The Editor’s Choice Award is for the best of the best; brands that are going the extra mile. It recognises products and services that are exceptional in every area across the whole customer experience in addition to being highly sustainable: branding, imagery, copy, website, marketing and where relevant, packaging.

Ten brands stood out from the 40 businesses that won 90 awards in total in 2024:

Winners of the Editor’s Choice Award 2024

ReMi – Australia

ReMi Beauty’s groundbreaking innovation is the ReMi Moisturiser Stone—a world-first hybrid of a moisturiser and massage stone. The opaque green and yellow stones appear to glow and gleam in the light with a beautiful elegant rounded shape. 

Unlike traditional moisturisers, which are typically made up of 70-90% water, the Moisturiser Stone is completely waterless. This ensures that every ingredient in the product is delivered undiluted to the skin, resulting in a more potent, effective formula. The stones come nestled in cardboard boxes, with bespoke ceramic cases to keep them in. Read more about ReMi’s Sustainability Award win.

Tek – Italy

Tek Italy’s hand-crafted Wooden Hair Brushes are made with renewable sustainable materials: The brushes feature an ash wood handle, hornbeam wood pins, and a natural rubber cushion. This plastic-free hairbrush combines superior usability with environmental responsibility. 

Tek Italy’s sustainable hairbrush symbolises what is possible when quality, craftsmanship, and sustainability intersect. Handcrafted in Italy, they are designed to last, offering consumers an eco-friendly option that reduces the need for constant replacement—a key contributor to the growing issue of plastic waste. Read more about Tek’s Sustainability Award win.

Ripl Efek – USA

Ripl Efek has created a novel and innovative solution for everyday cleaning and healthy skin: the refillable laundry detergent dispenser. With a sleek, plastic-free design, this dispenser is part of a larger commitment to transforming how we care for our clothes—and our planet. From the ingredients inside to the packaging it comes in, Ripl Efek offers a product that’s not only effective but also gentle on the skin and kind to the environment.

The detergent formulas are made with biodegradable, phosphate-free ingredients, ensuring they break down naturally and won’t contribute to water pollution. Additionally, the brand employs upcycled materials—such as food waste, enzymes, and other natural by-products—in their formulas, further reducing waste. The company also focuses on carbon reduction by designing concentrated and lightweight products, which helps minimize emissions from shipping. Read more about Ripl Efek’s Sustainability Award win.

Butter & Lye – USA

Butter & Lye’s soaps are celebrated for their high-quality, natural ingredients, sustainable packaging, and commitment to reducing waste. By using organic oils, botanicals, and avoiding harsh chemicals or artificial fragrances, Butter & Lye ensures their products are gentle on the skin and the environment.

Their packaging is fully recyclable compostable and minimal, aiming to reduce landfill contributions. Butter & Lye partners with Sendle to offer carbon-neutral shipping, minimizing the environmental impact of delivering their products. Read more about Butter & Lye’s Sustainability Award win.

Totem Eco – Australia

Totem Eco’s packaging is a standout feature of their natural deodorants. The deodorants are housed in plastic-free, fully recyclable, and biodegradable push-up tubes made from recycled paper. For shipping, they are wrapped in recyclable, compostable HEX wrap and shipped in biodegradable paper satchels, ensuring that every step of the process adheres to the brand’s zero-plastic ethos.

Totem Eco prides itself on sourcing locally produced, native plant-based ingredients from Australia. These include botanical oils, clays, carrier oils, and bush tucker extracts, which not only support local farming communities but also reduce the carbon footprint associated with transporting imported ingredients. Read more about Totem Eco’s Sustainability Award win.

Tulita – Australia

With a mission to redefine ethical and sustainable luxury fragrance, Tulita goes beyond “clean” and “green” with an unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility and transparency. Tulita’s philosophy centres on using natural, biodegradable, plastic-negative (they actively remove plastic from the environment), refillable, reusable, upcycled, and recyclable elements throughout their entire product lifecycle. This comprehensive approach sets them apart at the forefront of the Blue Beauty movement, which is centred on products that are safe for the environment and contribute positively to its health.

Tulita’s beautiful contemporary glass perfume bottles have a unique screw lid to enable refills. The lids are made from hand carved spherical gemstones, and the bottles can even be repurposed into gua sha rollers. Read more about Tulita’s Sustainability Award win.

Thousand Apologies – Australia

Thousand Apologies embraces the concept of a circular economy, minimising waste throughout their production process. Leftover ingredients find new life through composting, while sourcing ingredients locally, plus the tessellating shape of their bottles, reduces carbon emissions from transportation. The hot sauces are housed in infinitely recyclable glass bottles. Labels are printed with compostable inks and a safe, non-toxic adhesive. Packaging is made from recycled, FSC-certified materials, printed with organic water and pigment-based inks.

For customers who want to go the extra mile (or kilometre!) for the environment, Thousand Apologies operates a reuse program. Customers can simply return used bottles to a designated drop-off point, and they’ll sterilise and refill them, giving the glass a second life. Read more about Thousand Apologies’ Sustainability Award win.

UpCircle – UK

UpCircle operates on a revolutionary closed-loop system. It started with their hero ingredient: repurposed coffee grounds. Millions of tonnes of coffee grounds end up in landfill sites each year, generating harmful methane gas. UpCircle sources these grounds from cafes and restaurants, diverting them from waste streams and giving them a new lease of life. This commitment extends to other natural and upcycled ingredients, including fruit and vegetable extracts, nut shells, and even prickly pear seeds.

Now offering a closed loop bottle and jar refill system, Upcircle prioritise infinitely recyclable glass and aluminium packaging, minimising the use of virgin plastic. They even partner with a charity in India to actively remove plastic waste from the ocean. Read more about UpCircle’s Sustainability Award win.

Sierra Hotel Hoodies – USA

At a time when the fashion industry is facing growing scrutiny for its environmental impact, Sierra Hotel Hoodies stands out for its innovative use of sustainable materials, ethical production methods, and focus on reducing waste. By using organic cotton, recycled polyester, and renewable fabrics like Tencel, the brand offers stylish, comfortable apparel without compromising the planet.

Sierra Hotel Hoodies champions eco-friendly practices across all aspects of its operations. The brand uses FSC-certified packaging, biodegradable cotton tote bags, and produces its garments in the United States under fair labor conditions. This approach reduces carbon emissions from long-distance shipping while supporting local economies. Read more about Sierra Hotel Hoodies Sustainability Award win.

Resparkle – Australia

Resparkle Foaming Hand Wash has a world-leading closed loop refill system to avoid plastic waste: customers keep the sleek high quality glass hand wash dispenser bottle at home and refill using sachets. The glass bottle is protected with a silicone sleeve to prevent breakage. Refills come as easy-pour paper sachets which are just added to warm water to create a foaming hand wash. The sachets are lightweight to ship due to their powder-based formula, and the empty paper sachets can be home composted.

This foaming hand wash works wonderfully with a silky foamy lather to thoroughly and gently clean hands, and a subtle uplifting scent.

Congratulations to the Editor’s Choice Winners, who embody the future of sustainable business.