As all good things do, the 2022 season, has offically come to an end. There's no denying that this year has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the team and our customers here at F&F.
We've undergone a lot of change, but with this change, sparks our goals for long-term greatness. So we want to extend a huge thank you for all your support and patience as we continue to find products and solutions that are better....better for us, better for animals and better for the planet.
We ask you now to join us in reflecting on some key highlights throughout the year — read along!
Image: F&F
The Team
When we look back to last year, the first thing we are most grateful for, is being out of lockdown and able to see everyone face-face at work again. Our office moved from North Rocks, to Surry Hills — where you'll often see the team trying their hand at different vegan cafes and resturants around. With covid settling down, our team was back to attending outings together too. One of our favourites for this year, was when our team went and played Holey Moley at Funlab Pty Ltd to help raise money for headspace. We were absolutely thrilled to help raise awareness to mental health, whilst enjoying a night full of fun too! We also loved visiting the National Maritime Museum Ghost Net Exhibition as part of world clean up day — super educational!
Our warehouse move was also a big one. We moved from Sydney to Melbourne to be with our parent company, BWX. This move, has allowed us to have more backing in driving the future of conscious shopping.
On a much sadder note, our Founders Julie and Tom — made the hard decision to leave Flora & Fauna, however they continue to support us on the sidelines.
Image: F&F
Market Events
A real treat for us this year, was being able to return to the markets and attend stall events, as prior to this year the events had been cancelled due to covid.
Our team attended the Sydney Vegan Markets — a monthly event that helps showcase the incredible world of veganism, as well as bring the vegan communities of NSW together in a safe, fun and delicious way. There's also a strong importance of being eco conscious and sustainable. So we fit in perfectly. We loved chatting to new customers, but also was very happy to see some of our existing customers out and about.
The other event we attended this year, was the Sustainability Festival. This event was in line with world environment day and was made to help promote sustainable living practices. It was a great day out for the team, as they helped educate and provide tips to customers wanting to learn more.
We're linking the best sellers from both events below:
Image: F&F
Our Impact
This year, our recycling program was put on pause, as we focused on moving our warehouse to Melbourne. During this time, we decided to work on a new and improved program, one that allows you to continue to recycle your packaging with us and we hope to release it soon. Whilst we weren't able to offer our recycling program, we continued to stay proactive and launch our Second Hand September Campaign. So it was that month, we invited you to donate your second hand items to us, but we also challenged you to shop second hand as well. The aim? Ultimately, to inspire people to shop in a way that's kinder to people and the planet — so we were so glad to take part in making a positive difference and see so many clothes being brought in.
We were also very excited to introduce you to new products from brands such as: A Good Company, Birkenstock, Chow Cacao, 100% Pure, Welleco and For Purpose Recycling. We look forward to bringing you more new products in the new year, so don't forget to keep your eye out on our New Arrivals page.
Finally, we were announced the winner of the 2022 Amplify Awards in the Homegrown Hero category. The Amplify Awards celebrate Australia’s most innovative and impressive e-commerce brands, so we couldn't be more stoked!
Image: F&F
Charities
This year, on top of supporting our beloved charities, Where Pigs Fly and 1% For The Planet, we were also delighted to partner with a new foundation — Pretty Foundation — a not-for-profit that wants to see a world where girls are comfortable and confident in their bodies and themselves. Here at F&F we sell their books and all proceeds go to towards helping them with their mission, which is, stopping negative body image from forming in early childhood. You can read more about them here.
Image: Instagram/ @zacdowntoearth
Down To Earth With Zac Efron
Last, but defintely not least — we were thrilled to share the news of Flora & Fauna featuring on Down To Earth With Zac Efron on Netflix.
This was defintely a huge highlight for the team, as we not only got to meet Zac, but we were apart of something much bigger — the opportunity to bring about awareness to sustainable and vegan products to the world. This falls back to our purpose and mission — to help everyone make better choices. In the clip, Julie our Founder tours Zac and Darin around our warehouse, highlighting some cool products along the way. If you're yet to watch, we feature on episode 5 'Waste'.
So there you have it, all the above pretty much sums up our 2022 year, in review.
Thank you all again for your constant support and following us on our journey to making the world a better place. We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year!
If you want to learn about some of these key highlights in more detail, make sure to check out the blogs below:
Flora & Fauna Is On Down To Earth With Zac Efron
