Must-See Stands at the Christchurch Go Green Expo 2024

Aotearoa New Zealand's largest sustainable lifestyle show is coming to Ōtautahi Christchurch this August and we're looking forward to heading along to catchup with our favourite exhibitors.

Earthlove started at the Go Green Expo way back in 2018 (does that feel like a lifetime ago to anyone else?!). We had some great times and developed some fabulous friendships with other exhibitors over the years. While we're not exhibiting at the expo this year, it holds a warm space in our hearts and we look forward to attending as visitors and catching up with all our friends again this year.

You're not going to want to miss this years expo. Featuring food & beverages, health & beauty, home & building, EV’s and more, it's a one-stop-shop for everything you need to live a more sustainable life. Whether you’re thinking about renovating, looking for more sustainable household alternatives or wanting to be healthier, there's a diverse range of companies, products and brands to discover and explore at the expo.

We've rounded up our must-see exhibitors where you'll meet some awesome humans and discover some products that we absolutely adore. Why do we love these brands? Well, they all, bar one, just happen to be founded by females, incredible wāhine who are doing everything they can to make our world a better place. Their products exude quality and are used and loved in the Earthlove household daily. They also just happen to be some of the loveliest humans that you could ever meet. Dig a bit deeper into each brand below and go and see them in person this weekend. Oh, and tell them Kim & Eoin said Hi!

Panna Soaps

Panna Soaps was founded by Annamaria Berta. Back in 2014, Anna woke up from a dream where she saw herself making soaps. This vision felt so real that she knew it was what she had to do. In the years that followed, Anna taught herself how to make soap, and came up with recipes that are vegan, palm-oil-free, scented with essential oils and coloured with clays, herbs, coffee, cocoa powder and spices. Anna's Shampoo Bar was what initially enticed us, and she became one of our very first suppliers way back in 2018. Since then, a wonderful friendship has blossomed and we catchup up for coffee and second-hand clothes shopping regularly. Things to note: Anna still makes all the soaps herself in her studio shop in Ferrymead - worth checking out. Anna's new stylish gift box packaging - the same wonderful soaps but in an artistically styled gift box - ideal for Christmas stockings. Sample soap and shampoo bars - ideal for Christmas crackers. Bath bombs - just what you need after a long day exploring all that the Go Green Expo has to offer! Be sure to check out Anna's entire range on the Panna Soaps website.

The Green Collective

Emma Saunders, founder of The Green Collective, has made products for an eco-friendly lifestyle since 2014 under the motto of "reduce, reuse and recycle". Since then, Emma has taken a whopping 8,000,000 single-use plastic produce bags out of circulation, avoided over 73,000 plastic sponges going to landfill (and all the ocean-bound microplastics that go with them!) and has repurposed the equivalent of two full 4m² skips of local inflatable / bouncy castle PVC vinyl factory offcuts into stylish and multi-purpose tote bags. Even the handles on these totes are made from expired child car seat restraints, repurposed through a car-seat recycling scheme. Emma truly is saving landfill, one bag at a time!

Emma was another one of our very first suppliers and we've loved catching up with her every year at the expo when she comes down to Christchurch from Nelson. Things to note: Some of you will be all over this already but you've got to check out Hank - Emma's gorgeous range of handkerchiefs which are as stylish as they are practical. We might just have to do another blog post on the many uses for a Hank! Check out Emma's entire range over on The Green Collective website. The very talented Emma is also a pilates instructor and you can attend classes from your lounge over on the Pilates with Emma Saunders YouTube channel.

Dust & Glow

Gaelle Thieme founded Dust & Glow, a waterless beauty brand in 2020. Gaelle had 10+ years experience working in the beauty industry and was becoming increasingly aware of its negative impact on our environment. Gaelle knew there must be a better way of doing things so she spent 18 months working with circular economy and green chemistry experts formulating what would ultimately become the best powder-based, waterless, minimalist, conscious brand out there. Gaelle's range of hair- and skin-care is vegan, 100% naturally derived and comes in stylish, yet endlessly recyclable and refillable aluminium bottles. Each Dust & Glow bottle saves over 10.5L of water, avoids 9 plastic bottles and 1% of sales is donated to give water access to those who need it the most. You just have to try Gaelle's clever range of powdered beauty products for yourself. We love the shampoo - sprinkle just ¼ teaspoon of shampoo powder on your hands in the shower and watch it transform into a creamy lather as you add water. Your hair will feel fresher and cleaner and smell better than it ever has before! Check out Gaelle's entire range over on the Dust & Glow website.

Solid Oral Care

Solid Was founded by Laura in 2018. Laura is an oral health therapist and way back then she was frustrated by the growing amount of plastic waste that was generated out of each dental appointment in her dental practice.

Laura had already come up with a mouthwash formula that she'd developed during her time as a hygienist so she set about coming up with solutions for toothpaste too. Fast forward to 2024 and Solid is now a family business with a broad range that includes toothpaste (in paste, powder and tablet form), mouthwash, dental floss, tongue scraper, interdental brushes and toothbrushes.

But Laura wasn't content at stopping there and has recently released a very popular teeth whitening kit. The best bit? There's no plastic in sight and you can return your empty packaging to Solid and they'll sterilise and reuse it. Solid - truly is your one-stop dental shop! Check out the full range of products over on the Solid website and be sure to look up their growing list of stockists for local in-store options.

Prima Roastery

Last, but definitely not least! Our old mates Prima Roastery! For over 25 years the Prima team has been dedicated to their craft, customers, community, and our environment. They roast high-quality, ethically sourced and sustainable coffee. Their coffee doesn't just taste delicious, it is really good ... for everybody! Prima takes ethical sourcing seriously. They are a Fairtrade-licensed roastery and produce a range of Fairtrade Organic blends and single-origin coffees.

Avoiding waste and single-use packaging has been a focus for Prima since their inception in 1995. Over 10 years ago, Prima was the first coffee roaster in New Zealand to adopt compostable packaging for their fresh coffee beans and grounds.

Earthlove HQ was tucked into the corner of Prima's Brougham Street Cafe for 3 years and we can honestly say it is the best coffee we've ever had and their talented barista's made sure it was flawless every single time. Be sure to bring along your reusable coffee cup to sample their coffee and browse their full range of roasts on the Prima Roastery website.

Well there you have it, our top picks for the 2024 Go Green Expo! Eoin and I (Kim) are looking forward to heading along on Saturday afternoon, be sure to say hello if you see us and let us know what the highlights of the expo are for you. Here's to a weekend full of discovering lots of new sustainable alternatives to those annoyingly wasteful parts of everyday life. We can't wait to hear what you discover, if we don't see you there, let us know in the comments below.

- Kim 💚