Update on Seed & Sprout
In a recent update, it has been published that Sophie Kovic, founder of Seed & Sprout has stated that the company is in financial trouble, and that she has lost confidence in the business.
People ask me why I don’t just go back into the company and “fix it” but the truth is I just don’t seem able to. I lost my confidence and the whole business just gives me bad associations.
Sophie Kovic, 2nd September 2022
Seed & Sprout: Our Mission
Our mission at Seed & Sprout is to not only cause less harm, but to do more good.
We stand for Equality and Respect for both People and Planet. We are committed to a better future.
Seed & Sprout is profoundly dedicated to creating exquisite, functional, innovative, and ethical products that reduce the impact on our exquisite world. Everything we do, we do with meticulousness. We continuously seek ways to restore and safeguard the place we all call home.
At Seed & Sprout we meticulously examine everything we do.
We identify and test alternative production methods and are committed to our pursuit of finding new, innovative solutions to everyday problems. We consciously source materials that minimize harm to our planet’s natural precious resources, and we strive to be pioneers in ethical and sustainable products that cater to the needs of our extended family – the Seed & Sprout community.
Our aspiration is for you to feel proud of your choices and to know that we are here to support you on your journey towards sustainability, sprinkled with some lightheartedness, because, hey, this climate change stuff is serious!
Our Commitment to Climate Change and the Environment
Our planet is a precious place, and we believe in protecting it to the best of our ability. At Seed & Sprout, we proudly implement a number of initiatives to ensure just that.
100% Emissions FreeAt our headquarters office and warehouse in Billinudgel, we utilize renewable energy in the form of solar panels, meaning that we are 100% emissions free.
In fact, in 2020, we generated three times the amount of solar energy than we needed, which all gets sent back to the grid for someone else to use.
Seed & Sprout Packaging
We reuse cardboard boxes and shred them for protective filling in our orders. Mailer boxes are made here in Australia with a local company, made from recycled cardboard, and shipped plastic-free so that our packaging materials can be recycled or composted at home.
End of Life For All Seed & Sprout Products
From the beginning, our products are developed with their end of life in mind. We consider every component of the product and its packaging to ensure that they are suitable for their intended purpose. All new products that we develop must be either:
Long-lasting and recyclable at their end of life. We also offer spare parts to extend the longevity of long-term, high-quality products.
Compostable products like our cleaning and personal care range which have a high turnover.
Zero Waste: Our Bar range aims to leave nothing behind at the end of life.
Zero Waste
We provide a Take Back Programme for our silicone products that have reached the end of their life cycle, and they are recycled through Terracycle.
We’ve also partnered with Upparel, a company on a mission to reduce the amount of textiles that end up in landfill each year. You can send them a box of your unwanted clothes or textiles, and you’ll get a discount off your next order with us!
Working from HQ + Home
Our staff are encouraged to work from home when they can to reduce emissions from travel, and many of our staff also carpool to work.
We hold paperless meetings in the office and encourage our employees to use reusable containers when getting takeaway coffees or lunch.
We have installed a SubPod in the garden to compost all of our food waste, which means that we are on track to become zero to landfill at our head office by the end of 2021.
Our newest sustainable initiative is our office garden where we are using the compost created from our food waste and recycling it back into mother earth to grow our own vegetables, fruits, and even flowers for the bees!
We have a Flowhive in our garden, which is a cleverly invented beehive that harvests honey with minimal disruption to the bees.
Seed & Sprout is Giving Back
Palm Oil Discovery
In February 2021, we became aware of a devastating revelation – that some of our products may contain traces of Palm Oil.
We are fully aware that Palm Oil continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests and is responsible for the impending extinction of critically endangered species that rely on these forests for survival.
Following these findings, as a team, we have been educating ourselves, collaborating with Orangutan Alliance, and contributing to help combat this global issue.
Orangutan Alliance
We donated $50,000 to the Orangutan Alliance, an independent, non-profit organization and registered charity and palm oil-free certification body that provides support for reforestation, orangutan rescue, and other significant projects that counteract the devastation caused by the Palm Oil Industry, as well as promote the development of alternative ingredients. You can find more information about the charity here.
We have planted a tree for every order from our establishment until February 2021.
Our planet is currently losing over 15 billion trees each year—that’s 56 hectares of forest every minute! To help address this global issue, we are proud to have been able to plant thousands of trees.
Here is where some of our efforts have been directed:
Following the Amazon fires in 2019, we focused our efforts on the Amazon Rainforest. One of our quarterly donations resulted in over 10,000+ trees being planted in this area alone!
In 2020, we managed to plant over 36,000+ trees in the Sierra Gorda Reserve of Mexico, Boreal Forest of Canada, Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, and Mount Elgon area of Uganda, as well as over 20,000+ trees across Australia through the WWF tree planting initiative as part of the Towards Two Billion Trees campaign.
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
During January 2021, we donated 10% of sales from our Back to School Bundles to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to support the purchase and supply of books and literacy resources to remote Indigenous communities. The organization also helps inspire Indigenous communities to tell and publish their own stories in their own languages. You can learn more about the charity here.
Bushfire Relief Support
The 2019-2020 bushfire season was one of the worst in history. Devastating bushfires rapidly spread across Australia, significantly impacting the local Northern NSW region.
To aid the recovery and rehabilitation of injured wildlife, we donated all proceeds from our Seed & Sprout 2019 Christmas gift wrapping service to WIRES (Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service) – an organization that has been rescuing and caring for native animals for over 30 years. You can learn more about the organization here.
We also contributed to the Red Cross Disaster and Recovery Relief appeal to support and assist communities in preparing, responding, and recovering from the disaster. You can learn more about the charity here.
Aussie Ark
Aussie Ark is a charity dedicated to establishing a long-term future for several threatened Australian species by safeguarding natural sanctuaries to conserve native wildlife, free from unnatural predation.
Over the years, we have supported Aussie Ark through various initiatives, including donating profits from our Sustainabili-Tees and during the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires. You can learn more about the charity here.
Our Founder Sophie Kovic
You may be wondering why I started this business.
Well, growing up in Byron Bay, when my son Archie began attending the local school a couple of years ago, I encountered a lot of difficulty finding an environmentally friendly yet practical lunch container for him.
The school had a no-disposables policy, which was fantastic! I was thrilled to be part of a school that genuinely cared.
However, what sounded great in theory was much more challenging in practice.
Now, I’m not saying Archie is picky, but if I thought I could pack his carrot sticks alongside some pasta without any issues, I was mistaken.
I tried numerous solutions. And I mean MANY.
Believe me, you don’t want to see my Tupperware cupboard.
But every product I purchased had its drawbacks.
I couldn’t find a single non-plastic lunch container that suited us, regardless of how much I spent.
Either they had too many pieces to keep track of, they had an inconvenient shape, they contained harmful substances, they were too large for him to carry, or, worst of all, they couldn’t accommodate a sandwich. (Um, what?)
So, my mind began working… I couldn’t let it go.
I decided to create a new type of lunch box to solve a genuine problem, and since then, the response has been amazing!
It has been truly satisfying to witness how people have been using our products…
Since our launch in 2016, we have consistently received nearly exclusive 5-star reviews from our delighted customers.
Our first Kickstarter campaign raised 696% of its funding goal and achieved full backing in under 48 hours!
Contrary to my expectations, it isn’t just children who use them. Adults also love packing practical, zero-waste lunches.
However, what truly clicked for me was the significance behind it all.
I had previous experience building businesses based on market research. But this time, I knew that I was on the verge of doing something truly important.
Knowing that I’m contributing something positive to the world keeps me passionate about the business every day.
Because building a business is not easy. It’s exhausting, and it can be isolating. And at times, it’s downright scary.
But when I read the reviews or receive messages from people who tell me that my boxes have somehow inspired them or made them better parents, every.single.moment becomes worthwhile.
My vision for Seed & Sprout is to create a useful company that provides tools for everyday individuals. Tools that make it easy for you to make healthy choices.
Reducing reliance on single-use plastics is our goal.
At times, the commitment to a sustainable future may seem overwhelming. There is so much to be done, and we can feel insignificant and ineffective.
But being overly fixated on the ideal can hinder progress in the present.
That’s why I want to create practical products that bridge the gap between the ideal and action. Products designed for everyday individuals.
And I want all of you to be part of this journey.
I want to share with you the decisions, the challenges, and the victories. I want to create something where we can all have a voice and shape the future.
So, please join me and the increasing number of individuals making a real difference to our environment.
Our Suppliers
A question we often receive is, “Where are your products manufactured?”
Our products are designed by us in Byron Bay, Australia and made for us by manufacturing partners in Australia, Taiwan, China, and India.
Where we produce our products depends on the nature of the product, the origin of the raw materials, and the machinery available.
When we started Seed & Sprout, we aimed to produce solely within Australia.
Our first product was a stainless steel lunchbox, and we extensively searched for domestic steel suppliers capable of manufacturing our lunchboxes.
Unfortunately, despite being a significant steel producer, we were unable to find manufacturing partners within Australia for our steel products.
They simply lacked the necessary machinery to produce the type of products we wanted to create.
Rather than giving up, we embarked on a sourcing trip to meet potential manufacturers overseas.
We visited many factories and observed their working conditions and environmental practices.
Eventually, we chose the most suitable partners and formed long-term collaborations with them.
As we continue to grow and expand beyond steel products, we are making significant progress in manufacturing more products domestically.
All our bars, including facial, shampoo, conditioner, hand, dish, shave, and cleanse bars, are made in Australia.
We work closely with all our factories to ensure the highest standards of practice.
As we strive to improve our supply chain and increase domestic production, we, as global citizens, recognize the importance of distributing job opportunities in local and distant communities.
However, we are concerned about the carbon footprint associated with shipping products internationally, just like many of our customers. We also share their concerns regarding working conditions abroad. Therefore, we ensure that the suppliers we choose to collaborate with treat their employees and the environment ethically.
We personally visit our manufacturing partners and subject our products to independent testing to ensure compliance with all relevant safety standards. Additionally, all our woven goods have obtained GOTS organic certification.
Our goal is not to bring all production domestically, as we understand that is not feasible.
However, we strive to operate in the most ethical manner possible and deliver goods to our customers at an affordable cost.
At Seed & Sprout, we believe that the most impactful action consumers can take is to consume less, and when they do make purchases, to choose products that will last.
Therefore, we work with factories both near and far to offer consumers products that fulfill these criteria at a price they can afford.
This is our greatest hope for creating a positive outcome for our precious planet.
