Expo West 2014 NEXTY Award nominees: Beauty and natural living
March 11, 2014
![Expo West 2014 NEXTY Award nominees: Beauty and natural living Expo West 2014 NEXTY Award nominees: Beauty and natural living](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltafc06db067aebac6/64cbf83cdb0bcc7a8de33eaa/NewHopeNetwork_Horizontal_RGB.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Nontoxic sun care has received increasing attention recently due to bad press about conventional sunscreen chemicals, such as oxybenzone. Goddess Garden's innovative approach to clean sun care sparked hot launches, including a sheer, mineral-based spray-on sunscreen. Convenient, effective options like this will continue to fuel the growth of safe, natural sun-protection alternatives.
This beauty line stands out thanks to its unique blend of ancient alchemy (including the use of energizing crystals and colors) and modern beauty, with ingredients sourced from its own certified biodynamic farm and including plant-based ingredients such as spelt oil.
Caboo's sugarcane and bamboo paper products stand out because of their strength, functionality and texture. Whitened without chlorine bleach, the items have a soft-to-the-touch texture that many eco-friendly paper products lack, while matching them for resource conservation. Bamboo and sugarcane are both more sustainable than hardwood trees because they're quick-growing grasses and don't require replanting. Plus, Caboo's sugarcane is actually the dry, fibrous waste product that remains after the sweet juice is extracted. It's toilet-paper treasure made out of would-be trash!
This is natural personal care at its most convenient. The innovative folks at Clean George have repackaged medicinal salves—typically a pot of greenish, dubious-smelling goop—into sophisticated twist-up sticks. No greasy fingers! Named after the founder’s father, this awesome company has four Leaping Bunny Certified products that remedy stuffy noses, stressful situations, chapped skin, bug bites and more. Plus, 10 percent of profits go to the company’s nonprofit, Clean George Shares the Love, that assists families and individuals "who truly need a little help" (paying bills, buying groceries, funding a dream).
Flaska combines two trends in drinkware: using glass or steel instead of plastic and on-the-go, integrated water purification systems. But this bottle stands out because Flaska’s reusable glass bottles claim to purify water through "vibrational restructuring"--meaning silicone's inherent "remembering" properties restructure water to a purified form when the water molecules contact the glass. Just as natural spring water is restructured as it cascades down rocks, this bottle purifies water as you walk, shake or twist, using zero added material. How cool is that?
Designed by a mother with the intent of creating safer products for her children, I Play products focus on protecting babies on the outside (bathing suits, clothes) while Green Sprouts focuses on protecting babies internally from harmful off-gases and toxins found in plastics and other materials. The company offers an impressive variety of well-designed, well-thought-out products, including a multi-layer bottle made from several materials, including plastic and chemically inert glass, to protect children from contaminants. The products’ versatility (turning from a bottle into a sip cup for example) is a major plus for families with children of different ages.
Pet Naturals of Vermont has been around for a while but new branding and the most frank labeling in the natural pet industry make the Vermont company an attention grabber. Products like “Smelly Cat” with the tagline “Hug your cat again” and “Skoot Bars” (think about your dog and your carpet) bring a refreshing break from the puppies running across meadows we commonly see in pet-industry marketing. Owning a pet can be a messy affair and Pet Naturals confronts that reality head-on. A hairball chew anyone?
Tackling one of the natural beauty industry’s trickiest ingredients, Symrise is a leading supplier of nontoxic, plant-based fragrances that meet NPA’s “natural” standard for personal care products. Tapping one of the hottest trends in the organic food space, it launched a line of juice-inspired scents at Expo West that are soon bound to appear in a range of finished goods.
The idea: If kids learn to really enjoy brushing their teeth, the habit becomes ingrained early—no battles, no slacking. Unfortunately most all-natural toothpastes are a tough sell for young taste buds. This organic, nontoxic and superfun toothpaste for kids, from an Australian company, actually tastes good enough to eat. Boosted with organic caledula and natural flavors (banana, blueberry, etc.), there’s no gluten, animal byproducts, fake colors, palm oil derivatives, fluoride, GMOs or sugar (of course). The toothpastes also boast a perfect "0" score on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep safety rating database. Oh, and did we mention the branding is as cute as a bug’s ear?
Method leads the natural cleaning product category in its top-to-bottom commitment to green business. The company's products are entirely plant-based, with all packaging made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. Method also started an Ocean Plastics campaign to collect and repurpose ocean-polluting waste into its packaging. More green business cred includes B-Corp and Cradle to Cradle Certification.
ChicoBag exists “to help humanity bag the single-use habit” with reusable bags for every single occasion and purpose. Its designs are incredibly versatile--one bag can transform from a tote to a backpack to a bicycle saddlebag, all made from post-consumer products and recyclables. The company also walks the sustainable walk; its headquarters participates in a waste-diversion program that enables the entire office to produce less waste than the average single American per month. Plus, ChicoBag's Zero-Waste collection program enables anyone to send in old bags or other materials that are then transformed into products.
Fresh, sexy branding on products such as personal lubricants, playful oils and private-parts cleansers positions Good Clean Love as the new, healthy option for sexual health products. What's more, third-party research that supports Good Clean Love products as excellent alternatives for sexual health makes this brand a leader to watch in an increasingly important, and traditionally overlooked, natural product category.
This Salida, Colorado-based company gets a NEXTY nomination for its holistic solution to insomnia. So many people suffer from sleep deprivation, and it affects mood, health and mindset (not to mention food choices). In addition to offering luxe organic cotton and eucalyptus-fiber sheets, Sacred Sleep debuts four organic intention teas, designed to be sipped mindfully throughout the day. Our fave flavor is Drift—a caffeine-free blend of chamomile, rose petals, lavender and lemon. Insomnia—and many other health conditions—should be treated with similar wholeness.
Who wants to slather icky petroleum products on their new (and possibly still smarting) body art? Enter Ohana Organics' lovely tattoo butter; it’s certified organic, vegan (in other words, no beeswax, which clogs pores), and contains organic healing herbs that the founder infuses into oils and then blends into clean, healthy shea butter. It’s a soothing nontoxic cream you can apply during and after tattoo application, as well as to brighten colors. Hip and healthy!
How cool would it be if plastic toothbrushes—4.7 billion of them every year—became a thing of the past? This eco-conscious company makes fully plant-based, vegan toothbrushes, plus goes the extra mile with biodegradable and recyclable packaging (even the “plastic” inside wrapper is compostable). And check out those cool bamboo straws—another thing we’d love to see take hold across the world. Just say no to plastic!
A brand truly dedicated to clean, conscious business. SoapBox Soaps keeps raising the (soap) bar for do-good natural companies, first introducing its one-for-one model with its line of natural soaps; now, every purchase from its new line of natural body wash provides a year’s worth of vitamins for a child in need. The company was also the winner of the 2014 NEXT Accelerator Pitch Slam at Expo West. Here's to a healthy, vibrant future for Soapbox Soaps!
This Oregon-based company takes growing your own groceries to a whole new level. Seedballz are based on a Native American method of sowing seeds. Seeds are embedded in balls made of more seeds, red clay and soil humus. Just set the ball atop soil and water it; no need to bury. Before long, the seeds will germinate and you'll have anything from gorgeous flowers to delicious vegetables.
Preserve, a pioneer in the natural living category, operates with a sustainable business model that allows it to create housewares (everything from toothbrushes to chopping boards) from post-consumer recycled plastics. The company gets its plastics from yogurt cups through collection programs and a partnership with Stonyfield yogurts. Preserve also incorporates a Life Cycle Assessment to measure the environmental impact of a product from beginning to end, giving the company a direct understanding of how its entire business affects the environment and the safety of its consumers.
This oral-care company, founded by a dentist, takes a new look at our mouths as mini ecosystems, with beneficial bacteria playing a crucial role. The toothpaste, called "bio-positive" (rather than bio-negative or bio-neutral) for its purported benefits, is a patented blend of antioxidants, micronutrients, herbal extracts and homeopathic salts that is safe to ingest and is free of harsh detergents and chemicals common in conventional products.
Truce's back-to-basics approach to cleaning is refreshing in a crowded and increasingly specialized category. The company's three main products will clean your entire house, and each product contains only a handful of nontoxic, easy-to-recognize ingredients. Essential oils impart a fresh scent that's far from the headache-inducing smells in chemical-filled cleaners. Bold, clean labels clearly list all ingredients for ultra-transparency.
This renowned, socially responsible clothing company goes above and beyond to connect with suppliers and source materials. Maggie’s Organics commits to supporting the workers, communities and farmers involved with producing its clothes, including a focused effort to revitalize the textile and cotton industry of a small community in North Carolina. Its use of organic cotton sourced from cooperative family farmers in Nicaragua is just one more example of what makes a standard-bearer for the organic industry.
Tackling a huge problem from the bottom up, GroVia created a system of reusable diaper products that make cloth diapering doable for the busy modern parent, all while using environmentally sustainable practices. The pretty, well-designed cloth diapers are sourced from natural materials like organic cotton. And while most other "eco-friendly" biodegradable diapers are still one-time-use, GroVia provides a whole product lineup that allows parents to either quit the disposable-diaper habit entirely or transition away from disposables with biodegradable liners and inserts.
Green Toys makes children’s playthings entirely from post-consumer recycled material (think milk bottles melted down and remade into Tonka trucks). All products are made in California, where toy safety regulations and environmental laws are famously strict. In addition to using post-consumer plastics, Green Toys' commitment to domestic manufacturing reduces greenhouse-gas emissions by cutting the distance from product creation to store shelf. This is the future of toys!
Green Toys makes children’s playthings entirely from post-consumer recycled material (think milk bottles melted down and remade into Tonka trucks). All products are made in California, where toy safety regulations and environmental laws are famously strict. In addition to using post-consumer plastics, Green Toys' commitment to domestic manufacturing reduces greenhouse-gas emissions by cutting the distance from product creation to store shelf. This is the future of toys!
New Hope Natural Media is pleased to introduce this year's 23 NEXTY nominees in the natural living category, which includes natural beauty and personal care, household and pet products.
Every year at Natural Products Expo West, New Hope's editors and trend researchers partner with the Sterling-Rice Group to find the products and brands they predict will shape the future of the natural products industry. The best of the best receive NEXTY nominations, which recognize the companies that represent not only the most innovative edge of the natural products industry, but also its deeply held social and environmental values. Here's our list of all 105 NEXTY nominees for 2014.
Take a look and then vote for your favorite brands on our NEXTY polling page.
In June, our team of researchers will announce the Editor’s Choice winners in the food and beverage, supplements, and natural living categories. But, our opinions only mean so much; we also want to recognize the brands you think deserve a NEXTY Award! So head over to our NEXTY voting page and cast your vote for those companies you think are doing the most to shape a healthy future for natural products. Voting is now open and closes May 26. Access the NEXTY voting page here.
The Editor’s Choice and Popular Vote winners will be profiled in our 2015 NEXT Forecast report, which publishes in June. We will also have an awards ceremony for the NEXTY winners at Natural Products Expo East, Sept. 18-20 in Baltimore.
The NEXT Forecast report is a joint venture between New Hope and Boulder, Colo.-based Sterling-Rice Group. Check out nextforecast.com to learn more about this premier insider’s guide to where the natural products market is now—and where it's headed.
The NEXTY Awards and NEXT Forecast are part of New Hope's NEXT suite of products, which were created to support and accelerate innovation within the natural products industry. Learn more at nextknows.com.
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