit’’.
Aull said the kit replaced some of the most commonly used single-use plastic products in people’s everyday lives.
‘‘If people switched to using in just these areas, it would be a massive reduction [in plastic pollution].’’ The year Soul Family spent on the backburner was used for product development – to find the best and most convenient products, with the lowest possible carbon footprint, Aull said. ‘‘We tried to make sure all our products last for as long as possible, and can be easily recycled or disposed of when they do wear out.’’ Information on how to dispose of each product in an environmentally friendly manner will be available on the Soul Family website from launch.