Shop smart

If we’re to look for positives out of the past two years, maybe one is a desire for the consumer to be more questioning of the products and services we buy – and the businesses behind them. So, in that spirit – and the fact this issue of Centrum is about all-things ESG – we went in search of brands we can get behind with a clear conscience.

David Leck Editor, Centrum

david@davidleck.com

Roaming free

theethicaldairy.co.uk

The Ethical Dairy produces traditional cheeses made with organic milk from its own herd where calves and mothers are kept together to suckle. Rainton Farm in Dumfries and Galloway is the first commercial dairy in the UK to be following the cow with calf method, demonstrating farming that’s viable and sustainable at scale. Its model is based around treating the animals, the land, environment, and the people who work there with respect and kindness. The Ethical Dairy has a thriving mail order business and offers cheese and ice cream making workshops.

Traveller tales

storytellertravel.co.uk

Travel may have been firmly in abeyance but there is a smart way to bring together memories of wanderlust– and in a good cause. Hand-painted and individually hand crafted, each Storyteller Flag lets you capture life-changing chapters of exploration and they come with the added option to personalise so you can relive every chapter of your travels and create a striking, talking point keyring. Ten-per-cent of each purchase directly helps support sustainable educational projects and, over the last four years, the business has helped more than 1,500 children access education and spent 2000-plus hours volunteering on projects from Liberia to Laos and Birmingham to Cuba.

Double Akt

aktlondon.com

In 2015 Ed Currie and Andy Coxon met performing in a West End show. The gruelling schedule was intensely physical; eight shows a week, dancing under hot lights, a dressing room five flights away from the stage — and no lift. With mainstream deodorants just not cutting it, the pair spent three years researching, developing, formulating and collaborating with leading experts in fragrance and cosmetic science to create the Deodorant Balm. Packaged in aluminium tubes that can forever be recycled without losing any quality, the result has been a huge success, winning a legion of loyal customers and being labelled’ top deodorant’ by no less than Vogue.

Boxing clever

randies.com

Randies is men’s underwear focused on sustainability and comfort and launched to a flurry of five-star feedback, being featured in GQ magazine as well as being named “best underwear brand”. It’s a proud member of 1% for the Planet - an international organisation whose members contribute at least one percent of sales to environmental causes. Luxurious fabric is made from sustainable Austrian beech wood with fibres extracted via an environmentally responsible process that is energy self-sufficient and low emitting. All products are despatched in 100% recycled and biodegradable packaging. And, if such things are high on your wish list when it comes to buying boxers, Randies has designed a unique TackleBag to design, support, sculpt and cool!

“If we’re to look for positives out of the past two years, maybe one is a desire for the consumer to be more questioning of the products and services we buy – and the businesses behind them.”

Giving banking a good name

triodos.co.uk

Founded in 1980, Triodos Bank has become a front-runner in sustainable banking globally. As an independent that promotes responsible and transparent banking, it sees no conflict between a focus on people and the planet and a good financial return. The bank offers a range of services in the UK, including current accounts, savings and investments and it uses depositors’ money to finance projects making a positive and lasting impact on society, culture, and the environment. All the loans and investments tat the bank makes are transparently published on its website and it recently announced its target to reach net zero by 2035.

Simply divine

divinechocolate.com

Divine Chocolate is on a mission to fight exploitation in the cocoa industry by putting farmers first. It has a unique business model reflecting the belief producers should earn a share of the profits they help to create and have a say in how the company is run. Kuapa Kokoo is a farmer cooperative in Ghana that grows the quality cocoa making Divine Chocolate so delicious - and they also own a stake in the company. This means that the 100,000 farmers who nurture and grow the delicious cocoa are the ones who directly benefit. And if that wasn’t enough, all of Divine’s range is palm oil free, made with natural ingredients and, of course, is Fairtrade.

Cheers

tillingham.com

Tillingham winery is set amongst 70 acres of rolling hills and woodlands with far reaching views along the Tillingham River valley and across to the fortified, hill-top town of Rye in East Sussex. It is committed to farming in a diverse, poly-cultural way and believes this is not only a highly sustainable approach but - in conjunction with biodynamics - aims to restore soils to an optimum level of organic matter and microbial with wider ecological diversity. Tillingham also has 11 rooms, a restaurant and pizzeria. It’s wine’s aren’t cheap but you can raise a glass with a clear conscience.

No plastic, no flushing. Period.

natracare.com

Natracare was created as a campaign to shake up the menstrual products industry and finally provide viable eco-friendly alternatives. All menstrual pads, incontinence pads and maternity pads use only organic and natural materials and everything it does and creates is a commitment to the highest ethical standards, whether focussed on organic principles or biodegradability. The entire supply chain, from raw materials to processing, shares in a commitment to manage and monitor resources respectfully and ethically.