A Guide to Bali’s Heart-Centered Creators
Posted by Christina Zipperlen on December 2, 2025
Ethical beauty, slow living, and the communities that contribute to this beautifully intentional island.
Bali has always been more than a destination. It is a teacher, a sanctuary, and a place where beauty grows from the ground up. Beyond the postcard-perfect sunsets and iconic rice terraces lives a living ecosystem of makers, healers, and community-led brands who honor land, lineage, and craftsmanship in every object they create.
To walk consciously through Bali is to listen. To notice the hands that weave, the plants that heal, the stories passed down through families, and the quiet acts of care that sustain entire communities.
This guide gathers some of the island’s most heartfelt ethical beauty, slow-living, and conscious lifestyle brands. Each one invites you to engage with Bali in a way that is reciprocal, intentional, and rooted in respect: for the land, for its people, and for the traditions that make this island unlike anywhere else on Earth.
For those of us who call this island home, these are the places that continue to feel aligned with values of care, community, and reciprocity.
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Natural Beauty & Wellness Brands
CANTIKA
Balinese Plant Wisdom in a Bottle (Ubud)
Cantika is one of Bali’s most beloved natural beauty brands, rooted in traditional Balinese plant wisdom and small-batch craftsmanship. Founded by Ibu Ketut Jasi, the brand began as part of her family’s home garden and holistic spa sanctuary in Ubud, where she cultivated herbs and flowers known for their healing and rejuvenating properties. Over the years, Cantika has grown into a respected local producer of natural hair and body care products, all handcrafted from plants grown and harvested in their own gardens.
Every shampoo, lotion, and oil is handcrafted from plants grown steps away, hibiscus, pandan, moringa, frangipani, grated, infused, and blended using traditional tools.
Zero-waste practices, small batches, refill options, and workshops keep the brand deeply connected to the land and community.
Sustainability and transparency are integral to Cantika’s philosophy. The production process is low-waste and uses minimal packaging, and visitors are encouraged to refill their bottles or join workshops to learn about herbal beauty practices firsthand. Products are used in the Cantika Zest Spa and sold locally through select retailers, maintaining a close connection between maker and consumer.
Entirely Balinese-owned and managed, Cantika embodies the island’s approach to beauty as harmony with nature. Its products represent more than skincare, they are a celebration of local knowledge, self-care, and the intimate relationship between people and plants.
Balinese-owned, plant-based, and guided by generations of herbal knowledge.
UTAMA SPICE
Ancient Jamu Wisdom, Modern Aromatherapy (Ubud)
Utama Spice is one of Bali’s pioneering natural wellness brands, known for its pure essential oils, body care, and aromatherapy products inspired by the island’s botanical abundance. Founded in Ubud in the late 1990s by a group of local herbalists and natural product enthusiasts, Utama Spice was created with a simple mission: to revive traditional Balinese herbal knowledge and share the healing power of plants through modern, accessible products.
All Utama Spice creations are made using 100% natural ingredients, including locally sourced herbs, spices, and cold-pressed oils. Their range spans essential oils, natural soaps, body butters, facial mists, bug repellents, deodorants, and diffusers—all crafted in small batches without synthetic fragrances, parabens, or sulfates. Every formula is developed in-house in Ubud, and all raw materials are plant-based and biodegradable.
Utama Spice’s philosophy draws heavily on the Balinese and Indonesian tradition of jamu — a holistic herbal system emphasizing harmony between body, mind, and spirit. The company blends this traditional wisdom with contemporary aromatherapy, creating products that are both therapeutic and environmentally responsible.
Utama Spice stands as a bridge between ancient herbal practice and modern conscious living.
MUNTI GUNUNG
Community-Powered Wellness & Handcrafts (East Bali)
Munti Gunung is one of Bali’s most inspiring social enterprises. What began as a humanitarian project in the arid mountains of Karangasem has grown into a fully community-led business empowering local families with education, clean water, and dignified employment.
Established through collaboration between local villagers, a Balinese NGO, and a Swiss foundation, Munti Gunung began as a humanitarian initiative addressing extreme poverty, water scarcity, and food insecurity. It has since evolved into a thriving model of self-reliance and long-term sustainability.
Local women are trained and employed to produce handcrafted goods using locally sourced materials.
Products include:
- Herbal teas (rosella, moringa)
- Solar-dried fruits
- Handwoven textiles
- Bamboo crafts
- Essential oils & natural pantry goods
Today, more than 100 families earn sustainable income through the project, with profits reinvested in healthcare, water infrastructure, and education.
Munti Gunung also offers eco-trekking experiences that teach conscious travel and the social impact of community-led initiatives.
A shining example of ethical entrepreneurship, Munti Gunung shows how conscious business can transform a community and regenerate an entire region.
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Conscious Home & Lifestyle Brands
HEVEYA
Natural Latex & Organic Bedding (Canggu)
Heveya’s Canggu showroom is a haven of natural materials and soft textures. Their organic latex mattresses, bamboo lyocell sheets, and linen bedding are free from toxins and thoughtfully designed for longevity.
The company focuses on creating products that support both wellness and sustainability. Their core materials – organic latex, bamboo lyocell, linen, and cotton – are all naturally sourced and free from toxic chemicals.
Heveya emphasizes a closed-loop and circular design philosophy, ensuring their mattresses and materials can be repurposed or recycled at the end of their lifecycle.
With a circular design ethos, tree-planting initiatives, and social projects like “The Happy Mattress Project”, which donates mattresses to underprivileged children in Indonesia, Heveya embodies conscious luxury rooted in wellness.
A beautiful example of how comfort, sustainability, and social impact can coexist in everyday home essentials.
THREADS OF LIFE
Fair-Trade Textiles & Natural Dye Studio (Ubud)
Threads of Life is a fair-trade textile business based in Ubud, Bali, with a mission rooted in culture, conservation, and empowerment. It was co-founded in 1998 by William Ingram and Jean Howe, together with Balinese ethnobotanist I Made “Pung” Maduarta. The founders witnessed how weaving traditions were diminishing during the Southeast Asian economic crisis, as weavers sold heirloom ceremonial cloths out of economic desperation. Threads of Life was created to help preserve these endangered weaving traditions, support artisans, and revive natural dye practices.
Threads of Life partners with over 1,000 women weavers across 12 Indonesian islands — including Kalimantan, Flores, Sumba, Timor, and Bali. The organization promotes heirloom-quality textiles, natural dyes, and traditional motifs, often working closely with weaving communities to revive dye traditions that were in danger of disappearing, thus preserving cultural heritage.
Their Ubud galleries and dye studio offer:
- heirloom-quality textiles
- weaving & natural dye workshops
- educational experiences linking craft, culture, and ecology
Every purchase supports sustainable livelihoods, endangered landscapes, and knowledge systems that might otherwise fade away.
SADUS TILES
Handmade Cement Tiles from Sidemen Valley
Sadus Tiles is a family-run brand reawakening Indonesia’s cement tile tradition while combining it with fresh, modern designs. Founded by a Balinese–Dutch couple, Sadus creates handmade tiles using volcanic sand from Mount Agung and traditional methods such as hand-pressing, water curing, and open-air drying.
Their Sidemen workshop employs local artisans, avoids kiln firing, minimizes waste, and offers fully customizable patterns and palettes.
A beautiful example of heritage craftsmanship meeting thoughtful, modern design.
RIMMBA
Rooted in Bali, Woven for the World
RIMMBA is a Bali-born ethical fashion label creating naturally dyed silk garments using native botanicals crafted by Balinese artisans. The brand carries an unwavering commitment to honoring the land, culture, and the inner journey of transformation. Inspired by the Indonesian word rimba – deep forest, wild jungle – it invites us to reconnect with our own inner landscape of intuition.
Founded by Karunia Fischer, a Bali-born Swiss-American designer, RIMMBA blends modern craft with heritage techniques. Each piece is handcrafted by Balinese artisans and dyed using plants such as marigold, indigo, and mango leaves, honoring Bali’s living color traditions.
RIMMBA is committed to regenerative fashion — ethical sourcing, fair-trade practices, minimal waste, and collaborations that support local artisans and regenerative agriculture. Their garments are designed to restore: to land, to culture, and to the communities who make them.
The brand also hosts monthly Botanical Dye Workshops, inviting guests into the mindful, nature-led process behind their vibrant colors.
When you wear RIMMBA, you wear a piece of Bali’s heritage, botanical beauty, and a story of conscious craftsmanship woven for a more sustainable future.
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Ethical Nonprofits Making Real Impact
Bali is held together not only by its culture and landscapes, but also by the quiet, consistent work of organizations who protect the island’s most vulnerable communities and ecosystems. These are the nonprofits we return to again and again, transparent, community-rooted, and deeply aligned with values of compassion, regeneration, and empowerment.
BUMI SEHAT FOUNDATION
Gentle Birth, Strong Communities
Founded by world-renowned midwife Ibu Robin Lim, Bumi Sehat provides free maternal healthcare, birthing services, and emergency medical support to families who would otherwise be unable to afford care.
Their community-based clinics offer:
- safe, gentle births
- prenatal and postnatal care
- nutritional programs for mothers
- reproductive health education
- community disaster response
Bumi Sehat’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that peace begins with birth — that nurturing mothers and babies creates healthier, more resilient communities for generations to come.
Even a small donation directly supports life-saving care. For donations — this way .
SUNGAI WATCH
Bali’s River Guardians
Sungai Watch is one of the most impactful environmental movements in Indonesia today. Founded by brothers Gary, Sam, and Kelly Bencheghib, the initiative installs river barriers across Bali to stop plastic waste before it reaches the ocean.
Their work includes:
- over 300+ river barriers across Bali
- daily trash collection & pollution data monitoring
- community cleanups and awareness programs
- innovative recycling and upcycling solutions
- creating local green jobs
Sungai Watch doesn’t just clean rivers — they transform systems. Their scalable model is becoming a blueprint for communities across Southeast Asia facing plastic pollution.
YAVA Bali
Regenerative Food Production & Rural Empowerment
On the slopes of East Bali lies a quiet revolution in regenerative agriculture and ethical food production. East Bali Cashews (now operating under Yava Bali) was founded to uplift farming families through dignified work, fair wages, and skill-building.
YAVA Bali is a social enterprise transforming Desa Ban in Karangasem by creating dignified local jobs and fair markets for small farmers. Founded in 2012 to address poverty and out-migration, YAVA now employs over 500 villagers, many of them women, and purchases cashews, coconuts, fruits, sorghum, and palm sugar directly from local farmers at fair prices.
YAVA processes these ingredients on-site into minimally processed snacks and foods sold in Indonesia and over 15 countries — keeping economic value in the village. Their impact extends beyond employment: YAVA provides on-site healthcare, supports sustainable farming practices, and runs Anakardia Kids, an early education preschool for local children.
Rooted in regeneration and community wellbeing, YAVA is a powerful example of how ethical food production can strengthen rural economies and improve family livelihoods.
This is conscious commerce at its purest: high-quality products grown with care, produced in the village, and reinvested right back into the community.
Supporting these nonprofits is a meaningful way to give back to the island that gives so much. Whether through donations, conscious purchases, or spreading awareness, each act becomes part of a larger gesture of reciprocity, honoring Bali with the same generosity it offers to everyone who visits her shores.
A Closing Reflection
Bali teaches that beauty is relational. That every object carries the hands of its maker. That every purchase is a vote for the kind of world we want to build.
To live slowly here is to live intentionally, choosing plants over synthetics, community over convenience, tradition over trend.
As a Bali-grown brand, we’re grateful to be part of this community of makers and changemakers, creating ethically, supporting local artisans, and giving back to the island that holds us
May this guide help you meet the island with softness, presence, and reciprocity.
And may each conscious choice become a quiet offering back to the land that holds us.
