While a tropical getaway is a time to switch off and recharge, for adventure-loving couple, Dean and Tegan — and Dean’s brother, Jaryd — a stint hopping around some of South East Asia’s most beautiful marine parks proved to be inspiration for a new profession.
“Seeing the amount of plastic waste as we travelled was a real eye-opener for us,” recalls Jaryd. “We saw first-hand what all the plastic pollution was doing to the environment and we wanted to do something about it.”
Determined to be part of the solution, the outdoor-loving trio — who spend most of their weekends hiking, boating or camping — began thinking of ways they could help, while doing something they loved at the same time.
“Loving the outdoors as much as we do, we thought of the hammock and how we could make that out of recycled plastic bottles,” explains Jaryd. Within a year, Nakie was born.
Made from 37 recycled plastic bottles each, Nakie hammocks are the world’s first 100 percent recycled hammocks.
“Plastic takes on average 400 years to breakdown,” says Jaryd. “So our hammocks are both giving these bottles a new life, and hopefully removing them from our waterways.”
Designed with adventuring top of mind, the hammocks are lightweight and compact. So compact, in fact, that they fold up into a small stuff sack, meaning that it can be taken anywhere on a casual hike or a multi-day camping trip. The hammocks are also quick and easy to set up. “Our record set up is 27 seconds!” chuckles Jaryd.
But while the product design and functionality are undoubtedly great, growing a business from the ground up revealed a whole new set of challenges for these first-time entrepreneurs. They looked to Amazon Australia to help them take the next step.
Supporting Aussie businesses has been a key priority for Amazon Australia since its launch in the country. As such, hundreds of tools, features, and services are available to help sellers such as Nakie succeed and thrive, including Fulfilment by Amazon — Amazon Australia’s flagship delivery offering —which enables sellers to outsource storage, packing, shipping and customer service.
“Selling with Amazon Australia was a huge turning point for us,” says Jaryd. “It has allowed us to grow and expand our business, while also taking a huge amount of pressure off us thanks to Fulfilment by Amazon.”
“It's such a smooth and easy process, both for us and the customers, and it frees up our time so that we can focus on other things.”
To further increase a commitment to support homegrown businesses, Amazon Australia are using the power of the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to showcase Nakie to help further their success as we head into the festive sales season.
“Given that we sell on Amazon Australia now, I’m really excited to be part of Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” says Jaryd. “Participating in these deal events is so easy for sellers.”
This year, Australian customers can benefit from great choice and access to locally made products from brands, both big and small. The store is a one-stop-shop for unique holiday-season gifts.
Sales aside, the team behind Nakie hope that their success inspires other businesses to adopt a similar planet-friendly approach to their operations and to join the global war against waste.
“We want to make a difference not just a profit,” affirms Jaryd. “So far we have saved more than one million bottles from landfill, and we plant four trees for every product sold — we even have our very own reserve in Northwest Madagascar!
“Though we know that we’re only scratching the surface of the problem, we want to encourage people to make a conscious decision when deciding what they buy, and how they live. We truly believe it is our responsibility to preserve this world for future generations.”
But perhaps even more important than the environmental impact these hammocks have, is the personal one. At the heart of the Nakie brand — indeed its literal meaning — is to inspire Aussies to be more present, to get outdoors, and to disconnect to reconnect.
“We're on a mission to share what's important to us,” says Jaryd, passionately. “Getting outside, exploring nature, leaving the emails, cars, and phones behind, and spending time with friends and family. We want to strip away all the noise to go help get Aussies back to what's really important.”
Shop Nakie and more Aussie businesses during Black Friday and Cyber Monday on Amazon Australia's Shop Local store.
Visit Sell with Amazon to learn more about becoming an Amazon seller.
