At Clean + Conscious, we believe that business can be a powerful force for good – shaping healthier communities, protecting our planet and creating a more just and sustainable future. That’s why, alongside our annual Clean + Conscious Awards, we honour a select group of trailblazing brands with our Sustainability + Social Impact Awards.
These awards recognise businesses that go beyond creating exceptional products. They celebrate those who are leading with purpose – regenerating ecosystems, reducing waste, championing ethical production, empowering communities and driving meaningful change both locally and globally.
This year’s winners inspire us with their integrity, innovation and heart. Each one shows that true leadership lies in aligning people, planet and purpose – proving that a better future is not only possible but already in progress.
Sustainability + Social Impact Leadership Award
—SuperFeast
SuperFeast receives the Sustainability + Social Impact Leadership Award for their extraordinary all-round commitment to sustainability, biodiversity and local and global communities. Family-owned in Australia, SuperFeast partners directly with small-scale farmers in China to protect traditional Daoist herbal practices from industrialisation. By reintroducing wild spores and seeds, using full-log mushroom cultivation, natural land cycling and spring water irrigation, the business helps maintain biodiversity and restore ecosystems.
This integrity extends through the whole business – from Di Dao sourcing to solar-powered operations, plastic-free packaging and reusable violet glass jars. Beyond their supply chain, SuperFeast supports projects from rainforest regeneration to their MushLove program for people in hardship, alongside initiatives for safe birthing, psychedelic-assisted therapies and intergenerational community connection. This award recognises SuperFeast as a visionary leader setting a benchmark for what true sustainability and social impact look like in business.
Local Impact Award Winner
—Honest to Goodness
Honest to Goodness receives the Local Impact Award for the way it brings people together and creates real change in local communities. Their Group Goodness bulk-buying portal makes wholefoods and sustainable products affordable and accessible, while building friendships, support networks and lasting connections across neighbourhoods and generations. This same care flows into their generous support for local charities, from donating meals through OzHarvest to supporting St Canice’s Kitchen, Cana Farm and the Wayside Chapel.
Global Impact Award Winner
—71bay
71bay receives the Global Impact Award for empowering artisans and preserving traditions through fair trade and community-centred design. By creating dignified employment for women in Bangladesh – from village jute workers to urban artisans who have overcome trafficking and exploitation – 71bay helps families stay together, communities grow stronger and children access education instead of child labour. Read more about the incredible impact 71bay is making here.
Biodiversity Award Winner
– EK Sunscreen
EK Sunscreen is recognised for its powerful commitment to protecting biodiversity, from coral reefs to native forests. With reef-safe, fully biodegradable formulations and a mission to help restore the world’s coral reefs by 2035, their work goes far beyond sun protection. Partnering with Indigenous growers and local producers, they honour traditional knowledge while ensuring ethical, sustainable sourcing. Their advocacy spans from pioneering plastic-free packaging and compostable tubes to global campaigns urging governments to ban reef-killing chemicals. Through coral research partnerships, reef-safe sunscreen swap schemes, youth education programs and support for Pacific Island communities, EK Sunscreen is preserving ecosystems and helping them regenerate for generations to come.
Regeneration Award Winner
— Seaflora
Seaflora is recognised with the Regeneration Award for restoring marine ecosystems through sustainable seaweed harvesting. Along Vancouver Island’s shores, they carefully collect seaweed, sea mud, and sea salts in ways that keep resources local, renewable, and restorative. Their “haircut” method allows kelp forests to regrow rapidly — locking away carbon, producing oxygen, and sustaining marine biodiversity. With zero-waste operations, solar-powered facilities, and support for local environmental groups, Seaflora shows how skincare can play an active role in regenerating ecosystems and protecting the future of our oceans.
Circularity Award Winner
– SUNSLAYER
SUNSLAYER receives the Circularity Award for its commitment to taking responsibility for the entire lifecycle of its products. From solar-powered manufacturing and locally sourced, plant-based ingredients to plastic-free aluminium tins (which are infinitely recyclable and highly recovered in Australia) every choice is made with circularity in mind. Their takeback program rewards customers for returning empty tins, which are then transformed into new products, keeping resources in use and out of landfill. With compostable packaging, community partnerships and a science-led approach to sustainability, SUNSLAYER is closing the loop on waste and proving that sunscreen can be truly sustainable.
First Nations Leadership Award Winner
– Yaye
Yaye receives the First Nations Leadership Award for its powerful role in championing Indigenous ownership, culture and community empowerment. Founded and led by Warumungu/Luritja woman Melissa Cole, Yaye is proudly 100% Aboriginal-owned, with every product made in Australia to uphold ethical and sustainable standards. Through partnerships with First Nations growers, artists and suppliers, and initiatives such as mentoring, workshops and product donations, the brand creates pathways for economic independence and celebrates cultural storytelling. With each purchase reinvested into community, Yaye is building intergenerational strength while redefining what leadership in beauty and business can look like when guided by culture, care and Country.
Climate Leadership Award Winner
– Synthesis Organics
Synthesis Organics is recognised with the Climate Leadership Award for its unwavering commitment to reducing emissions and regenerating ecosystems. Their eco-factory in the Byron Bay hinterland runs entirely on renewable energy and operates as a zero-waste facility. Through their regenerative agriculture project, Earth Rising, they actively sequester carbon and restore biodiversity, weaving Indigenous wisdom into sustainable land management. Partnering with Greenfleet, they also offset emissions by planting biodiverse native forests, moving their business from carbon neutral to climate positive. By integrating renewable energy, closed-loop packaging systems and climate-neutral supply chains, Synthesis Organics is setting a powerful example of how a beauty business can be a force for climate action. Read more about their commitment to climate positivity and sustainability here.
Sustainable Future Award Winner
– Janesce
Janesce is recognised with the Sustainable Future Award for its long-standing commitment to farming and manufacturing in harmony with nature. For over four decades, the brand has cultivated its own certified organic and biodynamic herb farm in South Australia, where regenerative practices such as composting, rainwater harvesting, crop rotation, and natural pest control actively enrich the soil and protect biodiversity. By growing and processing ingredients on-site, Janesce ensures complete supply chain transparency, reduces its footprint, and guarantees potency and purity from seed to skin. With recyclable glass packaging, compostable materials, and a transition to carbon-conscious shipping, Janesce demonstrates how deeply rooted, science-informed farming can create products that nurture both people and planet while safeguarding ecosystems for the future.
Zero Waste Innovation Award Winner
– Eenee
Eenee receives the Zero Waste Innovation Award for transforming nappies from one of the world’s most problematic waste streams into a valuable resource. As the first plastic-free, compostable nappy option in Australia, Eenee works hand-in-hand with councils, composting facilities and communities to ensure nappies can return safely to the soil instead of ending up in landfill. Their impact extends beyond Australia – from trials in Samoa that turn nappies into nutrient-rich compost while creating employment for women, to supporting Pacific Island communities overwhelmed by plastic nappy waste. For over three decades, Eenee has pioneered practical, science-backed solutions that close the loop, challenge greenwashing and make zero waste living achievable for families.
Ethical Production Award Winner
—Smitten Merino
Smitten Merino receives the Ethical Production Award for its transparent supply chain and deep commitment to fairness from farm to finished garment. Every piece is sewn locally by a small family-run factory the brand has partnered with for over 16 years, ensuring safe working conditions, fair pay and long-term respect for makers. Using only Australian superfine merino certified to the Responsible Wool Standard, Smitten guarantees non-mulesed wool and the highest standards of animal welfare. With renewable energy powering production, plastic-free packaging and a strong culture of kindness and integrity, Smitten Merino demonstrates how fashion can be slow, local and ethical.
Social Justice & Equity Award Winner
– Living Koko
Living Koko receives the Social Justice & Equity Award for its powerful commitment to food sovereignty and community empowerment. By sourcing cacao directly from smallholder farmers in Samoa, the brand ensures fair pay, ethical practices and the preservation of traditional knowledge. Living Koko also creates safe economic pathways for women, while its youth empowerment programs across Pasifika and First Nations communities help to create resilience, connection and pride. Through this holistic approach, Living Koko demonstrates how business can be a tool for justice and equity, uplifting communities while celebrating culture. Read more about the incredible impact Living Koko is making here.
Health + Wellbeing Award Winner
– Bruxa
Bruxa is honoured with the Health + Wellbeing Award for its commitment to educating and empowering people to embrace sexual wellness as a vital part of overall health. Through body-safe, vegan formulations and a philosophy grounded in inclusivity and body literacy, the brand helps dismantle stigma and opens space for honest, respectful conversations about intimacy. By celebrating sexuality as a natural part of self-care, Bruxa is reshaping cultural attitudes and shifting to a more holistic vision of wellbeing.
Education + Empowerment Award Winner
–ECOMAX
ECOMAX receives the Education + Empowerment Award for its commitment to lifting up future generations through fair trade and learning. Handmade in Sri Lanka under Fair Trade principles, Paintee Peeps products provide sustainable employment for women while also funding education for their children. Half of all profits from the boxed sets go directly into English language classes and after-school programs, giving more than 90 children each year the skills and opportunities their mothers asked for to create brighter futures. By combining ethical employment with access to education, ECOMAX is empowering families and communities to break the cycles of poverty and thrive.
