Ecoman
Malcolm Rands
Random House
2013
The story of how Malcolm Rands, an organic gardener and hippy from Northland in New Zealand, built the pioneering global brand ecostore.
This inspirational memoir gives an insight into the mind of an entrepreneur, activist and true Kiwi ‘superhero’. It’s a fascinating story of humble beginnings, taking on the multinationals and their nasty chemicals, bucking the trend and setting a new standard of healthier living. Ecostore is a successful business, absolutely driven by strong, green values. No green-washing here!
Malcolm Rands started ecostore from New
Zealand’s first permaculture eco-village with his wife Melanie in 1993. They
sourced local manufacturers to make a range of organic gardening, home cleaning
and body care products for the then mail-order business in the dug-out basement
of their home. Twenty years on and Malcolm has developed ecostore into a
multi-million dollar business. Its distinctive products are on the shelves of
supermarkets and health stores in New Zealand, Australia, the US, Hong Kong,
Singapore and China, and they are poised for further global expansion.
“I loved reading this book. Although I felt it wasn’t so much reading a book, as listening to a friend. It’s written with a very personable tone and easily lets you in, brings you in, to see a bit more of Malcolm and what he is about. It’s full of interesting tales about his life, his hopes and dreams for the future, the mistakes he has made along the way and his passion for what has become one of the best selling brands of ‘eco’ cleaning and body products in New Zealand.” – Green Elephant blog.