We can safely say that sustainability is no longer a buzz word or trendy topic. As people become increasingly invested in practices that preserve the earth and its natural resources, sustainable methods and products are setting standards for purveyors and consumers across the world. In honor of Earth Day, we’re showcasing five Southern vendors who highlight regional influence while fostering global sustainability.
Female-owned, Charlotte-based Sweet’s Elderberry is on a mission to protect people’s health through elderberries, a simple yet powerful antioxidant. They package their syrups, shrubs, tinctures, and extracts in sustainable, reusable material that includes creative ideas for other ways to repurpose it at home. Additionally, the business partners with Charlotte’s Crown Town Compost to find a alternative uses for the elderberry mash and other byproducts of their business.
The team behind Liber & Co. seeks out cordials, syrups, and mixers that matched the quality of those at top-tier bars. Along with their carefully tested recipes, these folks obsess over the raw ingredients that go into their products. From Texas to Peru, they sought out high quality purveyors who don't believe in cutting corners form lasting partnerships with them.
New in 2022, this Charleston-based honey producer partnered with Kiawah River Farms, a resort community built on a farm-to-table lifestyle—or, an “agrihood,” as they call themselves. Edisto Gold places hives along the Kiawah River. Doing this not only provides their "Lowcountry liquid gold" to the resort community’s residents and guests, but it also promotes pollination within the agrihood’s shared agriculture program.
Drought resistant and infusing nitrogen back into the soil, peanuts are one of the most sustainable nuts to produce. They require a fifth of the water that almonds do to grow, which makes them a reliable source of nutrition in their native west Africa. Grown in the hot summer and early fall in southeastern Virginia, peanuts allow the small farms that Hubs partners with to conserve water, which makes them less demanding on natural resources than other crops.
Bivalve aficionado Rifko Meier believes that everyone should experience a taste of local oysters. He puts this to practice to play through Oysters XO, which ships bushels of fresh oysters curated depending on the customer’s location. Oysters act as natural water purifiers, so supporting close-to-home oyster farmers promotes healthy waterways throughout the South.
