By Tracey Bailey, Founder of Biome
Among the things that stood out most in 2025, was seeing more people than ever start questioning what we buy, and why.
Because when we pause to answer those questions, it leads to small, consistent everyday choices that really do make difference. And just importantly, they make us feel good because we know we're doing something positive.
In 2025, I saw sustainable living being less about chasing the next new thing, and more about removing what should never have been there in the first place — excess plastic, short-lived products, hidden harm, and unnecessary ingredients.
People were saying no to:
→ greenwashing and misleading labels
→ convenience-at-any-cost
→ chemicals and plastics that were never properly tested for safety before released into everyday life
So here are the 10 sustainable solutions that inspired our Biome community most in 2025.
I have a feeling you’ll recognise some of your own choices here too 💚
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1. Plastic-free cleaning concentrate bars
What wasn’t working:
Plastic bans expanded, but refill systems didn’t quite become the simple answer many of us hoped for. Instead of fewer containers, homes often ended up with more — refill pouches to return, special bottles, subscriptions, and brand-specific systems.
Sustainability started to feel complicated again.
We absolutely support refilling. In fact, Biome pioneered refill and DIY ingredient bars in our stores long before it was mainstream. It works beautifully when you have access to it. But many people don’t.
Why it works:
Cleaning concentrate bars remove the problem rather than managing it.
They come with no plastic, no palm oil, no synthetic surfactants, and you add water at home. That matters because most liquid cleaners are 80–90% water — shipped around the planet in heavy plastic bottles.
These simple soap bars are dissolved in water from your kitchen tap, re-using any bottle or container you already have. They reduce waste, lower transport emissions, take up almost no space, and the ingredients are far gentler on skin and waterways.
Top picks:
Biome Laundry Liquid Concentrate Bar
Biome Dishwash Block
Biome Bathroom Cleaning Spray Concentrate Bars
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2. PFAS-free living
What people were waking up to:
In 2025, PFAS stopped being an abstract science issue and became something people were recognising in their everyday life — in frying pans, air fryers, school uniforms, food packaging, outdoor gear, and even water.
These “forever chemicals” were never designed with long-term human or environmental health in mind, yet quietly became normalised.
With bans finally rolling out — including Australia's ban on PFOA in July 2025 — many people felt understandably angry. How were these chemicals ever allowed in the first first place, and without our informed consent?
The better way forward:
There are still many PFAS in use, but they are not necessary for things to work well.
Cookware can perform beautifully without toxic coatings. Food storage can be safe without chemical treatments.
Choosing PFAS-free alternatives isn’t radical — it’s simply refusing something that should never have been there in the first place.
Top PFAS-free solutions:
Solidteknics wrought iron and stainless steel cookware
Patch PFAS-free bamboo bandages
Beeswax food wraps
Stainless steel containers, and glass containers
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3. Stepping off the cosmetic consumption treadmill
What felt exhausting:
Do you feel like the choices of cosmetics and personal care has reached saturation point?
Every week brought a new social media trend, a new serum with the pseudo-scientific ingredient of the month, a new Korean beauty cream for a hyper-specific body part, and a new colour palette.
Shopping centre beauty stores multiplied offering walls of choice promising difference but delivering near-identical formulas (mostly petrochemicals and palm-derived).
All the while in the pursuit of something "better", skincare routines became increasingly aggressive with acids and exfoliants, leaving many with irritated, sensitised skin.
What people chose instead:
Exhausted by the treadmill, many of us looked for ways to get off!
Instead of chasing novelty, people are looking to choose fewer products with clearer, more simple ingredients — and where the hype statement on the front actually matches what the product is made from.
Top picks:
Biome CastorGuard multi-purpose balm
Biome Jojoba Oil
Deodorant pastes in tins
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4. Walking away from bottled water
What we wanted to move away from:
While bottled water sales continued to rise in the mainstream, environmentally aware households increasingly moved in the opposite direction (kudos to you!).
Single-use bottles remain one of the most visible forms of unnecessary plastic waste — used briefly, lasting for centuries, with only a small percentage truly recycled, and most ending up in landfill or polluting our precious oceans.
And not surprisingly, studies showed microplastics could be even higher in bottled water than tap water!
What we saw:
We noticed more customers seeking to improve the water they already had coming out of the tap, instead of buying it in plastic bottles.
Home filtration and reusable bottles are replacing thousands of bottles over time — plus it is much cheaper way to buy water, it reduces waste, and improves taste.
We given an honourable mention here also to home sparkling water makers such as Sodastream. Converting your kitchen tap water into soda and fizzy drinks is massively more cost, plastic waste, and emissions-efficient than extracting precious water from Fiji or France and shipping it around the world!
Top solutions:
Reusable filter bottles
All drink bottles
Bench-top water purifiers and water filter jugs
Whole house and under-sink water filters
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5. The return of real soap
How we got here:
Somewhere along the way, we were convinced that soap in a plastic bottle was more hygienic, more effective, and more “modern” than a simple bar.
Supermarket shelves were packed with body washes and hand soaps — largely water, synthetic detergents and fragrance, and packaged in yet another plastic bottle.
For many users, these products also became a source of irritation, dryness, and sensitivity, even though they were marketed as gentle and nourishing.
Why people loved the switch:
Simple bar soaps and liquid castile soap clean hands and bodies thoroughly without unnecessary ingredients or packaging. They last longer, take up less space, and quietly remove another plastic bottle from everyday life.
Progress isn’t always something new. Sometimes it's returning to what worked before marketing got in the way.
Top picks:
Palm-oil-free soap bars
Dish soap bars
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6. Food storage that replaces soft plastics
What was exposed:
When the soft-plastic recycling program REDcycle collapsed, many Australians were shocked to learn that most of what we thought was being recycled never really was.
Cling wrap, sandwich bags, snack packets, produce sleeves, and single-serve packaging dominate everyday food routines — used for minutes, then destined for landfill or the environment.
While supermarkets leaned harder into ready-made meal cabinets and uber-convenient foods wrapped (and cooked) in layers of plastic.
The shift we noticed:
Instead of trying to recycle something that was never designed to be recycled properly, there was a clear trend towards being mindful of avoiding plastic packaging and single use wrap.
Maybe I do have 10 minutes to wash and chop some carrots, rand skip the pre-chopped in plastic tray that will stick around for hundreds of years?
With reliable reusable containers, produce bags and reusable wraps, it's easier to buy loose produce, keep it fresher for longer, pack lunches, and store leftovers.
Top solutions:
Veggie Saver produce bags
Beeswax food wraps
Stainless steel containers, and glass containers
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7. Back-to-basics cleaning
What we were sold:
Supermarket cleaning aisles were packed with specialised products (for the bathroom, the kitchen, toilet, floors, glass, mould...) — heavily fragranced, and harsh chemicals. And, although ingredients are rarely disclosed, the formulas are almost identical!
Also, these cleaners can cause headaches, skin irritation, and breathing discomfort, despite being marketed as fresh and safe.
What works surprisingly well:
Thanks in large part to social media (it does have some virtues!) word is spreading about the harm, as well as helping people rediscover the simplicity of basic ingredients. Reminding us all that these more basic concoctions can handle most cleaning tasks effectively — without fumes, irritation, and without an assortment of products.
Oxygen bleach, castile soap, clove oil and other essential oils, white vinegar and bi-carb can replace dozens of specialised products.
Top basics:
Oxygen bleach
Clove oil for mould
Castile soap
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8. Buy-once household hardware
What keeps us buying:
Cheap household items are designed to fail. It's called "planned obsolescence". After all, if you only bought a product once, and never again, how would companies keep growing their profits??
Plastic pegs snap in the sun, non-stick coatings wear off, flimsy tools bend or break, and many everyday products are treated as disposable by default.
Individually it doesn’t seem like much, but over years it becomes a constant cycle of replacement, expense, and waste.
What changes the pattern:
Well-made items change that pattern entirely.
When something is built to last for years — or even generations — you stop replacing it, stop throwing it away, and often stop thinking about it altogether.
It’s sustainability that happens quietly in the background.
Top solutions:
Stainless steel wire pegs
Solidteknics cookware
Stainless steel kitchenwares
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9. Choosing Australian-made
Why it mattered more in 2025:
2025 saw disconcerting changes and instability in geo-politics, and global supply chains became increasingly fragile. Coupled with a flood of poor quality, poor transparency products from Temu, Alibaba and Amazon, we are feeling more disconnected from the origin of products, how they were made, and who is benefiting.
Long transport routes also meant higher emissions built into everyday purchases.
What choosing local supports:
Buying Australian-made means fewer transport miles, better transparency, and direct support for small local producers doing things thoughtfully.
In 2025, choosing local wasn’t about nationalism — it was about being responsible and building resilience.
Top performers:
Australian made gifts
Australian made toys
Australian made socks
All Australian made products (1,500+ plus products!)
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10. Buying less still matters most
The tension:
As sustainability became even more mainstream, it also became more commercial. It was easy to feel bombarded with messages telling us to buy into a greener life.
The simplest truth:
The most powerful change remains the simplest.
Before buying something new, pause and ask:
Do I actually need this?
Making do, repairing, borrowing and buying second-hand first quietly reduces consumption far more than any new product ever could.
For Biome, this balance of running a viable business while encouraging people to buy less has always been the key challenge of what we do!
We hope you saw your thoughtful actions in some of these solutions. Thank you for questioning, and quietly making better choices every day.
— Tracey 🌿
Curious how sustainable living has evolved over time? These favourite solutions from previous years are still packed with inspiration!
