What started with a comment about a ‘grotty’ dishcloth has grown into one of New Zealand’s most recognised sustainable homeware brands.
Today, Ecovask supplies more than 400 retailers across New Zealand and Australia, has earned multiple industry awards, and continues to expand its product range with a focus on thoughtful design, functionality and sustainability. But according to founder Viv, one decision played a pivotal role in transforming Ecovask from a small family venture into a thriving wholesale brand.
“In 2021, we exhibited at the NZ Gift & Homeware Fair for the first time to test the wholesale market. That decision completely changed the direction of the business, and we haven’t looked back since.”
As the NZ Gift & Homeware Fairs continue to help connect retailers with emerging and established brands, Ecovask’s story is a compelling example of how trade fairs can help businesses get discovered, build relationships and accelerate growth.
Beginning more than a decade ago, the idea for Ecovask was sparked by a single comment made by a friend on an ‘unattractive’ dish cloth hanging in her newly renovated kitchen.
“That one conversation sent me down a rabbit hole. I spent years searching for dishcloths that were nice enough to deserve a place in a beautiful kitchen. We spend thousands of dollars creating homes we love, yet one of the hardest-working products in the kitchen had been completely overlooked.”
Viv found that most dishcloths available in New Zealand at the time were synthetic, quickly became smelly and grotty – certainly something you wouldn’t want on display in a beautiful kitchen. After extensive research, she discovered high-quality knitted cotton dishcloths in Europe. Realising that other’s may be looking for the same thing, she began importing and selling them at local markets with her family in 2017.
“Ecovask was never part of a grand business plan. Originally it was a way to teach our kids the value of earning a dollar. It soon became a fundraising project to help my son get to Nepal with World Challenge, but somewhere along the way it became clear we’d stumbled onto something much bigger. Eventually becoming ecovask.”
In 2020, the brand begun manufacturing products themselves, using the best quality certified organic yarns. From offering a single dishcloth available in nine colours, Ecovask has since grown into a comprehensive home and lifestyle range; now offering an extended range of tea towels, face cloths, hair and travel towels, reusable make-up remover pads and more. The company’s product development philosophy is refreshingly simple: identify everyday frustrations and solve them.
“We don’t sit down and ask, ‘What product should we make next?’ We notice the little frustrations people experience every day and ask, ‘Could there be a better way?’”
Whether it was creating a lighter-weight dishcloth for people with arthritis, reusable makeup pads to replace disposables, or rethinking the performance of traditional tea towels, Ecovask has consistently focused on improving products people use every day. That approach has helped the brand find a strong position in a rapidly evolving market.
“People no longer want to choose between products that are beautiful, practical or better for the planet – they expect them to be all three.”
Like many small businesses, approaching retailers individually requires significant time and resources. Ecovask’s beginnings into the wholesale market started with incoming enquiries fromretailers on social media.
“It (the enquiries) gave us the confidence to think there might be a wholesale opportunity, but we really didn’t know whether there was enough interest to build much incentive for retailers to take a chance on us. At the time, trying to approach retailers one by one felt incredibly difficult. We were a completely unknown brand competing against well-established suppliers.”
The NZ Gift & Homeware Fairs offered an alternative: the opportunity to place the brand in front of a large number of retailers in a concentrated period of time. The outcome exceeded expectations. The response from retailers provided Viv with the confidence to invest seriously in wholesale and ultimately changed the trajectory of the business.
“The NZ Gift & Homeware Fairs gave us the opportunity to put our products in front of a large numbers of retailers at once and simply see what happened. We had no expectations, we just wanted to test the market, get feedback and find out whether our products resonated with retailers.”
Six years on, Ecovask continues to exhibit at both the Auckland and Christchurch fairs, describing the events as one of the most important drivers of its success:
“For a small business, the Gift Fairs have been one of the biggest catalysts for our growth. In just a few days, you’re able to have conversations with dozens of retailers who are actively looking for new products and new brands. It fast-tracks relationships that would otherwise take months, or even years, to build.”
The fairs have also become a key platform for launching new products, gathering immediate retailer feedback and refining everything from packaging to merchandising.
“Looking back, the fairs haven’t just helped us grow – they’ve helped shape the business we’ve become.”
Since their first fair, Ecovask has grown from a small stand with a handful of products to a business supplying more than 400 retailers across New Zealand and Australia; attributing many of those connections to exhibiting at the fairs.
“I’d estimate around 70% of those relationships can be traced back, either directly or indirectly, to the NZ Gift & Homeware Fairs. The Spring, Autumn and Winter Fairs have become important touchpoints for maintaining relationships with existing stockists, showcasing new collections and supporting retailers face-to-face. For us, the fairs have become a cornerstone of our wholesale strategy.”
Today, you’ll be able to find Ecovask products in retail shops across the North and South Islands, and 5 of Australia’s states. Some of those products, can now also be proudly called ‘Award Winning’, with Ecovask awarded both Gold and the Editor’s Choice awards in the 2025 Clean+Consicous Awards. This year, the brand was also named Top 3-E-comm Brand and She-Com Home & Lifestyle Brand of the Year.
“Two years ago, we were named as a finalist in the 2degrees Auckland Business Awards for Best Emerging Business. That was probably the first-time I felt we’d created something serious and motivated me to set some serious business goals. Being recognised as She-com & Lifestyle Home Brand of the Year was incredibly special, particularly because it was an Australian award and Australia is still a relatively new market for us.”
This continued success, according to Viv can also be attributed to the ecovask team’s exhibiting strategy. Each year, they look at how they can present their range more clearly, make products easier to shop and create a stand that’s welcoming and intuitive to walk through for retailers.
“In the beginning, our goal was to simply be noticed. Today their focus is on creating the best possible experience for retailers. Every fair teaches us something new, and we use those learnings to make the next one even better. We think carefully about everything – from the flow of the stand and how we use our walls, to how we merchandise our collections so retailers can easily visualise them in-store. We’ve learnt that retailers aren’t just buying products – they’re buying a range, a story and an in-store experience.”
But it’s not just the connections with retailers that have helped Ecovask grow as a brand, but also unexpected connections with fellow exhibitors. Over the years, Viv has built relationships with other wholesalers at the NZ Gift & Homeware Fairs which have evolved into genuine friendships and business partnerships. An example of these relationships is this year’s brand-new collaboration with Better Tea Co, a relationship that has been fostered through exhibiting at trade fairs.
When unexpected circumstances made it difficult for Better Tea Co to continue managing distribution independently, Ecovask was able to offer a solution. The 2026 Winter Gift Fair marked the first time both brands were showcased together.
“To me, that’s one of the things that makes the Gift Fairs so special. They don’t just create opportunities between brands and retailers – they create lasting connections across the industry.”
