L'ada Soaps and Scents

L’ada Soaps and Scents is making the case for home-based business; their forward planning and thoughtfully sustainable manufacturing process has helped them to grow their repeat soap-porters.

The agility afforded to home-based businesses like theirs has helped them to continue to stay true to their sustainability vision in an efficient way. When they found that their customers weren’t associating their packaging as recyclable, they quickly switched to a paper cigar wrap.

And now, rather than wasting off-cuts they donate them to those who can’t afford them, or use them to make other products in their range such as washing powder. They also share their empty boxes, bottle lids and containers with local kindergartens for children’s craft activities and recycle soft plastics at their local supermarket.

They have also worked hard over the past year to reduce their environmental footprint through updates to their product’s manufacturing process; they reduced the amount of water in each batch of soap and stopped using the oven to raise the temperature of their soaps while in the moulds – this alone has seen a significant change in their electricity consumption.

Being a small operation, they are also able to make a lot of the equipment that they need rather than buying new equipment, such as soap cutters, wooden soap moulds and their own pouring stand.

L’ada Soaps and Scents also seek to partner locally where possible; 95 per cent of their supplies come from local or Victorian businesses, all of whom have the same commitment to sustainability. They also work to support those same suppliers’ businesses by celebrating them on social media and on their website.

They also participate in Council’s Sustainability Festival, showcasing their products to an environmentally conscious crowd which helps to grow awareness.

Find out more about L'ada Soaps and Scents at their website. 

Other finalists in the Sustainability Category include Beaconsfield Dental and The Little Big Bamboo.