After becoming a mum, it became particularly important to Sophie Kirkbride that the products her family used on themselves and in their home were natural, gentle and safe. Wanting to contribute to the eco-friendly mindset and behavioural changes that were already happening in society, she set to work creating Little Wild & Green, providing natural, handmade products for babies and children. At Little Wild and Green, they believe in sustainability and quality, and most of their products are handmade in South Australia. Everything they offer is natural and made from high-quality and mainly organic ingredients. Their vision is to positively contribute to a healthy planet by sharing their beautiful range of plastic-free, zero-waste and eco-friendly products with you and your little ones.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
As a family, we always had a preference for natural, organic and eco-friendly products to use for ourselves, around the home and for our family. It became especially important to me once I had babies to know that the ingredients and products that I use are natural, gentle and safe. We try, wherever we can, to reduce our plastic consumption and waste, so in terms of creating a business, the eco-friendly, sustainable and plastic-free aspect was also important to us.
When our second baby, Leon, was born in 2020 and I went on maternity leave from my office job, I had more time to make and create natural and eco-friendly products for my family. I researched and experimented with many products, but it was when I created our Organic Oat & Coconut Baby Bath Powder that I felt really inspired to start this little business in order to share it with like-minded parents.
The inspiration behind starting Little Wild & Green was always to positively contribute to the eco-friendly mindset and the behaviour change that is already happening in our society. So many mums and dads that I have connected with routinely seek to make earth-friendly choices when purchasing baby products, and they prefer supporting local, handmade and natural products over commercial big brands.
I wanted Little Wild & Green to become a space where people can find a range of natural, eco-friendly products for their babies and kids and I also wanted to create a community through my social media that inspires positive environmental change by sharing ideas, information and connecting like-minded people and businesses.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I started an Instagram account for Little Wild & Green in November 2020, where I shared some pictures and information about our Organic Oat & Coconut Bath Powder and the Recycled Cotton Wash Cloths that I handknitted to go with the bath powder for a more natural, eco-friendly bath for little ones.
Not long after, we launched a new website and online shop for Little Wild & Green and with orders starting to come in, I enjoyed that I could create the products at home in my free time and pack orders at night when the kids were asleep.
The feedback was so positive, and I enjoyed the process of creating new products, designing the packaging and taking product pictures for our Instagram account and the website. Every product that we added to the product range was inspired by our values – it had to be natural with preferably organic ingredients, eco-friendly with plastic-free and low-waste packaging and also high-quality and durable.
Over the next couple of months, we added the ‘Sweet Dreams’ Room Spray to the range, the ‘Bee Happy’ Flower Seed Mix to grow food for bees in the garden and, more recently, our own branded natural baby hair brush and the eco-friendly crayons. Every product we add is thoroughly tested and researched before we release it, as we want to make sure families love them as much as we do. What’s more, all our products and packaging are single-use plastic-free, with most of it being reusable or compostable, ensuring that our business treads lightly on the planet, while bringing joy to eco-conscious families.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
A lot of little steps along the way have felt like a breakthrough that we really stopped for and mentally celebrated: the first actual customer on the website, the first time we shipped a wholesale order out, the first time I saw our products on a store shelf, the first time another business owner approached me to collaborate, when we first hit 1000 followers on Instagram – all the firsts that when I started, I didn’t know whether or not we would achieve them at all. There has been so much encouraging feedback and support and the fact that we have built such a strong and loyal customer community from scratch, that to me feels like the biggest breakthrough.
