Power couple: CICON x Koala Eco

How does CICON fit with your business objectives?

What we do at Koala Eco actually harmonises perfectly with what CICON is all about. Essentially, as purpose-driven and environmentally aware businesses, we are each responding to a growing desire to create and manage more sustainable lifestyles. Both companies help people to live more mindfully, reduce waste, and consequently play a more active part in appreciating and protecting this wonderful but vulnerable planet we all share. What we do at Koala Eco actually harmonises perfectly with what CICON is all about.Essentially, as purpose-driven and environmentally aware businesses, we are each responding to a growing desire to create and manage more sustainable lifestyles. Both companies help people to live more mindfully, reduce waste, and consequently play a more active part in appreciating and protecting this wonderful but vulnerable planet we all share.

We’re even aligned with CICON’s objectives at a product development level. We’ve been lab testing (never on animals of course) and developing new natural formulas for garment and laundry care, including a gentle liquid wash with Rosalina (Melaleuca ericifolia) that caters specifically for delicate, luxury fabrics like silk and lace and so on. The essential oils in native botanicals are just extraordinary: they have strong antibacterial and antifungal properties, but are also incredibly gentle on the premium materials used in luxury fashion. The CICON app matches Koala Eco with products in your wardrobe so that you can be assured that your garments are cared for in the best way for their composition and in the most eco-friendly way. So in terms of our ethos and what we actually deliver to market, we’re all set to support the CICON mission to move fashion consumers towards a more circular mindset.

Why did you choose to partner with CICON?

Koala Eco makes safe, powerful, plant-based household and personal care products, and we do this not only so that people can have clean homes and bodies, but also so that they can have ‘clean minds.’ What we mean by that refers to the feeling that comes with choosing products that are totally safe and eco-friendly. This partnership with CICON felt like a natural fit. We were impressed with CICON’s ethos, their desire to slow down fashion consumption and help people reframe their approach to managing, caring for, and extending the life of the luxury items in their wardrobes. This encouragement of positive behavioural change aligns so well with our ethos. And, as a predominantly online retailer, we also love the creative use of technology that CICON is developing with their circular concierge app.

What has been your experience of the partnership to date?

It’s very early days, so really we’ve just been engaged in a really warm and constructive dialogue about strategy and alignment. It’s really been about identifying the opportunities that lie ahead of us to support each other's business goals and enhance the benefits to all our customers.

What would you say to other retailers who are looking for an innovative partnership that will boost their sustainability creds?

If you do it for the sake of ‘window dressing,’ and your company ethos and values do not truly align on a deep level, your customers will immediately see right through it. For enterprises like CICON and Koala Eco - operating in the retail, environmental and wellbeing space - trust is the most important part of our relationship with our customers.

So we have to be absolutely comfortable and transparent with our partnership decisions. These decisions resonate way beyond establishing credibility and generating more sales.