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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1458960
I N V E N T OR Y Clean Sweep With the spring refresh underway, these B.C. companies produce sustainable, recycled and all-natural goods for eco-friendly cleaning by Alyssa Hirose MARCH/APRIL 2022 BCBUSINESS 61 MINT CLEANING: ANDI WARDROP ( quality time ) BYE FLIES Green bins are a vital part of responsible waste disposal in 2022, but the reality of countertop compost is a smelly nightmare (and fruit fly magnet). Taylor McCarten and Harmen Zijlstra launched BinBreeze, a Victoria-based company that turns industrial wood waste into a household compost treatment powder, in 2018. Their product eliminates odour and fruit flies–win-win. In-store and online MR. CLEANING Port Coquitlam-based LFT Group Brands is a legend in the local eco-friendly cleaning game. Founded in 2007 in Port Moody by Munu Hicken-Gaberria, the company produces refillable and bulk cleaning products for the kitchen, bathroom and laundry (and in recyclable packaging, too). LFT was the first cleaning product outfit in the country to launch a packaging deposit and return program. In-store and online PRODUCT PIVOT Robyn Pook and Monika Scott founded a cleaning service in 2017, but the harsh chemicals were doing a number on their bodies (from skin irritations to lung scarring). In response, the pair started handmaking their own eco-friendly cleaning products, pivoting Mint Cleaning to retail-only during the pandemic. Mint makes all-natural deodorizer, dish soap, glass cleaner, laundry detergent and more out of Ucluelet. Online SOOTHING SOAPS When big-box baby skincare products irritated her son's sensitive skin, Indigenous entrepreneur Francesca Amine started making her own soaps and lotions. Since founding Sweetgrass Soap out of Coquitlam in June 2021, Amine has expanded to home products, including sage, cedar and tobacco smudge spray, and sweet orange dish soap. Online NICE WORK Solid dish soap is a fairly new kid on the sustainable cleaning block, and Vancouver-based Make Nice Co.'s vegan version can replace up to three bottles of traditional pump soap. Bonnie Yang (left) founded the brand in 2019 in an effort to reduce local plastic consumption. Her bubbly blocks are now available at more than 60 Canadian stores. In-store and online DRY IDEA ULAT wool dryer balls began as a homemade family Christmas gift, and founder Jennifer LeBrun soon made the design official (they're the only patented wool dryer ball in the world). Tossing in a few decreases your dryer's energy consumption and naturally softens clothes–they're a reusable alternative to dryer sheets. The Vancouver company celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2021. In-store and online •