We are excited to announce that our Sand Brush has just received the Gold Award in the Kids Accessories category, along with the Editor's Choice Award in the prestigious Clean + Conscious Awards. And we couldn't be prouder!
And when we say proud, we mean of the talented artisans who craft this beautiful product.
]]>Thrilled is an understatement. In June, our Sand Brush was announced as a finalist in the prestigious Clean + Conscious Awards and we were absolutely chuffed. The Clean + Conscious Awards celebrate products that work in perfect harmony with our bodies, our environment, and our society.
Now, we are excited to announce that our Sand Brush has just received the Gold Award in the Kids Accessories category, along with the Editor's Choice Award. And we couldn't be prouder!
And when we say proud, we mean of the talented artisans who craft this beautiful product.
As a company, commitment to implementing sustainable and ethical practices wherever we can, our journey to create the ultimate sand removal brush has been an exciting one.
When we delved into the design of our humble little brush, we were guided by our commitment to protecting our environment. Our aim was to use the most sustainable materials possible.
The result is a beach Sand Brush that not only stands out for being eco-conscious it also boasts exceptional functionality, brushing sand from adults, kids, pets, surfboards, beach gear, even car upholstery, carpet and more!
The brush is crafted from hard-wearing sustainably sourced rubberwood and features a beautiful combination of coconut husk and jute fiber bristles. These natural plant fibers are not only renewable but also biodegradable.
We collaborate with Import Ants, a Fair Trade certified company located in Sydney. They work with artisans in Fair Trade communities in Sri Lanka to create our Sand Brush, which is produced in accordance with the 10 Fair Trade principles and ensures a transparent supply chain with fair wages for workers.
We take pride in sourcing our Sand Brush ethically from Sri Lanka, where it's handmade by skilled artisans. When you buy fair trade products from Sri Lanka, you contribute to the well-being of these artisans and their communities in several ways:
In a world where conscious consumerism is gaining momentum, products like our Sand Brush demonstrate how functionality and sustainability can go hand in hand.
The products shown on Clean and Conscious Award directory recognises brands manufacturing and operating in a responsible way. It allows consumers to easily choose products that contribute to a cleaner, more ethical, and more sustainable future.
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As Earth Day approaches on April 22nd, it's a great opportunity for small businesses to consider their impact on the planet and explore ways to become more sustainable.
Sande Kids™ launched in January 2022. Before kids, I was an Environmental Scientist so I knew that I wanted to create a business that considered our impact on the environment from the very start. We are committed to continuing our efforts to lessen our environmental impact while creating products as mindfully as possible.
Here are some of the ways we incorporate sustainability into our business;
We work with like-minded manufacturers to create quality, long-lasting products while also ensuring methods to create these products are ethically and environmentally sound. We take the time to understand our suppliers, production and processes involved in our business to ensure we align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to protect people and planet.
Our Sande Kids™ Sand Brush is Fair Trade and handmade ethically in Sri Lanka. It's made sustainably from all-natural materials, including hard-wearing, sustainably sourced rubber wood and a combination of coconut husk and jute fiber bristles. It's fully biodegradable and compostable.
Our Waterproof Car Seat & Pram Liner is made from Food Grade Silicone, which doesn't break down, therefore not releasing micro-plastics into the environment. It's highly durable and designed to last. If you can't find a friend to reuse it, it can be returned to us for recycling.
Our Beach Hauler™ is high-quality and made to last. Where we have not yet been able to use sustainable materials such as our mesh fabric, we plan to switch to eco-friendly alternatives in the future, as advancements in technology make it possible.
We have chosen to be minimalist with our packaging choices. We use all recycled or FSC certified paper, swing tags and packaging and deliver in compostable or recycled ocean plastic satchels. Even our postage labels are compostable.
We have partnered with Take 3 for the Sea. An awesome initiative that our kids can get involved in. The idea is to take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or other natural area to reduce plastic pollution. As a business, we aim to bring further awareness to this catastrophic issue. We donate $1 from every sale contributing to education and action.
]]>Looking for a gift for the ocean lovers in your life? We've got you covered. Whether you're shopping for a child or an adult, we're here to help you find something they'll love.
As you might already know, Sande Kids™ supports Take 3 for the Sea. The idea is to take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or other natural area to reduce plastic pollution. As a business we aim to bring awareness to the catastrophic amounts of plastic pollution in our oceans.
We chose to partner with Take3 as it’s a simple concept even our children understand. We donate $1 from each of our sales - this goes towards their mission to reduce plastic pollution through action on-ground and in-ocean, as well as education.
With Christmas fast approaching we want to encourage people to shop mindfully this year. We are thrilled to have been featured in the Ocean Lovers Christmas Gift Guide. Here you will find an amazing array of gifts from small ocean-conscious businesses...
Let’s start with the kids…you can never have enough beach toys! Afterall that’s why we designed the ultimate Beach Hauler™ beach bag to carry them all in…(wink!)
Our top picks for the kids are;
1. Aussie Silicone Beach Bucket Set by Wild and Wandering | $65.00
Our kids have played with this set endlessly. They're made from 100% silicone—free of nasties such as BPA, PVC, Phthalate, and lead. Silicone doesn't break down like plastic does—it's hard-wearing for hours upon hours of fun. A great option for beach toys!
This beautiful bucket set is perfect for little hands. Made from sustainably sourced timber, it's another great option over plastic! Perfect for the beach or sand pit.
This is one of those toys that makes you smile just looking at it. It's a great way to keep kids entertained, and it's also perfect for the beach or bath. Made in Australia from 8 recycled milk bottles—how clever! It can even be recycled at the end of its life.
Beach days with kids are the best! But cold whingy kids aren’t so fun… We have personally used these wetties on our kids and they allow us to have fun beach days all year round. Made from premium neoprene, they are high-quality allowing us to hand-me-down them through our tribe.
And what’s a beach day without a snuggly beach towel for the littles to make their way back to the car in? These hooded towels are made from 17 to 26 recycled plastic bottles – how impressive is that?
This really is a gift for anyone... this is our beautiful Sand Brush made from sustainably sourced rubberwood with a combination of jute and coconut fibre bristles. It’s Fairtrade, handmade by talented artisans in Sri Lanka.
It swiftly sweeps sand off kids, adults, pets, beach toys, surfboards, car upholstery and carpet. It’s the perfect gift for the Dad who likes to keep the car sand-free. Also perfect for those living the van life.
A few more for us adults;
It's time to get your morning cup of coffee and head down to the beach with the groms… Pottery For The Planet coffee cups are beautifully hand-crafted and perfect for your early morning brew. Their mission is to reduce the staggering number of disposable coffee cups going into landfill or ending up in our oceans each year.
Who says the practical poncho is only for the kids? Perfect for the surfer in your life, these gorgeous ponchos are made from soft, quick-drying Turkish Cotton. We’ve got this one on Dad’s wish list!
Perfect for the barrel-lover in your life. Based off this guy – there is surely loads of fun to be had! The awesome thing about these handplanes is that they are eco-friendly, made form recycled ocean plastic recovered directly from Aussie beaches.
A fellow Northern Beaches business, Manly Sprits, donates $5 from every bottle of their limited release gin to the Marine Conservation Society of Australia. Don’t mind if we do…
Happy shopping!...
Olympic swimmer, Kasey Giteau, grew up in a family that loved the water so learning to swim was a must. Her fondest childhood memories are always somewhere where water was involved; local pools, beach, camping on the river, floating on the lagoon…
Her Mum and Nan were both national level swimmers, so naturally they started Kasey in swimming lessons early, at just 6 months old. Swimming is a skill that has carried her to stardom, competing in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2001 World Championships in Japan.
Kasey also happens to run a boutique swim school “Little Sharkies” on Sydney’s Northern Beaches so we have hit her up to learn about the benefits of teaching our kids to swim and being confident in the water…
Being confident in the water from a young age is important, whether it’s a young baby getting a cup of water tipped over their head in the bath or splashing around in the shallows at the beach as a toddler, this helps build confidence once they hit the pool for learn to swim lessons.
Its best to have started swimming lessons by at least four years of age but there are benefits of starting earlier, not only will they build confidence in the water, but they will developing skills which lead to stroke development such as breaststroke and freestyle. Starting early can also be a special bonding activity with Mum or Dad.
Year-round swimming gives kids a massive advantage over “summer swimmers”. The benefits from continuing swimming lessons in the cooler months means classes are often smaller giving them more swim time, there’s no progression loss, and they become stronger in the water as summer rolls around.
Swimming not only provides water confidence; it also helps kids develop hand-eye coordination and is a great physical activity. My kids love to go to the local indoor pool in winter - in the school holidays they often have floating obstacles and waterslides set-up. Popping on a wetsuit and heading to the beach for a surf or bodysurf is also so much fun as a kid, and a great winter or spring activity.
Don’t underestimate how great it is for children to go to the local pool & play, this alone builds confidence & strength in the water. Doing this alongside swimming lessons is a recipe for confident, happy, independent swimmers!
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We are seasoned beach goers, and with four young kids it's crucial we pack smart, so that everyone has the things they need, while keeping the load manageable. Before we set off, we make sure the whole crew are ready in swimmers, boardies, rashies, hats and sunscreen. Plus, snacks (usually sambos and cut up fruit) and water are packed into a cotton bag and popped into our Sande Kids™ Beach Hauler. Here are our other top six essential Items;
Head to one of our famous beaches on a hot sunny day, and before you even see the Ocean, you'll be greeted with a sea of blue and white stripes - the Coolcabana and the first on our family essential list. We love our medium size, slightly less traditional, beige striped Coolcabana (RRP $189). It’s easy to set-up, offers plenty of shade for everyone and most of all, is compact and light to carry.
For shorter beach sessions we love to use our super cute, vintage-inspired Basil Bangs Weekend Beach Umbrella in Mineral (RRP $199.00). Providing enough shade for that whole 5-mins of time the kids actually decide to sit still and eat.
We have just exited the baby stage, but when our kids were babies, we would put them in their bouncers in a pop-up tent such as the Caribee Rapid Beach Pop Up Sun Shelter (RRP $79) – an easy pop-up design which offers UPF 50+ protection for delicate baby skin. This meant babies were safe in the shade, while we were playing at the water’s edge with the toddler/s.
We have tried and tested many sunscreens on our kids, last summer we finally found one that ticks all the boxes! The We Are Feel Good Inc. Sensitive Sunscreen SPF50+ comes in a great 400ml family sized pump pack (RRP $49.95). This sunscreen is light, gentle, easy to apply, fragrance-free and the best thing – it’s not sticky! It's suitable for babies from 6 months and don’t forget, reapply every 2 hours!
And for the surfers in the family, we have recently discovered Surfmud Natural Zinc (RRP $22.95) – it’s made from natural ingredients, is reef safe, and stays put for long sessions in the water. It’s great because it can also be used on babies and kids – we like to apply it to the kid's faces once we're at the beach, as it can get a little messy at home and in the car.
For a family of six, traditional towels can be bulky and take up a lot of room, so we opt for light weight, quicky drying Turkish towels for Mum and Dad, and for the kids, we have little hooded towels made from the same light-weight cotton – check out the Noosa Towel and Tots Pebbly Poncho by Mayde Store.
Beach Toys… we have tried and tested pretty much every eco, recycled-plastic beach set on the market. At the moment, we are loving the quality and squishability of our silicone beach set by My Little Giggles (RRP $49.95). And for the bigger kids, the Dantoy recycled plastic shovel (RRP $18.00) perfect for digging the ultimate pool at the water’s edge. We always chuck in a footy and a Surfer Dude too.
Oh, and if you're looking for a surfboard for the kids – our kids are still learning so we take a Mick Fanning Softboard – DHD Twin Fin (RRP $570) for everyone to argue over. Our son Reef (7) has progressed quickly using this board.
Obviously, it’s the Sande Kids Beach Hauler™ (RRP $89), we designed it with families in mind and it is the ultimate family beach bag. We ditched the bulky old beach cart for our large mesh beach bag, that has a giant 110 litre carrying capacity. With wide cotton straps for comfy carrying, our hauler allows you to venture further without having to tow the kids...
The mesh fabric allows sand to sift through as you walk back to the car, so no having to empty pools of sand from the bottom of your bag when you get home. It even has a canvas pocket for your valuables such as sunnies and phones, and a key clip so you're not digging around at the bottom of your bag when you get back to the car.
As well as super practical, It’s also beautiful – in a classic neutral colour to complement all the beautiful beach gear on the market. We think it's simply perfect, and it's been a total game-changer for our family beach days.
And finally, our Sande Kids™ Sand Brush to swiftly sweep wet or dry sand from kids, adults, beach toys, surfboards, pets, car upholstery and carpet – I can make our Van look almost freshly vacuumed with this beauty!
We hope these tried and tested products make beach going with your kids a little more relaxed! And don’t forget to keep our marine life safe and Take 3 for the Sea – take just 3 pieces of rubbish that you find on the beach when you leave, it makes a huge difference!
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