12 Aussie Brands Giving A Damn on Shopify
by Victoria Garcia
When it comes to making a difference, more and more Australian brands are stepping up to positively impact their industries, from sustainable practices to circular business models, re-thinking product development, ethical sourcing, or supporting local communities.
In this article, we'll explore the stories of 12 Aussie Shopify-powered businesses that are thriving and setting the standard for what it means to be a brand that genuinely cares.
Get inspired by the stories of these founders striving to do good while doing business.
1.HoMie
HoMie is a streetwear social enterprise aiming to get young people out of homelessness or hardship.
What's the story behind the business?
Nick and Marcus, HoMie founders, met while cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia in 2013 as part of an anti-child-trafficking fundraising bike ride. After travelling and returning to Melbourne, they were motivated to make a difference in their local community.
The founders of HoMie started by creating a Facebook page to document stories of people experiencing homelessness. As they shared these stories, The Street Store, a South African free pop-up clothing store for people experiencing homelessness stocked by donations, inspired them. This inspiration led the founders to evolve their concept beyond the initial Facebook page.
What's unique?
In Australia, around 28,000 young people aged 12-24 make up the single biggest demographic of people affected by homelessness.
When you shop at HoMie, 100% of the profits of their Shopify store go towards providing pathways out of homelessness through three impact programs:
HoMie Pathway Alliance is an eight-month program offering young people paid opportunities to earn a Certificate III in Business, gain part-time employment with HoMie or partners like Champion and Nike, and receive personal and professional development through cultural awareness, budgeting, and mental health classes.
"88% of Pathway Alliance graduates are employed and/or enrolled in further education 12-months post-program." - HoMie.
On VIP Days, HoMie closes its shop to the public and invites young people affected by homelessness or hardship to shop for five brand-new HoMie clothing items for free. They also receive haircuts, beauty services, and personal care packs and enjoy lunch with the HoMie team.
2. The Dirt Company
The Dirt Company is on a mission to clean up the laundry industry. It was founded in 2016 by Frankie and Josh, who left their advertising careers to pursue their passion for creating a laundry detergent that eliminates single-use plastic bottles, synthetic ingredients, and harsh chemicals.
What's the story behind the business?
Frankie moved in with her best friend, whose skin was often irritated by detergent. While shopping in the supermarket, she wondered what laundry detergent to buy. Frankie wanted a product that worked but was sensitive to her skin and the environment. She couldn't find one then—that's how it all started!
What's unique?
Their products feature concentrated formulas that are both effective and ethical.
They use no harsh chemicals and maintain a strict cruelty-free policy.
Their ingredients are 100% biodegradable: plant-based anionic and nonionic surfactants, organic enzymes, and natural fragrances.
They enhance their formulas with essential oils, including eucalyptus, lavender, basil, orange, clove, geranium, patchouli, and cedarwood.
Their Refill and Return program is a cornerstone of their sustainability efforts. It encourages customers to reuse packaging and drastically reduces single-use plastics.
Their innovative product line includes a market-first probiotic fabric spray that reduces the need for frequent washing, promoting sustainability in everyday household care.
Made in Australia with offices in Brunswick, they control every aspect of production through their in-house supply chain, ensuring they maintain high standards of sustainability and quality.
3. Great Wrap
Great Wrap is an Australian-made and owned Shopify brand offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic wrap.
What's the story behind the business?
Jordy and Julia Kay, with backgrounds in winemaking and architecture, respectively, co-founded the company. They assembled a team of designers, microbiologists, and chemists who share their vision. Together, they drive the company's mission to replace single-use plastic and positively impact climate change.
What's unique?
You may have used plastic wrap to protect and freshen sandwiches, snacks, or other items you take on the go. But did you know that traditional cling wraps, especially those made from PVC, can contain harmful chemicals like phthalates and BPA (Bisphenol A) that can leach into your food?
Great Wrap is a unique alternative because it looks and feels just like traditional cling wrap but is entirely compostable.
Their products, made from plant-based oils, agroforestry waste, and certified compostable biopolymers, are designed to break down in home compost bins within 180 days.
Great Wrap offers two product categories to help you eliminate plastic from your daily life:
They've developed a home compostable cling wrap with optimal wrapability for home use. This product allows households to maintain convenience while reducing plastic waste.
For businesses, Great Wrap provides compostable pallet wrap made with biopolymers. This wrap matches the high performance of plastic alternatives while helping to decarbonise your business operations.
Great Lab, the innovation and technology department at Great Wrap, is pushing the boundaries of innovation with plans to produce their Wrap using PHA, which is both home-compostable and marine degradable.
4. Cancer Council
The Cancer Council is Australia's leading cancer charity. It offers sun and UV protection solutions to meet Australia's demanding sun protection standards.
What's the story behind the business?
Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70. Being SunSmart is a simple and effective way to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer.
What's unique?
Cancer Council Australia offers a range of sun protection products, including sunscreens, hats, and sunglasses, designed to help reduce the risk of skin cancer.
When you purchase through their Shopify Plus store, you directly contribute to their cancer research, prevention, and support efforts.
Their comprehensive "Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide" campaign informs their product line and promotes five critical steps for sun safety:
- Slip on a shirt
- Slop on sunscreen
- Slap on a hat
- Seek shade
- Slide on sunglasses
5. Sprocket Roasters
Sprocket Roasters isn't just any coffee brand. They've pioneered carbon-conscious coffee roasting using spent grinds and other organic biofuels, creating what can only be described as coffee magic.
What's the story behind the business?
In 2008, Sprocket's founders, a couple of chemical engineers, a viticulturist, and a lawyer relocated to Newcastle, New South Wales, to build a biofuel business. Things evolved and pivoted their plans to apply their knowledge in bioenergy technology to coffee roasting.
Over the last 15 years, Chelsea and Ross have built a business that combines their two greatest passions: quality coffee and a healthy planet.
What's unique?
World’s first roaster fuelled on bioenergy: designed, patented, and manufactured an innovative coffee roasting technology, which won recognition from Bioenergy Australia and the industry through the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA).
Sustainably sourced: source sustainable coffee beans from smaller farms and emerging global producers.
Compostable coffee bags: all coffee bags are fully compostable in less than 90 days in commercial composting facilities (longer if composting at home). They are made entirely with certified materials after the EU standard EN13432.
6. Ottway The Label
Ottway is an Australian fashion brand with retail stores in Byron Bay, Melbourne, and Sydney and global sales through Shopify.
The brand's concept is to offer durable, cross-seasonal, trendless clothing in unisex designs.
What's the story behind the business?
Founders Neri and Manu created the label around their passions for clean energy, sustainability, adventure, and purposeful travel.
Otway The Label draws its name from the majestic Great Otway National Park. This sprawling natural wonder extends from Torquay, following the iconic Great Ocean Road, and reaches deep into the lush Otways hinterland.
What's unique?
Embracing sustainable practices, the brand produces its clothing in small batches using premium-quality fabrics. This approach allows them to restock on demand, decisively moving away from the wasteful practices of fast fashion.
The company's commitment to sustainability extends beyond its production line with its "Solo Sunny Days" initiative. This program contributes clean energy to local non-profit organisations by donating funds to install solar power in community-owned projects around Australia that would otherwise be unlikely to happen.
7. ModiBody
ModiBody is a pioneering Shopify Plus brand offering sustainable, reusable, and leak-proof underwear to replace single-use menstrual and incontinence products.
What's the story behind the business?
Modibodi's story begins with Kristy Chong, an Australian mother of four, who faced the challenges of managing light incontinence during marathon training. Frustrated with the limited disposable solutions available, she took on the challenge to create a more comfortable, reliable, and eco-friendly alternative. This personal journey led to the birth of Modibodi in 2011.
What's unique?
The average Australian woman uses around 10,000-12,000 disposable menstrual products in their lifetime. Many of these products contain plastics that persist in the environment for up to 300 to 500 years before biodegrading.
ModiBody offers a plastic-free period alternative that fits and feels like regular underwear but has a slim, patented hi-tech lining that absorbs period blood, discharge, and odour.
Wear, Wash, Reuse: Say goodbye to single-use products and hello to reusable, machine-washable underwear.
Leak-Proof Guarantee: All garments are rigorously tested to remain leak-proof for up to 100 washes.
Sustainable Materials: The company prioritises sustainability using renewable and recycled fabrics, such as Australian merino wool and organic cotton.
Safe and Certified: All garments are OKEO-TEX certified, ensuring they are free from over 1,000 harmful substances.
8. Seed & Sprout
Seed & Sprout is a Byron-based brand that makes environmentally friendly products that help people reduce waste.
What's the story behind the business?
It all started when Sophie Kovic, founder of Seed & Sprout, searched for the perfect non-plastic lunch box for her son, Archie.
After countless attempts, Sophie realised the issue wasn't that she couldn't find the perfect product—it simply didn't exist. So, she decided to make it.
Seed & Sprout started with a stainless lunch box and has over 150 eco-friendly products in its Shopify Plus store.
What's unique?
Sustainable living advocate: Sophie lives on a community farm in a tiny house with a natural pool, inspiring those on their journey to eliminate plastic and connect more with nature.
@sophiekovic EBook ✨OUT NOW✨🫣 #naturalpool #naturalswimmingpool #offgrid #tinyhouse #offgridliving #cottagecore #commune ♬ Otra Vez - ProdMarvin
Products that inspire change: Their online store sells compost bins, eco-cleaning products, and plastic-free personal care products.
Independently tested products: all their products comply with all applicable safety standards, including GOTS organic certification for all their woven goods.
Ethical Supply Chain: Seed & Sprout partners with suppliers in Australia, Taiwan, China, and India who prioritise ethical treatment of their employees and the environment. They maintain close relationships by regularly visiting their manufacturing partners in person.
9. Tripod Coffee
Tripod Coffee is dedicated to delivering a premium pod coffee experience with minimal impact on the planet. It offers the only Australian-certified compostable pods.
What's the story behind it?
Former Australian Cricket players Ed Cowan and Steve Cazzulino launched Tripod Coffee in 2014 in Sydney. They share a love for great coffee and cricket.
They were both travelling around the world at the time, playing professional cricket, and the coffee wasn't great in some places, so they were drinking a lot of coffee pods.
That's where the concept of having a nice cup of coffee without a sizeable environmental impact comes in. Ed and Steve wanted an alternative to the aluminium and plastic pods that are going to landfills and can take up to 500 years to break down.
What's unique?
100% home-compostable
Tripod Coffee compostable pods are made of plant-based plastics and paper, which break down naturally when composted in the right environment.
ABA-certified products
Tripod Coffee home-compostable pods are certified by the Australian Bioplastics Association standards (ABA), meaning they can be processed correctly in Australian waste facilities.
Tip: Look for the Home Compostable AS 5810 logo when shopping for compostable products. This logo ensures the product can be processed in local facilities within Australia and contributes to environmental sustainability, supporting agriculture through nutrient-rich compost.
Compostable Pod-to-Plant Returns Kit
Tripod Coffee goes the extra mile to close the loop on sustainability. Even if your local Australian council doesn't accept food scraps in green bins, don't worry. You can send your used pods directly to Tripod Coffee; they'll take care of the rest. They ensure every pod reaches its rightful end - turning back into nutrient-rich compost.
10. Zero Co
Zero Co delivers incredible personal care and home-cleaning products directly to your door, minus all the single-use plastic.
What's the story behind the business?
Paddy Lowe started Zero Co in 2020, after 18 months of travelling with his wife, Alyssa, to some of the most remote places in the world. It was during this epic adventure that Paddy first realised how devastatingly pervasive the problem of plastic pollution is. No matter where they went or how far we trekked from civilisation, there was one thing they could not escape: plastic.
What's unique?
Zero Co personal-care and home-cleaning products use reusable packaging that can be returned, cleaned and reused. The company has cleaned and reused 221,665 pouches.
However, after four years, Zero Co is evolving its closed-loop business, announcing its new refill system, 'Forever Fill', an overhaul of its entire range. It is moving away from plastic refills to the world-first paper-based refills for most of its personal care and cleaning products. It also incorporates its new Forever Bottles, constructed from 80% recycled materials, designed to work with paper refills seamlessly.
Zero Co.'s mission is to untrash the planet by using part of the proceeds from the sale of its products to fund ocean cleanups. So far, it has removed 45,002,344 water bottles worth of rubbish from oceans, beaches, and rivers around the world.
11. Frank Green
Frank Green started back in 2013, contrary to popular belief, Frank Green isn't the founder's name but embodies the philosophy of being transparent and authentic about living green.
What's the story behind the business?
With a mission to eradicate single-use plastics, this Aussie brand offers a diverse range of beautifully designed, premium reusable items—from coffee cups and bottles to homewares, tea infusers, and pet products.
What’s unique?
Frank has been recognised by Australia’s top design authority with multiple Good Design Awards, and all products are BPA-free, FDA and EU-approved, and recyclable at the end of their life cycle.
Frank’s online experience is designed to be both functional and stylish, with vibrant colours and product photography that invites consumers to create sustainable habits.
12. Who gives a Crap
Who Gives A Crap, sells toilet paper made from bamboo or 100% recycled paper and donates 50% of the profits to building toilets in underdeveloped countries.
What's the story behind the business?
The Who Gives A Crap story began when the three founders - Simon Griffiths, Danny Alexander and Jehan Ratnatunga - realised that 2.5 billion people didn't have access to a toilet.
Who Gives A Crap ran a crowdfunding campaign in 2012 with a video of Simon sitting on the toilet in their warehouse apartment. Fifty hours later, the campaign went viral with 2.5 million media impressions and sold the first 1000 products.
What’s unique?
No Deforestation Commitment: Who Gives A Crap products are made from recycled fibres or FSC-certified bamboo - never virgin trees, to avoid contributing to the 1 million trees every day cut down to make traditional toilet paper.
Donations to Sanitation Projects: Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of their profits to non-profit organisations that build toilets and improve sanitation in developing countries.
Plastic-Free Packaging: The company is committed to reducing plastic waste, so its products are packaged without plastic, using recyclable and compostable materials instead.
The company has expanded its product range to shampoo, conditioner, and body bars. Under the Good Time brand, you are invited to trade out your plastic-packaged hair and body brands for its bars. The company donates 50% of its profits to support clean water initiatives.
While no business is perfect, and there’s always work to be done regarding sustainability, these Australian Shopify brands are leading the charge in making a positive environmental and social impact.
We hope these success stories spark your creativity.
They demonstrate how businesses can:
- Embrace sustainable practices
- Reimagine product sourcing and supply chains
- Adopt plastic-free packaging solutions
- Innovate to benefit local communities
No matter where you are in your business journey, there's always room to grow greener and positively impact.
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