NZ Nature and our carboNZeroCert TM certification
New Zealand Nature gained carboNZero Cert TM certification in 2009. This scheme is facilitated by the New Zealand government owned Crown Research Institute Landcare Research. It is the first accredited ISO 14065 GHG verifier outside of the USA and the first greenhouse gas certification scheme in the world to receive international accreditation under the auspices of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). Having measured our greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with ISO 14064-1, we are now committed to managing and reducing emissions, while offsetting our unavoidable emissions by purchasing verified carbon credits from credible projects.
Read the summary of our carboNZero Cert TM certification here.
The History of NZ Nature
New Zealand Nature Company (and the Maruia Mail Order Catalogue) traces its origins from the Maruia Society, now known as the Ecologic Foundation. The Maruia Society began in the early 1970’s as a group focused on the conservation of New Zealand native forests. The word Maruia (ma-roo-ee-a) means sheltered valley in Maori. It recalls the Maruia Declaration, signed by 340,000 New Zealanders seeking better protection for native forests, launched in the Maruia Valley in 1975.
Throughout the 1980s the Maruia Society broadened its focus to cover a wider range of environmental concerns, playing a major role in the forming of government policies on climate change, forestry, energy, transportation, resource management and overseas development assistance.
To partly fund this activity, the Maruia Society sent its members and supporters a catalogue of quality, sustainable products. It started out as a simple 6 page leaflet that included products such as the Audubon Bird Whistle, recycled envelope labels and beautiful nature books (all still available today). In the mid 1990s the Maruia Society and the Maruia Catalogue became independent of one another - although we still support Ecologic today.
The Catalogue continued to expand the range of products as more and more customers requested new items from a source they could trust. Most significantly, recognising a trend overseas for wearing the supremely light and comfortable silk thermal underwear, this wonderful product was developed for New Zealanders and it soon became one of the Catalogue’s best sellers. Possum Merino clothing and the renewed popularity of New Zealand made sheepskin boots saw further increases in the products made available.
With the increasing use of internet as a home shopping channel in the late 1990s, the Maruia Catalogue went online. The website was named New Zealand Nature and suddenly these premium quality products were available to the whole world. People everywhere began to appreciate the quality of the products we had available, supported by the high level of customer care.
Both the Catalogue and website continued to grow with new ranges of Possum Merino clothing, sustainable Bamboo clothing, pure silk clothing, energy efficient solar and LED lights, natural bedding,educational toys and activities, natural bodycare and natural health products and much more.
With an ongoing focus on quality and sustainability, New Zealand Nature’s attention to detail throughout the product development process is the same for products sourced from within New Zealand as it is for products sourced elsewhere. The same rules are applied, with the same focus, across the ranges.
New Zealand Nature continues to support humanitarian and environmental initiatives.
Examples include:
- Support of Soloman Islands’ people in the gathering and pressing of Ngali nuts which provides a viable and sustainable living alternative to logging the native rainforest. (Ngali Nut oil is an essential ingredient in the New Zealand Nature’s ‘Rainforest’ range of beauty products.)
- Support for the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary, a project to creat a pest-free wildlife sanctuary here in Nelson.
- And of course, support and collaboration with the Ecologic Foundation continues to be an important factor in New Zealand Nature’s day to day activities.
We invite you to browse the site and learn more about us and our products. Scroll down for our full contact information.