BetterBee Eco offer a range of natural and earth-friendly home and body products. Low-tox and all natural for both the health of your body and your home.
We chat to Founders and partners in life, Ryan and Michelle, to find out more about BetterBee Eco.
What inspired you to start your business?
Ryan: For me the business came about with me not being able to find a hard-working hand balm for men. I did some research and found a few examples of rock climbers etc overseas using particular ingredients to soften tough callused hands. After many months of research and trial batches B.Tuf hand and heel balm was born and quickly followed by No.Bee.O our underarm balms. Thus our business was created as BetterBee Eco to encompass our Eco nature and the use of beeswax and honey in many of our products. Small side note Michelle was running Second Nature Botanicals for our good friends Kirsty and Noel who had moved back to NZ and we eventually brought the Australian part of it and merged with our range to all fall under the BetterBee Eco label.
Michelle: Waste! Literally…Seeing so much waste in our family bin. I wanted to change this and do something that would make a difference. To show our kids that small changes do matter and that it’s every person’s responsibility to be waste conscious and live a little lighter on our beautiful planet. BetterBee Eco has grown from an online business [Unwrapped The Store] selling plastic-free products to us creating our own products and changing our name to BetterBee Eco. We then bought our friend’s business Second Nature Botanicals and blended all the products together. We are proud to now carry both a home + body collection of natural waste-conscious products.
Why do you choose to use only natural or organic ingredients?
R: For me personally I just did not like the thought of my family and I using products in our home or on our bodies that had ingredients I did not know the name of let alone the effects they may have on us so we use as natural and as local as possible.
M: Simply because they are safer, gentler and healthier for us and the planet. Using these ingredients means you wont be absorbing nasty chemicals through your skin or breathing in the fumes in your home. Your home should be your sanctuary. There is so much we don’t know about how “nasty” ingredients interfere with our bodies natural processes.
What’s your favourite product?
R: My favourite products are the perfume range. I never thought as a 38 year old male I would get excited about perfume but I enjoy trying new scents and playing with different oil profiles to create something different. The product I use the most though is the natural cleaning spray. I always have a bottle at work as it keeps the red dirt at bay from my office and smells great.
M: The Allure perfume oil! It has been my scent for six years now and it makes me smile every time I smell it. It makes me feel amazing.
What’s your favourite way to look after yourself?
R: For me its exercise, my previous career I was a personal trainer for 11 years so I use exercise to keep me fit and healthy and find the mental benefits just as rewarding.
M: It’s taken me a long time to be ok with saying “no” to people and to take time out for myself. I burnt out last year so it has become even more important to look after myself. Now, I take Mondays just for me. I do a fitness class, write, eat yummy food and relax.
Currently creating?
R: Currently working on putting out perfume range into a solid wax based state and packaging in a nice slide open metal tin these will be amazing. That and our range of face and hand oils will be hitting shelves soon.
M: Our new perfume balms and designing the labels for the neat little slide tins.
Currently reading?
R: Audio books for me as I do a lot of driving to and from Karratha weekly at work so anything that keeps me entertained for 4 hours at a time.
M: This will be a longlist! I work as a Children’s Librarian when not working at BetterBee Eco. This means my reading pile is always high! Picture books are my biggest love though. “Sand Talk” Tyson Yunkaporta, “The Underdogs” a junior series by Jol & Kate Temple, “Follow Your Feelings” a new picture book series by WA author Kitty Black,”How to be a Ballerina” Davina Bell, and lots of new picture books about Christmas! Oh and I’m listening to the new Alice Pung “One Hundred Days”
Favourite travel destination?
R: Greek Islands or back home to New Zealand (Mt Maunganui look it up you will love it)
M: New York! New York! It was everything I imagined and more. Ry proposed to me here, so it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Favourite quote?
R: “Do you” or “if nothing changes nothing changes”
M: “Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own” anonymous
Final words…
In these crazy times stick together, support one another, and in particular try and support local. We try and source as much as we can from Perth to keep our local economy going.
Check out our Eco Directory for more wonderful eco-friendly brands like BetterBee Eco.