Jungle Culture – sustainable homeware

Jungle Culture offers a range of unique eco-friendly alternatives to common household products to support sustainable living. Learn more about their philosophy on sustainable homeware and ethical sourcing as a zero waste brand, their relationships with local makers in Vietnam and their tips for thoughtful gift giving. 

Find Jungle Culture on Instagram

Tell us a little bit about your company? What do you offer?

At Jungle Culture we started with a small range of just a few items and we’re on our way to becoming a full service online zero waste brand! We always stick to our philosophy of ethical sourcing and visit most producers in person before we commit to investing in their project. When we can’t do so, because of COVID, we send our employee in Vietnam to meet the makers. Here’s a few of our most popular items:

Safety razors & shaving soaps, Coconut bowls, Bamboo cutlery, Bamboo kitchen brushes and Wooden cups

How did you get into creating products for sustainable homeware?

My business partner Chris and I were working on separate e-commerce ventures in 2017, but both ventures were selling quite boring products that didn’t exactly fill us with enthusiasm. We got together and decided that we wanted to make a positive change in the world, and it just so happened that at the time, Chris was in Vietnam where many local businesses use bamboo straws. We thought, why not try them in the UK? And here we are!

Why do you think it’s important to support small businesses?

There are so many reasons why supporting small businesses is important. Every time you buy from a small business you’re not only putting a smile on the face of a hard-working entrepreneur, you’re also putting money into the pocket of local people who in turn use local services and employ local people. We live in a circular economy and we need to make sure that we’re using our money wisely!

What do you think makes a great gift?

Great gifts are targeted at the receiver. If the person who you’re gifting to is into baths, relaxation and wellness then they might appreciate a coconut shell candle, if they’re always travelling and eating street food then they may prefer a bamboo cutlery set!

What are your top tips for finding the right gift for someone?

Spend some time listening to them now, talking to them about their interests, their hobbies and their goals. You should be able to pick up some good clues about what they’d like to receive as a gift. We’re entering October, so you’ve got a few months to think about it!

Another good tip is not to always buy physical gifts. I often buy experiences as gifts and then you get to spend some quality time with the receiver!

What are your recommendations for favourite places to buy gifts?

For experiences, Airbnb is very good! There’s loads of brilliant adventures on their platform, home and abroad.

For physical gifts, I am a very big fan of Etsy. Etsy is a large company that supports small businesses, has fair practices and you can find some real unique products on their platform.

What is the best gift you have ever received?

My girlfriend is a photographer and she once had a photo album of all of our adventures printed, with personalised descriptions of what we were doing under every photo. That is definitely an item that I will keep for the rest of my life.

For me, it’s clear the enthusiasm and commitment that Jungle Culture has for providing eco-friendly alternatives and sustainable swaps to everyday household items. Looking through their online shop I was impressed by the thoughtful details provided. It really helps people understand the positive impacts that simple swaps can have on themselves as well as the environment and I think that shows a respect for their customers which is lovely to see. 

I actually stumbled across Jungle Culture last year when I bought a set of bamboo cutlery for my friend’s Birthday. She is vegan and often has long commutes and I thought this would be a practical and thoughtful gift for her to make use of everyday.  The Bamboo kitchen brushes instantly caught my attention too, given the amount of time I spend in the kitchen baking, so I think I’ll be picking one of these up for myself. 

Looking for other sustainable gift ideas? Take a look at my curated list of vegan goodies sold by a variety of Etsy sellers. It’s worth a look.