Have you heard about Bower Collective, the multi-award-winning sustainable consumer goods brand that’s all about outstanding natural products in reusable packaging for you and your home? If not, let us introduce you to them. Their bower-ful tagline is ‘less landfill, more refill’ and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Nick Torday is one of the co-founders and we caught up with him to find out the 6 sustainable items he can’t live without.

Just like Green Salon, Bower Collective is here to make sustainable living simple, accessible and an improvement on unsustainable living for everyone. We love how their name is inspired by the Bowerbird - famous for reusing brightly coloured plastic scraps to decorate its nest or Bower.

They’re passionate about supporting you on your journey to eliminating waste and ensuring your home is stocked with products that are better for you and better for the planet. You can do this on a subscribe & save basis or, if you’d like to try before you buy, with a one-off purchase. See here how it works.

So what are the sustainable staples that Nick can’t live without? Our founder, Lucy, caught up with him to find out.

1 Stainless Steel Straws ❀

I’m partial to a straw when I drink cold drinks, and stainless steel straws are an ideal swap for plastic ones. If you’ve got kids, they’re one of the easiest swaps to help you reduce single-use plastic in your household. You might want to also invest in a straw cleaner so you can make sure your stainless steel straws are as clean as a whistle.

Try out our plastic calculator here to find out where the plastic hotspots are in your house and how much plastic you get through over the course of a year. Green Salon is here to support you in easing plastic out of your home every step of the way, with the help of innovative brands like Bower Collective.

2 Reusable Coffee Cup ❀

This is one of my top essential sustainable staples because it can be so easy to get through a few throw-away coffee cups in a day when you’re out of the house. Research shows that single-use paper coffee cups are lined with a thin plastic film that releases trillions of plastic nanoparticles into your coffee. I’d rather not be drinking those with my daily brew.

3 Beeswax Wraps ❀

Beeswax wraps are popular in our house. They’re reusable and biodegradable coverings and you can use them instead of clingfilm. You can get a beeswax re-dipping kit which keeps the wraps going for longer. It’s a fun way to keep the kids busy in the holidays and help keep costs and plastic use low.

4 Compostable Dog Poop Bags ❀

If you’re a dog owner, you’ll know all about the endless plastic bags. Compostable poop bags are not perfect but they are a better option for the planet than traditional plastic bags. I’ve been impressed with Beco's products; they're strong, clean and effective.

5 Stainless Steel or Glass Containers

When it comes to food storage in the kitchen, you can’t beat stainless steel and glass containers. Less plastic waste, durable and a healthier choice for the whole family as, unlike plastic containers, they don’t leach harmful chemicals into your food. Plus, they're built to last and easy to clean.

*Bower Collective have recently launched a lovely, new scent -* *Orange Blossom & Bergamont** - delicious…

6 Natural & Refillable Laundry Detergent ❀

I obviously coudn’t leave without mentioning our Bower Collective products. One of my favourite is our laundry liquid, which we’ve just relaunched with much improved formulation and fragrances. Our laundry products work great and also allows you to swap out detergents that are full of synthetic chemicals for naturally derived ingredients which don't harm aquatic life. All our products are delivered in reusable packaging, which you can send back in a pre-paid envelope to be reused over and over again, cutting down hugely on plastic waste. Enjoy!

Check out Bower Collective’s sustainability here.

For more green goods, check out our Directory.

DISCLAIMER: Green Salon is paid by Bower Collective to promote their sustainable mission. They pay Green Salon under The Greenhouse membership for promotional content and are an Affiliate Partner. We only promote brands that score over 50%+ on our sustainability criteria. It does not affect the price you pay but helps us to keep on researching sustainable brands.⁠

We vet each brand for their commitment to sustainability but we are not a certification body, nor are we auditors, and we have taken the approach that we trust brands to tell the truth about their sustainability policies, practices and plans.

Please note: Brands mentioned by our guests in the Sustainability Series are not always vetted by Green Salon and so we can not vouch for their eco-credentials.

Affiliate disclaimer: ❀ indicates affiliate links with brands to help fund the Directory so that we can research further sustainable brands. This does not affect the price you pay.

Nick Torday’s 6 favourite sustainable staples