Raised in rolling hills of Northern California as an only child in the 1970s, my parents would tell me to go and play outside, which I did for hours on end and where Mother Nature was my best friend. As an adult, I wish to care for her as she cared for me back then.

We’re all aiming to live greener, more symbiotic lives with nature. Here are some businesses that whether through innovation or streamlining practices are striving to do just that, as shared on NBC’s TODAY show.

Cold-Pressed Olive Oils | $12.99, Fresh Press Farms

The start of good cooking begins with good oil. There isn’t an oil out there more tree-to-table than Fresh Press Farms which produces homegrown, cold-pressed cooking oils that taste delish–feel free to sample–and are friendly to the environment in all stages of their production.  

I learned that they have the only vertically integrated mill in America: this translates to consolidated production housed under one roof. The benefit? This reduces waste and production time and the oils are minimally processed.

The oils are also cold-pressed, which better retains the full flavors of the oils as well as keeps them nutrient-dense. (Technically, the process also doesn’t release chemicals into the environment like other extraction methods.) 

We have 5 varieties of their cold-pressed olive oils here ranging from mild to bold:

• classic

• bold

• mild

• high heat

• pure gold

You’ll notice the recyclable aluminum bottles which also help preserve the quality of the oils, and each one does come with a dispenser spigot.

Tea Disks, $18, iLOLA Tea

iLOLA Is Swahili for “to grow stronger” which explains how this next innovative company is helping the environment with each steep! iLOLA tea discs are compressed discs of high-quality, loose-leaf sustainable teas that are environmentally friendly.

What’s a tea disc (it’s patented by the way)? It’s tea leaves that are compounded and handcrafted into a disc and bound with a clear, cellulose binding. Importantly this makes it better for the environment in its packaging and when we drink our tea because it’s just tea leaves: there are no tea bags containing microplastics, staplers or string (also no bleach).

And while you likely would never even think of transporting loose tea leaves on the go, the tea disc makes that possible, and easy to do so.

The teas are packed with probiotics! They have black, oolong green, white, herbal and functional teas as their 5 main categories, and a total of 30 teas that they sell on their site and places like Neiman Marcus.

Here’s how you make it:

1. To a cup of hot water, add an infuser

2. Add tea disc

3. Steep for desired time for tea strength.

4. Remove tea infuser. Enjoy!

5. Can steep tea infuser for one more time for a second cup.

iLOLA sources from small-scale farms that follow sustainable farming practices. I just want to add that the co-founders, Sue-Marie and Tim do all of this while raising their gorgeous family of 5 kids!

Each box contains 14 tea discs and is $18.

Polite Pops Powder Blush Sticks, $28, Polite Society

Bright, bold blushes are in this spring, and no better way to wear them than with clean beauty brand Polite Society!

Their new Polite Pops Powder Blush Sticks are fun and easy to use! When you swipe the stick on your cheeks it goes on like cream and becomes a seamless powder; you don’t really need to do much else but blend a little with your fingertips or a blush brush. 

The 6 fun, punchy colors are packed with all-natural ingredients including…

• vitamin E for soothing

• coastal plant for moisture 

• ginger root oil for volume

A little guide when it comes to the color options in my opinion:

Los Angeles: bright pink

Paris: pinky tan

Sydney: mauve

Palm Springs: coral

London: light pink

Milan: red

Additionally, the brand uses clean-science technology and is cruelty-free, vegan and non-toxic: no parabens, phthalates or formaldehyde. I love the small stick packaging you can just throw it into your purse for pops of continuous color all day long.

Waterless Facial Cleanser, $52 Welcome Kit, Seadrop Skincare

By the way…did you know that 90% of your facial cleanser is basically tap water?

An ex-beauty executive founded Seadrop Skincare which is a waterless facial cleaner! It’s an innovative skincare brand that has created the first waterless, crushable facial cleanser. It’s Leaping Bunny certified, cruelty-free, vegan, and 100% zero-waste.

You simply crush one of the plant-based beads in your hand–I suggest you really get it into as fine as a powder as you can–add a splash of water, create a luxurious lather and wash your face! The cleansing beads rid your face of dirt, oil and makeup. 

These are plant-based, patent-pending, pre-dosed tablets. 

Their welcome kit comes with an Eternal Jar that can be used forever as it’s made of glass and a refill made of lightweight paper that contains 60 beads. In the future, you simply purchase refills priced at $28.80 and refill your Eternal Jar!

Great for all skin types, fragrance-free and unisex.

Zero-waste Facial Cleansing Wipes, $22 for 14, Fig. 1

Talk about a miraculous wipe! These Micellar Oil Cleansing Wipes by Fig.1 in conjunction with Conserving Beauty, a sustainable Australian skincare brand, are 100% zero-waste and compostable! Let’s call this a zero-waste cleanse! (It’s my understanding that this is first of its kind for the US beauty market.)

The wipes, which when used on the face to remove an entire face of even my TV makeup as you can see a bit of here as I removed my cheek and chin makeup, are made of a water-soluble polymer – check out the texture! It’s interesting and thicker right? After you remove the makeup from your face, along with dirt, oil and spf, you simply run the wipe under your faucet or add it to a bowl of water here (even the toilet, says the brand!), stir and watch the wipe completely dissolve! It’s like magic! 

Like a face cleansed with any oil cleanser, you’ll need to pat down your skin with a soft cloth or towel. The beauty is? No further washing is needed.

(If you don’t dissolve the wipe in water, it will biodegrade in the garbage in 14 days.)

Each box is $22 and contains 14 individually-packaged wipes. While I was on the road this past month, I took them everywhere with me and they worked beautifully! Great for grab-and-go cleansing!

Even the sachets that the facial wipes come in and the box that holds them all are safe to be composted at home or recyclable!

All-purpose cleaner starter kit | 17.99, Method

Ready for a fill-good story?

I’ve used Method plant-based cleanser for years in my house. Now they’ve come out with a line called THE CONCENTRATES: refillable aluminum bottles with glass concentrate refills. Every aspect of this is infinitely reusable or recyclable!

How to prep:

1. Pour one of the glass concentrate refills into the aluminum bottle.

2. Fill the bottle up with water, about one inch from the top.

3. Secure the spray top. Swirl around gently to mix.

4. Spray and pump away!

Bottom line, in using this kit, you save on 96% plastic compared with single-use plastic bottles!

So this All Purpose Cleaner starter kit ($17.99) comes with an aluminum spray bottle and two concentrate refills in pink grapefruit. The concentrate refills are available in 2 fragrances:

• Pink Grapefruit

• French Lavender - this is my favorite scent that I use on the daily!

After the Starter Kit, when purchasing refills, you get 2 concentrates in a box for $8.99.