Ethical South African Brands We LOVE
We recently asked our BLACK MAMBA community so share some insights on all the other ethical South African brands they love to support, and the response was phenomenal.
Here's the start of our list - we will continue adding to it, so let us know if you know if there are more amazing ethical African brands we need to add.
Every #EurekaMoment has an origin story… Near the turn of the last century, two Southern Cape farmers came together to build a flour mill in their shed. The year was 1998, and their dream was to create some small-batch flour from ethically sourced wheat to boost their income.
More two decades later, Eureka Mills is widely renowned for their exceptional stoneground flours, easy home mixes, ready-baked rusks, cookies, cheese sticks, wraps and other speciality products.
Funky Ouma is the brainchild of a literal funky Ouma who has been cooking up a storm and experimenting with food all her life and turned her passion into a business with the help of her daughter at the age of 67! Today the offer a wonderful variety of farm fresh herb-filled salts and spices in sustainable containers.
Their factory, herb garden, and lemon orchard are all on the farm where they live, which allows for a beautiful work-life balance and plenty of time with the grandchildren.
Triple Orange makes authentic, safe and environmentally responsible products for a healthy home that are derived from nature's goodness. Cold pressed orange oil is the main ingredient in their exclusive formulation.
They are a small business with big dreams, committed to becoming the most trusted brand of household cleaning products, made with a conscience and kind to nature, safe enough to use around children and animals while still being strong enough to handle tough cleaning.
Lyftaal Holistic Skin & Body Sanctuary
Lyftaal is a holistic skin and body sanctuary in Paarl in the Western Cape that offers a variety of contemporary treatments that combine the sanctity of healing touch and age-old techniques with the latest scientific findings to provide powerful stress relief and replenish the body’s natural energy stores.
They believe in supporting South African industry and keeping their carbon footprint small, which is why they use locally sourced products wherever possible and only opt for international brands when there is no local equivalent available.
Growing Paper is a proudly South African company that produces 100% hand-made, recycled, plantable and biodegradable paper products that grow into beautiful living herbs, vegetables or flowers when planted.
The passionate management team is supported by a hardworking team of permanently employed men and women from the local community who create bespoke recycled paper products for various commercial and artistic application, including everything from business cards, flyers and bookmarks, to wedding invitations, place cards and environmentally friendly confetti.
Reel Gardening is designed to be a simple gardening solution where all the fuss is taken out of gardening. The biodegradable seed tape is perfectly spaced for the seeds to grow, and each seed is high-quality and non-chemically treated.
Growing food not only impacts a person’s ability to take control of their food security. It has a myriad of other benefits, including instilling a connection to nature, responsibility, patience, relaxation and problem solving. Whether a few pots on your windowsill or a whole veggie patch in the garden, the process of growing food will improve your quality of life.
Baobabe supplies 100% medical grade silicone menstrual cups in various sizes. Their signature black menstrual cups look aesthetically pleasing, and avoids discoloration.
They realised that there was a need for a more practical solution to on-the-market menstrual cups. The influx of positive responses received from the ladies using the cups was overwhelming, and thus Baobabe was born.
Backyard Farms Africa focuses on uplifting and empowering the lives of township women through micro-farming partnerships.
They find women with unused backyards and provide them with the raw materials and basic training to turn them into little chilli farms. They then buy those chillies, and use them for the production of their new sauce range called “Backyard Farms”. The more sauce that’s sold, the more chillies they buy- growing the network of little farms that they can support.
Iwori Beauty provides body and skincare products that are made in South Africa and all bath and body primary packaging is sourced locally in order to support local businesses. Their products are sustainably sourced 100% organic African ingredients.
Iwori Beauty endeavours to source our organic key African oils and extracts from suppliers who follow strict fair trade principles and support rural communities, in our effort to support upliftment projects within Africa.
Proudly women-owned and run, spaZa has been making functional everyday items that are both practical and kind to the environment. Inspired by a need for alternatives to disposable household items, their products are developed to make household chores feel better, while helping to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the environment. This includes gorgeous dish covers, cloths, scrubs, and zero-waste shopping essentials.
The Harvest Table
The Harvest Table is a family run business based in Kwazulu-Natal. After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 20 years old, owner and founder Catherine Clark began to study the importance of a good quality diet and a well-balanced life on one’s health and wellbeing. Today the brand sells a range of pure collagen products and shakes that are easy to use and increase the user's nutritional spectrum. They believe in creating employment within South Africa, using earth-conscious packaging and educating consumers on making better food choices.
Situated in Port Elizabeth, The Kindred Kitchen is a plant-based restaurant and smoothie bar that also offers easy to-go meals and catering. They describe themselves as a social enterprise creating stable futures while nourishing their community with wholesome, delicious meals. This includes specialty sandwiches, delicious roasted coffee and tasty food make from locally sourced, fresh ingredients that are served in a warm and welcoming environment. Best of all, they have a hands-on culinary training program, which means that every meal served gets their trainees one step closer to a brighter future.
NutriSeed is South African business that was founded on the premise that while there are no shortcuts to good health. Fueled by the desire to eat delicious food that’s equally nourishing and healthy, without the hassle of exhaustive preparation, founder Nadine Hardy Silcock has created a range of delicious seed snack packs that kickstart and sustain energy in a tasty, yet natural way. They have taken the time to carefully choose ingredients in both their NuSeed and NuMe ranges that boosts flavour and nutrition simultaneously.
Capetonian company Honest Chocolate sources the best quality cacao from a remote Tanzanian valley where farmers are then paid their fair share. They also try to keep our ingredients organic wherever possible. All their chocolate is handmade to increase job creation and skill development. Their delicious wares can be ordered online, and they also offer virtual chocolate workshops, in-person workshops, and more.
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Keep an eye out - more ethical brands will be added soon!