1. My Naked Bar

Are you looking for a soap that is both gentle on the skin and made from natural ingredients? Look no further as My Naked Bar is here!

Li Ting first started making soap bars as she wanted to make a useful and practical gift for her child’s teachers. This one-off activity soon turned into a business as Li Ting was inspired to make a change in society and thought making soaps with natural and eco-friendly materials could effectively preach for climate change, thus giving birth to My Naked Bar.

Each bar of soap from My Naked Bar is made from scratch by using Li Ting’s own formulation of plant-based oils. Hence, they are more moisturizing compared to other commercially made bar soaps, making them suitable for people with sensitive skin.

My Naked Bar offers a variety of different scented soaps, ranging from Pink Salt, Turmeric, and even Stout Beer Soaps. Each bar of soap provides different benefits to the skin and the variety of exotic scents makes them a perfect gift to impress friends with.

All Soap Bars are packaged with upcycled milk cartons to reduce waste and communicate a message about climate change, making the whole product, even down to its packaging, eco-friendly!

2. Zero Multiple

Are you tired of scouring through multiple cosmetic products on the market, only to find out that they may do little good to your skin? Here comes Zero Multiple, a one-stop shop for all zero-chemical cosmetic products!

Started up by Judith in 2017, Zero Multiple offers cosmetic products with naturally-sourced ingredients. Judith noticed that most cosmetic products found in stores were chemical-based and did little to improve her skin and overall look. Feeling cheated, she decided to take an action and create safe makeup and skincare products with natural ingredients.

Instead of applying petrochemical-infused products on your face, why not try alternatives like Zero Multiple’s BB Face Powder, which consists of Thanaka and Pearl powder that have years of cosmetic origins? Or perhaps has a go with their Wasabi Skin Sanitiser, which is made of wasabi extract and specialises in treating eczema and other harmful skin bacteria?

These products all contain ingredients that are safe for use on the skin, such as lemons, Job’s tears and wasabi extract. The formulas have been tested and fine-tuned before being released for sale, as they have to be made suitable for a variety of skin tones and conditions like acne or eczema.

With such thought and care put in, why not support the cause and purchase Zero Multiple products too?

3. Ohmmm Care

With health and environmental challenges on the rise as a result of plastic pollution, founder Daniel’s desire to spark a change in the personal care products market came to fruition with Ohmmm Care; products made of quality natural ingredients with plastic-free packaging.

Home to eco-friendly and sustainable products such as The Canopy Series; salon-grade award-winning water-activated powder shampoo and conditioner bar, Ohmmm’s Canopy Powder shampoo takes on a solid form, yet rinses off more easily & cleanly, delivering the same smoothness, and leaves your hair feeling soft.

The powder formula is made friendly for all hair types, especially those with sensitive, damaged, or delicate scalps, which is one of Ohmmm Care’s standout factors compared to other hair care products.

4. Ecoline

Have you ever finished a can drink just to throw the can away? Have you wondered what else could you do with the aluminium can? Now, wonder no more as Ecoline is here to showcase the use of seemingly useless packaging!

Motivated by the urge to educate the public about the environment, Ee Qiang started Ecoline to showcase how trash can be upcycled into something both beautiful and useful.

Ee Qiang started upcycling in 2013 and his first product was a newspaper bowl but after years of practice and overseas experience, he has branched out and made more complicated items like aluminium handbags and earrings.

Ee Qiang’s passion about the environment does not simply stop at making upcycled products. He has a YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/eqkuah, teaching viewers how to create their own upcycled products. He is also a Mathematics teacher at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School and active in the school’s Green Club CCA, teaching his students how to do better for the environment. 

Do visit Ecoline to see how some can turn seemingly useless trash into beautiful treasure!

5. The Plastic Project

Reusable, durable and aesthetically pleasing coasters, karabinas, jewellery, all made out of plastic? You guessed it!

With the hyper production and consumption of plastics in Singapore, The Plastic Project aims to tackle the problem of plastic pollution by turning single use plastics donated from members of the community into reusable, functional goods that you can use for a long period of time.

Through a game of Dota, two ambitious individuals, Amber Soong and Yew Jin Lee, met and formed The Plastic Project. Amber was a scuba diving instructor, who did a lot of underwater exploration. When exploring, she could not help but notice the concerning amount of plastics in the ocean. Yew Jin Lee enjoys tinkering with materials and creating items out of scraps. The first mini-project he had was making guitar picks for his band members. Paul Lee, the marketing director of The Plastic Project believes that waste is not something one disposes of into the bin, but the goods that are not actually being reused.

With the same goal and ambition to make The Plastic Project a household name, these three individuals hope to be able to increase the recycling rate from 4% to 4.0001%, and encourage effective recycling and informed decision-making among consumers like you, through this project. Through educational workshops, pop-up booths, seminars and beach cleaning, The Plastic Project aims to push the effort to educate the public about recycling and close the plastic loop in Singapore.

The Plastic Project is constantly upscaling its production line, to come up with more workspace, to make more products that consumers can expect. From karabinas, coasters, combs, and accessories, to products such as crockery and furniture.

Visit www.ThePlasticProject.sg and The Plastic Project socials to find out more about all that The Plastic Project has to offer!

So, what are you waiting for? Come down to the Zero Market on the first and third weekends every month, at Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre, 30A Yishun Central 1, Singapore 768796, and treat yourself with sustainable goods while meeting the various inspiring vendors!

This piece was produced as part of the Diploma in Mass Communication of the Republic Polytechnic in collaboration with the Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre.

Writer: Irnny binte Irman, Han Xinyi & Tay Fong Qing
Photographer: Daniel Bryan Baylon Macapinlac; Subha Lakshmi D/O Nilavazhagan & Han Xinyi