My top five: Juliet Kinsman

Travel and sustainability expert Juliet Kinsman is co-founder of Bouteco, a carefully chosen collection of sustainable, luxury hotels. Here are her current five favourite eco-friendly brands

Juliet Kinsman is a leading travel writer and hospitality expert, and has been published across a large range of luxury and travel titles. The author of Louis Vuitton City Guides for London and New York, she helped establish the luxury travel club Mr & Mrs Smith and was the founding editor of their iconic guidebooks.

More recently, having met many a philanthropic hotelier and working with award-winning luxury-travel brands over the years, Juliet was inspired to set up Bouteco – an eco-travel website spotlighting hotels that combine luxury with sustainability, having developed an understanding of just how important eco-friendly products are in changing the planet through years of travelling.

Although Notting Hill is her home, she’s a regular visitor to New York City and Bali, both of which are among the destinations from which she regularly shares tips on her Instagram, @julietkinsman.

Juliet’s favourite disruptive brands

Soneva
The first truly sexy high-end sustainable luxury resort, Soneva combines luxury and sustainability in its four resorts based in the heart of the Maldives and in Thailand. Soneva’s CEO Sonu Shivdasani is not only on a mission to save his beloved adopted home of Kunfunadhoo Island, but perhaps the whole planet too. Responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the philosophy, and each resort invests in sustainable equipment. It has one of the largest solar power plants in the Maldives, and has kept pockets of the island’s coastline untouched so turtles can continue to nest there. Food is grown and sourced locally where possible, and there’s even a purpose-built centre for waste management and recycling, as well as a marine conservation programme attached to the resorts.

Tesla
Marketed as the world's most environmentally friendly vehicle, the Tesla is a zero-emissions electric vehicle that won't pollute the air like gas-powered cars. Carbon emissions from a gas car's tailpipe have a dangerous impact on global warming, so electric vehicles like the Tesla are helping to make steps to save the planet.

Elvis & Kresse
Look no further for sustainable luxury than multi-award-winning brand Elvis & Kresse, who upcycle 100 per cent reclaimed materials into sustainable luxury lifestyle bags and accessories. The extensive range of ethically sourced products include beautiful leather goods made with such raw, repurposed materials as decommissioned fire hoses.

Fogo Island shop, Canada
You’ll find some incredible pieces of furniture by Canadian company Foo Island Shop. I love their "economic nutrition" labelling too: the top of the label gives you a breakdown of the production costs, making the value and cost of what you’re buying totally transparent. While the bottom of the label shows which countries will benefit most from the sale.

Lily & Mortimer
I absolutely love this bed linen that encompasses a beautifully soft range of sheets, duvet covers and pillows, all made from organic cotton. The owner set the company up after searching for ways in which she could improve her sleep, and discovered very few bedding brands were organic. The brand uses GOTS certified organic cotton to create super-soft duvet sets. Going to bed has never been more fun, and you’ll sleep even more soundly knowing nothing bad has gone into the material.

This article was first published in Luxury Plus magazine, issue 2.