BRING ON THE SOL: WITH SOL CUPS
Here at TLSE we love a sustainable product and we love to look after our health too. Cutting down on the use of plastic will not only help to look after the environment, but also improve our health as a result.
Here's an insane fact for you; Each year over one billion takeaway coffee cups are produced and disposed of in Australia! That seems like an extreme amount of plastic to deal with!
There are businesses that are emerging that want to change this figure. Sol Cups are aiming to change the throwaway mindset and encourage people to support the environment when drinking coffee on the go.
As well as being very pretty to look at and 100% chemical free, the size is convenient and you are being kinder to the environment each time you use one! A good deed indeed!
The design of the cups are made from hand-blown glass which is far less receptive than plastic. It's extremely durable, lightweight and microwave and dishwasher safe.
Sol Cups Founder, Rebecca Veksler took some time out to talk to us about importance of going Plastic free.
[TLSE] Sol Cups are Australia’s most health-conscious re-usable cups. At what point in your journey did you decide to create Sol Cups, and what was your inspiration behind them?
[REBECCA] The idea of sol cups was a pretty special one! It’s a family business, so it has a lot of love behind it., The real passion and idea came from a bit of a harder time in my life. I was hit by an intense auto immune disease, and my body and nervous system essentially crashed. My family had always taught me about health, environment and the body growing up, we never had sugar, preservatives or unnecessary plastic in the house. They really instilled a desire to educate and investigate in me. So I put my passions for the environment, body and love to inspire into a small passion project, while I was stuck in bed for months. It is inspiring to see where it has taken us.
When you were diagnosed with Auto Immune Disease, how did it motivate you when assessing your future? Did your goals and aspirations change as a result?
Absolutely, every single part of my life had changed. My entire life and mindset had to shift. I could no longer be in the fitness industry and had to shut down the other start up I was working on (A project on mental health workshops). My new goals and mission for life was to create a platform for education, to share as much knowledge, inspiration and empowerment with as many people as possible.
How important is it to stop using plastic? Can you give us an example of some harmful impacts that it has on the human body?
If we don’t stop using plastic, our environment and health is directly impacted. There are few ways to think about this. The more plastic goods we demand as consumers, the more is produced, therefore the more is dumped into landfill globally. Therefore, the more plastic on the earth, the more plastic that reaches our wildlife (fish for example with micro plastics in the ocean). The term “you are what you eat” is so literal in this aspect, we are literally being poisoned. if you look at some simple data, there’s clear connection to cancers, birth defect and autoimmune related diseases, it’s only going to get worse.
Rebecca, you have built a highly successful business. What advice would you give to anybody starting up on their own?
A few simple concepts, that changed my life.
1- Leave your ego at the door. You do not know everything, seek mentorship and build a support network. 2- Authenticity is everything. 3- There is always a solution. Think laterally. 4- Be pro-active about questioning things, don’t just presume everything is ethical or sustainable, just because you want it to be. Ask questions and set standards.
You are obviously passionate about wellbeing and the environment. Is there anything else that you are just as ardent about?
I am so passionate about people, the mind and how it all interacts. Human behavior and psychology are something I make sure remains connected when I’m producing new products and within any part of my business. My core mission with Sol (within the company structure) is to create a positive experience, and to truly achieve that you need to understand how people function and interact with your brand and product (every step of the way) - I’m also currently writing a book, so this is something that I hope to turn into a Ted talk. It’s based on concepts within neuroscience, healing the body, the mind and basic psychology.
We can't wait to pop one of these into our handbags on the go!
Images Provided
Curated by Jodie Wolf, TLSE
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