ecostore ranks with big brands as leading sustainable firm

MEDIA RELEASE

18 February 2011

ecostore ranks with big brands as leading sustainable firm

ecostore is the only SME among the top five brands that Kiwis cite as being sustainable in Colmar Brunton’s Better Business; Better World[1] study, along with major corporates Toyota, Air New Zealand, Meridian Energy and The Body Shop.

CEO Malcolm Rands says ecostore’s ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with huge brands, with large advertising budgets and marketing departments, demonstrates ecostore’s unrelenting focus on providing healthier products is winning fans.

ecostore was founded eighteen years ago by Malcolm and Melanie Rands to provide  household cleaning and body care products that aren’t just better for the environment, but also for people’s health.

“Sustainability has been at the core of ecostore’s business philosophy since we started it in 1993; it’s our passion and guides everything we do,” says Mr Rands.  “We ensure sustainability practices are applied in the manufacturing process of our products, including supplier selection and packaging, and other aspects of the business such as staff management and community involvement.

“For us, sustainability is not just about the effect of products on the environment but also on people’s health.”

Eighty-eight per cent of those surveyed said they want to buy from environmentally and socially responsible businesses and more than half said sustainability influences their choice of provider or brand. Still, only 13 per cent said they feel well informed on matters relating to sustainability.

“People want to do the right thing, but it’s easy to get confused by all the so-called green and health messages out there,” says Mr Rands. “We want our customers to look critically at the products they choose. We’ve been around for a long time, so people know and love us as a family based company that walks the talk.”

Mr Rands says ecostore regularly seeks feedback from its customers to discover additional ways to further improve its products and services and identify opportunities to educate consumers further.

ecostore products are GE Free, not tested on animals, NZ made, use recyclable materials, are made from plant and mineral based ingredients, and are proven to be better for the environment and human health.

[1]  Better Business; Better World was captured over surveys in 2009 and 2010 and was compiled from responses from 2,500 New Zealanders each year.

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