A for-profit business with a purpose.
Every product we sell is an alternative. An alternative to single-use plastic, to throwaway quality, to low-tox living done carelessly.
For the financial year ending 30 June 2026, here is an honest account of what our community helped avoid, and where we still have work to do.
The headline numbers
- 343,040 products sold - sustainable products chosen over conventional options
- 322,301 items directly replaced - single-use and disposable items swapped for plastic-free, compostable alternatives
- Up to 546,000 plastic bags avoided - single-use plastic produce bags kept out of circulation
- 2%+ given back - of sales revenue committed to social and environmental causes
What our customers chose not to use
Two kinds of impact sit inside these numbers: products designed to be used once and then returned to the earth without plastic, and products built to last for years so they replace a long line of disposable things.
Used once, then composted:
- 232,462 Leaf Plates - Pressed from naturally fallen leaves using only heat and water. No plastic, fully compostable. Replaces plastic and coated plates bound for landfill.
- 76,212 Paper Cups - No plastic or PLA lining. Certified home compostable, made from FSC-certified paper. Replaces plastic-lined disposable cups.
- 8,080 Food Containers - Certified home compostable and made from FSC-certified sustainable paper. Replaces plastic takeaway containers.
- 5,547 Bamboo Toothbrushes - Wild-harvested moso bamboo, 100% plant-based bristles, glue-free paper box. Replaces plastic toothbrushes that persist for 400-500 years.
Built to last:
- 10,500 Organic Cotton Produce Bags - Certified organic cotton, undyed and unbleached, made to last several years. Replaces years of thin plastic produce bags.
- 5,568 Stainless Steel Cups - Plastic-free and BPA-free, used in homes, childcares and cafes. Replaces disposable and plastic cups.
- 2,355 Reusable Straws - Non-toxic, dishwasher safe and easy to clean. Replaces single-use plastic straws.
- 1,550 Stainless Steel Pegs - Marine grade 316 steel. Some customers have used the same pegs for 7-8 years without a single one breaking. Replaces a lifetime of snapped plastic pegs.
- 766 Reusable Lunch Boxes - Built for commercial use, trusted to move meals on cruise ships and heritage railway tours. Replaces disposable food packaging.
In total, that’s 343,040 products chosen with the planet in mind.
Our organic cotton produce bags deserve a special mention. Used weekly, 10,500 bags quietly remove around 546,000 thin plastic bags from the fresh produce aisle in a year. Used fortnightly, that’s still 273,000. This is a deliberately conservative estimate — assuming one reusable bag replaces just one plastic bag per trip. For context, a single reusable bag is estimated to replace around 500 plastic bags a year for a weekly shopper.
Packaging progress: A small change, honestly told
Last year we redesigned the packaging for our leaf tableware — the only product line that still used single-use plastic packaging. The new label is paper rather than an adhesive sticker, which means the paper can now be recycled instead of being contaminated by glue.
It is a modest step, and we will not oversell it. The packaging still uses soft plastic, which is not readily recyclable. We are not calling that solved. We are calling it a start, and a sincere one.
How we pack and ship: Every order ships plastic-free. No plastic fillers, no plastic tape. We ask the same of our suppliers — the stock that reaches us arrives without bubble wrap, styrofoam or plastic fill. We reuse the cartons those deliveries come in to pack your orders and seal them with paper tape. None of this is dramatic on its own. It is a habit, not a headline.
The fair question: Does the benefit justify what goes into making it?
A reusable product is only genuinely better than a disposable one if it is used long enough to outweigh the resources that went into it. That break-even point is the test we apply before we sell anything.
Stainless steel, made for decades: Our pegs, cups, straws and lunch boxes are built to be used for years, often far longer. Pegs still in service after 7-8 years sit well beyond any reasonable break-even.
Organic cotton, used consistently: Cotton carries a real production footprint. Even by the strictest lifecycle studies, a bag used weekly passes its climate break-even within roughly 1-3 years, comfortably inside its life. Produce bags are lighter than shopping totes, so the real payback comes sooner. And those studies leave out the marine plastic, litter and microplastic harm a reusable bag avoids altogether.
Compostable by design: Leaf plates, paper cups and containers are made from fast-renewing or naturally fallen material, carry no fossil plastic, and return to the soil at the end of their life instead of lingering for centuries.
Impact we feel but cannot count
Beyond waste, many of our products exist to remove everyday toxins from the home. Low-tox daily essentials that our customers live with and feel the benefit of. We cannot put a clean number on improved wellbeing, so we will not pretend to. We simply know it matters.
Social impact: The people behind the products
Our social impact is not only what we give away. It runs through how we buy and who we buy from.
Handmade, on purpose: The cotton bags that package our copper bracelets and tongue cleaners are sewn by local women for whom the work is a livelihood. We chose them over larger manufacturers, even though a factory would have been cheaper and faster.
Sourced with a conscience & fair to our makers: We check that raw materials are gathered sustainably, that no slave or child labour is involved, and that our suppliers are not exploiting their own suppliers. We do not squeeze our suppliers. If an unexpected cost comes up while making our products, they know they can tell us, and we will work it out and cover it. That trust is why every one of our suppliers has stayed with us for years.
Giving back: More than 2% of revenue, shared for transparency
We share this for openness, not applause.
1% to the planet - Directed to environmental conservation: Conservation Council of WA, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Bob Brown Foundation, 1% for the Planet, Regenerate Australia.
1%+ to people - Directed to community and humanitarian causes: Community meal initiatives, tableware and cutlery donations, medical aid fundraising, support for orphans in conflict zones, clean water and meals where needed.
Where we still fall short
This is a checkpoint, not a victory lap. Our leaf tableware still ships in soft plastic. There are corners of our supply chain we would like to understand better, and impact we would rather measure honestly than estimate.
The point is not to have arrived. It is to stay conscious of our purpose and keep moving toward it, sincerely, one honest step at a time. We would genuinely welcome being held to it.
Notes: Product volumes are internal Goodly Gosh sales figures for FY ending 30 June 2026. Plastic bag avoidance is estimated as 10,500 bags used weekly (546,000) or fortnightly (273,000). Cotton break-even figures draw on the Danish EPA lifecycle assessment (2018).
Made with sincerity, not certainty.
Goodly Gosh - goodlygosh.com.au