Sophie is sharing that journey with the world, using her growing TikTok platform, where she amassed over 318,000 followers, to educate and inspire people to live lighter on the planet. Her blend of transparency, creativity and conviction has made her a rare voice in the retail world, proving that sustainability can be a product offering and most importantly, a way of life. We caught up with Sophie to find out how her personal evolution is influencing Seed & Sprout’s future, and what it really takes to live your brand from the ground up. Inside Retail: You’ve made some big lifestyle changes in recent years, like building your own tiny home in an effort to move off-grid. What motivated that shift, and how has it influenced how you run Seed & Sprout? Sophie Kovic: I’m always trying to find harmony between what my desires tell me and what my actions are doing. When I made the choice to build my tiny home, I was living a stressed-out lifestyle in an apartment, and I knew there had to be a better way. Right now, I split my time between my tiny home and apartment living – as the juggle with children and work life is real!  But the plan for the future is to eventually live there full time – The off-grid farm life aligns perfectly with my values! I’ve always believed that localising many of the commodities we use in our day-to-day life, pooling resources, lowering the cost of living and lowering the impact on the environment around us is critically important. So, when I saw a way that I could do that, I jumped at the opportunity.  IR: How closely does your personal lifestyle feed into the choices you make for the business? Do you find that living sustainably day-to-day helps shape your product ideas or priorities? SK: I’m a firm believer that real change starts at home! This means my personal day-to-day life really mimics the ethos of Seed & Sprout, that is, not only do less harm but do more good. By working towards living my brand’s mission every single day, it means that I’m also working towards leading with integrity, vision and heart. Hopefully, this can be a powerful reminder for everyone that business can be a force for good.  At Seed & Sprout, we are continuously looking at ways we can restore and protect the place we call home – and that effort doesn’t stop when I walk out the office doors. I like to think it’s a mindset that we all live by (myself, and everyone who works at Seed & Sprout). In terms of how this mindset shapes product ideas and priorities, well, it’s quite simple really! Our team is a really diverse group and often our ideas for products come from problems we face. Our approach is really solution-oriented, how can we make something easier to inspire change that leaves less of an impact on our planet? We really understand our customers and that helps inform our design choices.       IR: There’s a lot of talk about sustainability in retail, but it can sometimes feel more like marketing than real action. How do you keep Seed & Sprout grounded in genuine impact? SK: This certainly is a pain point of mine, when it feels like the word ‘sustainability’ is being thrown around because it’s a box a brand can tick! It can feel very tokenistic when brands promote their ‘sustainability’ efforts, especially if when you delve deeper it doesn’t all add up.  Unfortunately, greenwashing is rife across many industries, especially in homes and beauty spaces. It’s incredibly important to us that we consider the entire impact of a product and our aim is to always have a solution for end of life of a product; Be that our silicone take back program or designing products that are recyclable or home compostable (from the packaging of the product to the actual item and how we dispatch the order from the warehouse.  Our cleaning range is a great example; there is zero waste!   Our team is so passionate about constantly educating ourselves and looking for new processes or materials so that we can improve. I understand that it can be difficult to be a truly sustainable brand, so my advice is the same advice I’d give to customers; Do the very best you can. Which also means being authentic about your practices and not intentionally duping customers with vague or misleading claims.  It’s not enough to say you’re a sustainable brand if down the supplier line, one of your suppliers isn’t, you absolutely need to do your research. Yes, it can be a lot more work, and cost a lot more. Running an ethical company is expensive but it’s a core part of our brand, our DNA and our promise to customers. This is one of the non-negotiables for us – our team is extremely passionate about this and it’s part of everything we do.   We know that our community and our customers are trusting us to do the right thing. This is why every decision big or small is made with sustainability in mind. Cutting corners is cost-effective and doing things with integrity just costs more. IR: You’ve built a big online following by sharing your journey. Has telling your personal story helped people connect more deeply with the brand? SK: I think people appreciate that I’m really trying to practice what I preach. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect when it comes to sustainability, but I do make a very conscious effort to do the best I can for the planet. This balanced approach is something my followers really connect with, and of course, they appreciate any educational content that can help them make practical changes.  I don’t ever want anyone to ever feel stressed about the idea of sustainability, or get eco-anxiety, instead, I hope that people can follow my lead when it comes to the good I’m trying to do. Our customers alone have stopped over half a million plastic bottles from going into landfill from our solid shampoo bar range alone. I’m also mindful that trying to take on a zero-waste lifestyle all at once can be overwhelming, so my advice for everyone is to just start somewhere, even if that has to be baby steps!  IR: What’s next for you and Seed & Sprout? Are there any new projects or goals on the horizon that you’re excited about, particularly in terms of sustainability? SK: We are continually working on our product range so expect to see more exciting new products hit our shelves! These products are innovative when it comes to sustainability and quite simply, aim to make everyone’s life easier.