Right at Home with Ecodownunder
Carlie Wacker discovers a brand that has brought three decades of conviction (and very good sets of sheets) to the Sunshine Coast.
There’s a luxury in getting into bed and wrapping yourself in sheets that are cool, soft and buttery against your skin. Walk into Ecodownunder at Peregian Beach and that’s what you’ll find – natural woods, stacks of organic cotton, a vibe that is more ‘retreat’ than retail.
It has been a year since the doors opened on the brand’s first Queensland store, joining a small but deliberately chosen group across Sydney and, most recently, Bowral. Here, in a coastal town that likes its luxury with an organic edge, Ecodownunder is right at home.
The business began in 1997, when ‘sustainability’ was emerging as a corporate buzzword, making founder Russell Lamb an early adopter. For him, living a sustainable life was an obvious choice – one he thought would catch on.
“Three decades later, we’re still educating people about sustainability as an essential life choice,” he says.
The name carries the philosophy: eco, because sustainability was the point from day one; and downunder, because while the rest of the industry was heading offshore to make everything out of plastic, Ecodownunder decided to make what it could at home.
Roughly a third of the range is still manufactured in Australia including quilts, pillows and mattress toppers while sheets and towels come from long-standing partners in India where quality can be genuinely controlled rather than hoped for.
From the beginning Russell says that everything they did was a world first, largely because nobody else was doing anything at all.
“Back then ‘eco-friendly’ was a cottage-industry: a small farmer, a small spinner, a small weave and a price tag that put it out of reach,” he says.
Russell’s view was that if you wanted to change how people lived, you couldn’t ask them to pay a fortune for the privilege. So, they set a target: a sustainable queen-size sheet set for under $100 that wouldn’t cost the earth in either sense. They bought five tonnes of organic cotton and became the first to manufacture it commercially, at scale. Twenty-five years later the sheets come from the same factory and they’re still $99!
When asked why sustainability matters so much to him, Russell doesn’t reach for a mission statement. Instead, he talks about being a kid – fishing, selling his catch to the local fish and chip shop and watching the water get quietly emptied out over years. Then watching it come back once it was managed properly with marine parks, sensible limits and people paying more attention to the environment.
“There’s always a better way to do things,” he says “And it’s not much more complicated than that.”
The shop epitomises sustainability. Russell finds a piece of timber he likes, sands it, seals it, and it becomes a shelf. No laminate, no harsh chemicals, nothing synthetic just a retail space that lives with nature and a business that feels like home for staff and customers. It’s laid-back luxury that feels perfectly at home on the Sunshine Coast. Oh, and Russell was absolutely right when he claimed their $99 signature sheets were the best you’ll ever sleep on. They feel like heaven.
ECO EXCELLENCE
From the bedroom to the bathroom, kitchen and beyond, Ecodownunder stocks a wide range of sustainable luxury products that are perfect for our environment.
Visit www.ecodownunder.com.au to shop the range or visit the Peregian Beach showroom.
