Sustainable Ecommerce

EP35 - Are Hydroponics the Answer to Household Food Security - Urban Plant Growers

Welcome to Episode 35!
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep35
I do love the little veggie garden we have at home.  There’s something super nice about plucking some fresh herbs and greens eating them moments after harvest.
Plus we haven’t been buffeted by lettuce-flation since the floods.
But I’m lucky enough to live on a big plot, millions of Aussies simply don’t have the opportunity to grow fresh herbs and greens, until now! 
My guest today is Dilhan, co-founder of Urban Plant Growers.  They are helping Aussies with food security, food waste and reduce the carbon footprint of food miles with their very cool hydroponic indoor plant solutions.   As you’ll hear their solutions for fast, water efficient, and highly predictable food growth are changing lives from the big smoke to about as Outback as you can get. 
Santa, if you’re listening, I want one!
 
Want to get access to our new online course?  Check it out at https://sustainable-ecom.com/purpose-marketing-playbook-online/

EP34 - Australia’s First Refillable Mascara

Welcome to Episode 34!
Show Notes: https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep34
I just love chatting to really inspiring entrepreneurs who are just driven by passion and purpose, not just to build a brand,  but to make a real impact.  
I also think it’s really fascinating chatting to people at all stages of their business journey.
So I hope you’ll forgive me for sounding like a kid in a candy shop when I say that today’s guest is bringing multiple levels of innovation to the beauty industry, is a living ball of passion for her impact inspired by being a breast cancer survivor herself and we get to peak in to her brand literally weeks after she’s opened her online store. 
Tania Jolley is the Founder of purpose-driven brand Lashes of Change. 
She takes us on a journey from the seed of an idea, through personal calamity, fighting an industry supply chain that said it couldn’t be done, to launching Australia’s first refillable beauty brand. 
I truly hope you find our discussion as inspiring as I did!

EP33 - Empowering Bangladesh’s Most Vulnerable People

Welcome to Episode 33!
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep33
Sustainability and ethical supply are two very different topics, yet at the same time its hard to imagine being one without also doing the other. 
Some organisations take their purpose to a whole new level where they’re thinking about sustainability, but the core of their business is founded as a social enterprise, designed from the ground up lift the living conditions of people in their supply chain. 
My guests today are two remarkable women, Jessica & Hannah from Earthworthy, a really beautiful social enterprise bringing jute homewares to Australia and supporting the lives of female artisans from Bangladesh who were injured in a factory collapse.  
We chat about sourcing in Bangladesh, what a remarkable fibre Jute is, how business buying is rapidly shifting towards sustainable and ethical supply and best news of all, how you can work with Earth Worthy to include their products in your brand offering under white label. 
 

EP32 - Helping to End Climate Change With Every Dollar Spent - Tom Ferrier

Welcome to Episode 32!
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep32
Just recently, I attended Purpose Conference here in Sydney, and one of the key insights that came out of listening and chatting with the founders of sustainable brands, was just how important it is for brands to activate their customers and engage their community towards making an impact.
With that front of mind, I was delighted to get the opportunity to chat with Tom Ferrier, founder at Greener, a tech start-up that aims to connect sustainable brands with mainstream consumers so that we can reduce climate change with every dollar spent.  
Like me, most consumers want to do better, but don’t really have any idea what their starting carbon footprint is, nor do they understand the simple things they can change to reduce it.  The Greener app is designed to bridge this gap, helping both consumers and SME brands make impactful changes and shop better.  
I love things that make it easier to do better, and what could be easier than an app that allows me to buy better in just a few taps? 
Plus – it’s a fantastic avenue for sustainable brands to get in front of new, mainstream customers without a single dollar spent on ads!

EP31 - Still on the Fence About Black Friday?

Welcome to Episode 31 of the Sustainable Ecommerce Podcast
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep31
We are now entering November, for most brands one of the biggest months of the year for ecommerce sales, with big events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, not to mention Singles Day, Thanksgiving and so on. 
I hadn’t originally planned to do a show about Black Friday, because honestly how to smash it is covered in just about every other ecommerce podcast. But just in various conversations over the past few weeks I’ve been quietly asking around among sustainable brand owners as to what they are doing for Black Friday this year.  I guess what I was expecting was a polarisation of views, from brands that have decided not to participate and are quite vocally against the event, and other brands who had a well thought through strategy for how to participate.  What I really wanted to find out was why they have chosen one camp or the other.
Naturally I did find some of both, but what surprised me was the number of people who were still on the fence, who simply couldn’t decide what to do about it.  Now there’s risk in either approach.  As we’ll discuss shortly there are potential brand congruency issues with taking part which could lead to brand damage. On the flip side, you risk losing the opportunity to acquire a flood of new customers, and potentially disappointing some people who were looking forward to purchasing from you during the event. 
But in some ways, not making a decision is the worst of both worlds, & could lead to doubling that risk, especially if you leave it to the last minute to participate. That’s likely to result in an undercooked promotion, poor sales result AND questions raised about whether it matches your values.
So if you find yourself undecided, or if you’re yet to plan through what to do about the big events at the end of this month, this show is for you.

EP30 - Australia’s First Carbon Neutral Telco with Kate Limbach Clarke

Welcome to Episode 30!
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep30
Last week on the show, we briefly touched on ways to improve our carbon footprint as well as save costs outside of things in your direct product supply chain. 
This week I’m chatting with Kate Limbach Clarke, Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Felix Mobile, Australia’s first Carbon Neutral Telco. 
Aside from the fresh approach Felix are bringing to sustainability in the telco space, they also have a really interesting approach to Active Transparency, specifically a strong focus on how the customer can have ongoing impact through using their service. 
In a world where so many brands fear to promote the great work they’re doing, its encouraging to see something like a Telco building brand as a direct result of impact.  

EP29 - Of View of Sustainable Ecommerce from the UK with Chloë Thomas

Welcome to Episode 29 of Sustainable Ecommerce!
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep29
I do love it when I get to introduce you guys to some of the people who have really inspired and influenced me over the years. We had Zoltan Csaki a few weeks ago, and today I’d like to introduce you to someone else who’s been quietly guiding me for years. 
Chloë Thomas is a UK-based eCommerce expert & former agency owner who’s been around the game even longer than me!  She’s written multiple books on the subject, is regularly asked to be a keynote speaker and hosts not 1 but 2 ecommerce and marketing podcasts, chalking up well over 500 episodes! 
In 2022 she’s repositioned her show the eCommerce Masterplan to have an increased focus on Sustainability, which of course make for a very interesting dynamic given her insights into what’s happening in the Northern hemisphere. 
Naturally when two podcasts hosts get together we pretty much immediately go off track, but do keep listening to the end because the UK has always been ahead of us in Australia, and what is happening there is often a good yardstick of what’s to come down here.

EP28 - Leading the Reuse Revolution with Hayley Clarke at Onya

Welcome to Episode 28 of Sustainable Ecommerce Podcast!
https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep28
When it comes to single use plastics, one of the key areas of focus for government intervention over the past few years has been shopping and produce bags.
Of course, retailers and supermarkets have been spun off in all different direction over the past decade, from biodegradable to re-usable but through it all one brand has been helping to change the game by providing collapsible produce bags designed to keep on you for whenever you need them.  My guest today is Hayley Clarke, Managing Director of WA brand ONYA. They have been leading the charge against single use plastics since 2004! 
Today the brand provides re-usable shopping bags, produce bags & beverage containers as well as a range of compostable waste bags.    They were one of the earliest brands in Australia to gain B Corp certification, have become a 1% for the Planet member and ensure their workforce is climate positive through Ecologie.  
It’s a rare privilege indeed to get to share in the stories from inside a sustainable brand that’s been running for over 20 years and I hope you enjoy learning from Hayley as much as I did.