Sustainability
“Sustainability is at the core of all our business ventures. Living and working on islands, yachts and the ocean have taught us the importance of reducing our impact, waste and footprint as much as possible.
At Reef Distillers we have created a true ‘farm to still’ distillery experience using local suppliers, farmers, growers and native flora to create unique products with the ‘signature’ of the Capricorn Coast region and the Great Barrier Reef.”
Laureth, Reef Distillers:
“As a member of 1% for the Planet we are committed to donating at least 1% of our annual sales directly to environmental organizations. Every donation is verified and certified to ensure businesses meet that commitment.
Our aim is to donate our 1% to conservation and preservation of the ocean and reef in line with our brand and the principles on which it was founded.”
Sustainable, chemical free farming is a passion of ours. Combining this passion with sourcing all of our produce, herbs, fruit and botanicals from pesticide free farms means less toxic run off into waterways and eventually the ocean, healthier soil and mircro-organisms and ultimately healthier humans who are surrounded by healthier environments.
The ripple effect of the choices we make in sourcing our products can not be overemphasised as the consequences are far reaching and often not thought about in normal day to day business.
It is the smallest details and ideas that brings about the biggest change and this is essential in our quest for more sustainable business operations.
We are proud to produce artisan spirits that tread lightly in the environment in terms of the recycled glass, pesticide free and organic produce, recycled glass, but at the same time has big impact in terms of sustainable operations and the ripple effect of those operations that reverberate through our communities..
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
Sustainable Farming
FAQ
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All botanicals used are either certified organic or spray free. No artificial colours or flavours are used and all products produced are 100% natural.
We use recycled glass bottles for our products.
We have a zero waste policy at the distillery to ensure our production process has minimal environmental impact. Everything is re-used or processed into something else. Our ‘tails’ are used as sanitizer in the distillery. Our used botanicals are composted.
Both families are passionate about the environment so we are in the process of applying for our B-Corp certification.
We have just started a refillable option for our local commercial customers and hope to expand this part of our operations. So far we have two of our local bars and restaurants on board. They have replaced their house/pouring vodka with their own uniquely branded Reef Distillers vodka. Each business owns 24 labelled bottles which we refill and restock on a weekly basis. We use the same packaging over and over again which means there is no packaging waste whatsoever. We can offer the product at a more competitive price without packaging costs, so it is a win win situation for both us and the customer.
We will be looking to extend this option to our local retail customers too over the next few months with a refill option available at the distillery for regulars.
We try our best to 'reuse, repurpose and recycle' as much as possible, for example, our stills' cooling water is collected and reused for cleaning the still after distillations and our discarded cardboard boxes will be going to the farm's 'soon to be built worm-farm' and back into the ground that grows many of our botanicals and fruits.
We will continue to strive to maintain as close to zero waste operation as possible.
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Our glass supplier uses 100% recycled glass for the bottles we have chosen to use.
High Valley Dawn is one of the local producers we source our ingredients from and they are Advanced Eco Tourism certified with a very strong focus on sustainability and the three pillars of permaculture. Earth Care, People Care and Fair Shares. They have been wonderful to deal with and are growing specific botanicals required for our production. The farm is completely chemical free and everything is grown on biodynamic principles.
All of our Juniper used in the gins are organic and from Austral Herbs. It is great to have this option available to us. It is of utmost importance to us to cut down on the use of pesticides and chemicals as much as possible. The transport of pesticides from land-based applications to the coastal waters of Queensland is considered a potential risk to the health and heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem and coral specifically. Diuron (CAS 330-54-1) is a substituted urea herbicide used for pre- and postemergent control on crop and noncrop areas and found at many of the monitoring sites on the Great Barrier Reef in high concentrations. The EPA has proposed to end the use of the weedkiller diuron on most food crops, citing cancer risks to people who are exposed as well as danger to bees and other wildlife.
We source a lot of our extra botanicals like the Ashwaghanda from our local Soltree Wholefoods supplier. They are a local family here in Yeppoon. Anita is a naturopath and they are passionate about health, wellness and holistic living.
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We spent a lot of time researching other artisan spirits, looking at bottles, tasting products and developing a brand that would encompass our shared passion and love of the ocean, all things beautiful and locally sourced organic and pesticide free produce.
We are investigating the possibility of installing solar powered air conditioners into our working shed. They run mostly in the day completely off grid when the sun is shining which is perfect for the hottest part of the day.
We are investing in the farm in Byfield to grow more of the botanicals needed for the distillery. Our next steps here are setting up the worm farm and irrigation projects for the fruit and herbs needed and then accommodating the compost from the distillery in a circular process.
We are committed to collaborating with local businesses and conservation projects specifically with reducing the impacts of waste on our coastline and assisting in any way we can.
We are currently working on a refilling system for our regular retail customers, so putting that in place will help us to reduce packaging waste again.