From the very beginning of the product development of Harvestcare, I wanted to be a truly local manufacturer. It was more than just making the products in Canberra. It was also about sourcing as many of my ingredients locally too.

So right now we are using:

• Olive oil from Fedra Olive Grove in Collector, NSW
• Coconut oil from Kokonut Pacific in Queanbeyan, NSW
• Wild beeswax collected from a Canberra-based beehive removalist
• Coffee beans from Redbrick in Canberra
• Cacao husks from Jasper & Myrtle in Canberra

I’ve also recently moved our label making from a Melbourne company to Prinstant in Fyshwick. This has saved me so many communication hassles I dealt with before.

We’re also using Australian ingredients like:

• Sweet Orange essential oil
• Lemon Myrtle essential oil

Unfortunately, not everything is available locally like our aluminium tins. Though I do have ambitions once we have sufficient volume to justify the cost of developing with moulds. So, for these items, I’ll have to continue to source them from overseas.

Nevertheless, I think we’ve already made good progress on being a truly local manufacturer of natural hair and bodycare products.