To celebrate all the brains behind  Irish wellness brands we wanted to delve deeper into the beginnings behind each one! Today we chat to Sarah & Oscar from Ecoset. 

1. What is Ecoset’s mission statement?

Our mission is simple.  Accelerate the use of reusable products. Reduce the use of single use plastics. Work to keep our oceans and coastlines plastic free for future generations.  We are passionate about our mission so we teamed up with Clean Coasts www. http://cleancoasts.org to support them and all the great work they do protecting and keeping the Irish coastline and waterways litter free.  We are very proud of this collaboration.

2. Where did you get the inspiration for your brand?

We also run a production company called Location Fixer Ireland – which offers international productions filming in Ireland essential production support, local crew and location scouting services for their productions.  As with most TV and Film productions the person count on set can be over the 100’s including all of the cast and crew, so single use plastics especially plastic water bottles can quickly mount up. It was always something we struggled with personally on set, especially when we were filming in some of Ireland’s most remote and epic locations.  At the end of 2019 we decided to ensure that all productions we were linked with worked in a more eco-friendly manner.  First step was to get rid of plastic water bottles.  This is where our idea for Ecoset stemmed from.  After COVID hit last year many of our US productions were put on hold and we had some down time to focus on Ecoset fully.  We decided to pivot our idea and brand to go out to the general consumer with the focus for Ecoset being an Eco-friendly mindset. Drink Differently. Think Differently. 

3. What’s your favourite product of yours?

Sarah- My favourite product and the one I use all day every day is my Ecoset 12 oz Tumbler in snow.  I use it for my coffee in the mornings the insulation and slide lid keeps coffee hot for hours. Even if I pour my first coffee at 7am and potter around our busy household getting kids breakfast etc it’s still warm hours later.  In the evening I use it for a nice gold Gin and Tonic.  The double walled insulation means that ice takes hours to melt so it’s really perfect for this too.

Oscar – For me it’s my Flasket in our Ocean colour.  I use it every day for keeping my water chilled all day. I definitely drink way more water daily because of this.   It was especially great in the summer when I was playing tennis at our local Greystones club, water stayed cold for hours even in the summer sun.  It also fits perfectly in our car holder.

4. What are some of your favourite brands in your industry?

There are lots of really cool eco brands emerging in Ireland.  Lots of innovated ideas on how to reuse and recycle left over materials.  One really cool brand we came across on our staycation last summer was a brand Mamukko based in Kinsale in Cork.  They make amazing bags from salvaged materials, like old sails from boats or old airplane seat straps.  The craftsmanship that goes into each bag is very skilled and each bag is unique. They have won lots of awards and rightly so. www.mamukko.ie

5. What has running your own business taught you?

Running your own business is always challenging.  You rarely have any down time, its 7 days a week.  We only launched in November 2020 so we have to do everything ourselves…you are the Marketeer, the managing director, the customer service person, the delivery person, the engraver…it can be exhausting but hugely rewarding.  We make a great team and have found our flow.  Oscar runs operations and does all of the laser engraving himself here in our workshop in Greystones and Sarah works on product development, corporate, marketing and social media.  It has been especially challenging in level 5 with schools closed as we are also home-schooling our two boys 9 and 11.

6. What do you think is the next big thing in the world of health and wellness?

I think the big thing with health and wellness at the moment is caring for and protecting our mental health.  COVID has really shown us that our health both physical and mental should be prioritised.  If it’s not all other things in life are hugely challenging.    The really positive thing to come out of the last year is that we are all spending more times outdoors with nature, hiking and sea swimming etc and not just commuting to and from work like robots.  I think people have seen the benefits of being outdoors in nature and the impact this has in their daily lives.  The working world has changed for the better.

7. Who is your biggest health and wellness inspiration?

We have been all year-round sea swimmers for the past 5 years.  We try to jump in the sea daily in the summer and weekly in the winter.  I am very inspired by the daily sea swimming group in Greystones some who are in the 60’ and 70’s who have been swimming every day for years much longer than when it became Dryrobe cool.  They meet at the men’s cove every morning and when I can join them, I feel so inspired.  Its lovely to see the sun rise, have a dip and have chats with your coffee after the swim. With our love of sea swimming, we decided to launch the Ecoset Robe and Ecoset towel poncho this year and these will be available online in March. https://www.theecoset.com/products/ecoset-robe

https://www.theecoset.com/collections/ecoset-robes/products/ecoset-towel-changing-poncho