Families Focus: Eco-Homemaker

What inspired you to set up the business?

We are a husband-and-wife team who decided to leave our jobs (Alex’s was in finance, and mine in the art world) as we wanted to do something entrepreneurial but more meaningful at the same time. The journey began in January 2021 when I decided to make 50 eco-friendly changes in our own home - an intense three months of swaps ensued but it was so rewarding!! Then what we realised was that our friends and family were interested in what we were doing yet would never have had the time nor inclination to test these products out themselves. This is where the idea of Eco-Homemaker was born. And of course, we had our own little testers at home by the time we launched - a 2 year old and a 5 month old baby or as we like to call them our Chief Toddler and Chief Baby testers.

What did you used to do?

As an Operations Director I helped launch a first of its kind exhibition and working space for galleries, dealers, collectors, and art professionals in central London. Before that I had my own project management company within the arts. Alex is a chartered accountant and specialised in advising entrepreneurs and small businesses in the consumer retail sector on their growth.

What motivated you to make eco changes for your family?

I read a very inspirational book (which we now sell as I can’t stop talking about it) called “The Joyful Environmentalist” by Isabel Losado, a London based author. It got me thinking about our household, and to really look at individual products more carefully. We all feel good about recycling, but actually it can really be called “wish cycling”. It’s important to look at end of life of a product, whether a product can be refilled, or up cycled. Having two children has also accelerated our desire to leave a better planet behind, and it’s key for us to play a part in doing this for them. There truly is no Planet B.

Please tell us more about your ‘change 50 things challenge’?  

I made a list of initially 10 swaps, which turned into 52 in 3 months. It ranged from simple swaps such as using compostable bin liners rather than standard plastic liners, using glass bottles with refillable sachets for our cleaning products (no need for plastic bottles which need to be purchased over and over again and include unnecessary water transportation), disposable nappies to reusable nappies for our toddler, biodegradable wipes for nappy changing, reusable wipes for messy hands and faces, organic grocery shopping via Riverford, limiting eating beef to only once a month, drinking organic oat milk rather than dairy, moving away from Natwest to the ethical bank Triodos, removing all cling film and replacing with beeswax wraps, and so on!

Please share your ideas on how families can start their own challenge?

A few quick wins:

• Swap out single use plastic for plastic free - biodegradable baby wipes instead of plastic containing wipes, compostable nappy bags instead of plastic ones, soap bars instead of shower gels, toothpaste tablets instead of toothpaste tubes

• Find products that can be reused over and over again 

• Go for naturally derived products to minimise toxins in your home.


Please tell us more about the benefits of your website (both to our readers and the benefits to the environment)?

At Eco-Homemaker eco-credentials, effectiveness and usability are all key in our product testing and selection. Our products offer our customers the ability to make those small but meaningful changes whilst ensuring they get the best performance, and importantly a really simple shopping experience offering a “one stop shop” for their family and home.

What are your favourite local places?

We love our local pubs The Jolly Farmer and The Three Oaks in Chalfont St Peter, soft play at the new Amersham Leisure centre is a big favourite at the moment, and brunch at the newly renovated barn at Peterley Manor Farm is good fun (they have a real tractor outside which our toddler is obsessed with!)

Interview in the Families Chiltern Magazine, Issue May/June 2022