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RHS Chelsea Flower Show

RHS Chelsea Sustainable Excellence Awards 2026

Open exclusively to show exhibitors, these awards celebrate the businesses and products leading the way with proven planet-friendly practices and the highest standards of sustainability

Discover the 2026 finalists

Sustainable excellence award products
Winners of the Sustainable Excellence Awards in 2026

The RHS Chelsea Sustainable Excellence Awards are open exclusively to tradestand exhibitors at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. They celebrate the horticultural industry’s efforts to promote eco-friendly and ethical consumerism within the gardening sector. 

RHS Chelsea Sustainable Excellence Award products will be on display at the RHS Experience in the Great Pavilion during the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2026.

The winners were announced at the show on Monday 18 May 2026.

Winner of Sustainable Business of the Year 2026 | Weleda

Weleda skin food

Weleda is a Swiss-founded natural skincare and anthroposophical medicine company established in 1921 by Rudolf Steiner, Ita Wegman and chemist Oskar Schmiedel (Anthroposophy is a 20th-century spiritual philosophy and science of the spirit, focused on human freedom and the cultivation of an objective spiritual world).

The brand creates NATRUE‑certified, natural personal care products using biodynamic and organically grown ingredients, avoiding microplastics, GMOs and mineral oil derivatives. Rooted in a holistic philosophy, Weleda operates worldwide with a strong commitment to sustainability, biodiversity and ethical sourcing, supported by its own biodiverse botanical gardens and cultivation projects across the globe.

Judges comments

The judges were particularly impressed by Weleda’s approach, working at eye level with nature; restoring soils, protecting biodiversity. Empowering communities and designing product and infrastructure that work in harmony with nature.

“Weleda represents a rare example of a company where sustainability is not a marketing claim but the organising principle of the business. For more than a century they have demonstrated that commercial success and ecological stewardship can go hand in hand.â€

Winner of Sustainable Garden Product of the Year 2026 | Gaze Burvill - The National Trust Planter

Gaze Burvill - The National Trust Planter

The Gaze Burvill National Trust Planter is a high-integrity plant container that transforms workshop ‘Waste into Wonder’. Crafted from characterful British oak offcuts in our Hampshire workshop, it features an ingenious twist-and-lift detachable crown. This allows the gardener to rotate the lid anticlockwise to reveal a removable Stokbord liner (100% recycled plastic). This system protects the oak from soil moisture and enables effortless seasonal replanting. For mature plants, the crown piece innovatively separates into two L-shaped pieces, allowing the frame to be serviced without disturbing established foliage.

Judges comments

A removable liner system made from 100% recycled plastic protects the timber structure while allowing gardeners to easily refresh seasonal plantings. Crucially, 10% of each sale supports woodland conservation through the National Trust, linking product design directly to ecological restoration.

“Gardening should be part of the solution to the biodiversity crisis, not part of the problem. The Gaze Burvill planter demonstrates how intelligent design, responsible materials and long product life can dramatically reduce waste while strengthening our connection to nature.â€

Winner of Sustainable Lifestyle Product of the Year 2026 | Seilich - Meadow Blend Tea

Seilich - Meadow Blend Tea

Meadow Blend Tea is a loose leaf herbal infusion made from botanicals grown, harvested and dried within species-rich UK wildflower meadow systems. Unlike conventional herbal teas that rely on imported monoculture crops, Meadow Blend Tea is cultivated within unploughed perennial habitats designed to restore biodiversity, build soil carbon and support pollinators. The tea is gently dried at controlled temperatures to preserve flavour, volatile compounds and phytochemical integrity, then packed in recyclable glass. The product functions as both a high- quality botanical infusion and a funding mechanism for habitat restoration, linking daily consumption to measurable ecological management.

Judges comments

The judges praised the product for combining biodiverse agriculture, regenerative cultivation methods and a compelling narrative of nature restoration.

By supporting diverse meadow ecosystems rather than monoculture production systems, the product demonstrates how consumer goods can help restore habitats while delivering high-quality natural products.

“What stood out to the judges was the authenticity of the story and the evidence behind it. Sustainability claims are easy to make but much harder to prove. The winners this year showed clarity of purpose and a commitment to evidence-based sustainability.â€

Discover the other Sustainable Business of the Year 2026 finalists

Aspiga

Aspiga

Aspiga represents the future of fashion and is a business where profit, people and planet are legally equal. As a B Corp certified brand (re-certified in 2025), we have moved beyond the notion of doing less harm to actively regenerating resources. From our 2026 collaboration with the RHS that directly champions biodiversity, to eliminating single-use plastics and empowering artisans in Kenya and India through fair trade, we prove that high-end fashion can be a force for environmental restoration and social equity. We don’t just sell clothes; we fund clean water, education and circularity.

Twool

Twool

Founded on a simple idea – that natural materials can outperform synthetic alternatives – Twool has spent over 15 years developing plastic-free solutions using British wool. Rooted in gardening, the business has gained recognition for its innovative range of sustainable and biodegradable core garden products and dog leads, whether its award-winning garden twine, tree and shrub ties or crop-growing net. Twool continues to create practical, high-performance solutions for gardeners seeking more sustainable choices, even transforming a by-product of its own manufacturing process into the innovative Woolly Water Keeper, designed to improve water retention and reduce waste.

Building on this success, the company has expanded into global applications through its sister brand, Seawool, which develops wool-based alternatives to plastic ropes for sea kelp farming and netting for marine industries. Backed by Innovate UK funding and research-led, Seawool aims to support habitat creation and ocean biodiversity while allowing the wider industry to reduce their reliance on synthetic materials.

Beyond environmental performance, twool is driving social change. By paying fair prices for wool and supporting regional textile industries, the business helps protect skilled jobs and strengthen local supply chains. Its collaborative approach brings together farmers, manufacturers and global partners to develop solutions that actively support biodiversity – from healthier garden ecosystems to emerging marine habitats.

By creating a viable market for low-grade British wool, historically an underused agricultural by-product, twool is helping reduce waste, support farmers and strengthen rural economies. Its products are fully biodegradable, traceable and UK-made, placing sustainability at the heart of the business while delivering measurable environmental impact.

Discover the other RHS Chelsea Sustainable Garden Product of the Year finalists

POTR Helix

POTR | POTR Helix

Helix is an expanding, self-watering plant pot designed to grow with your plant. Made from recycled polypropylene, it begins compact for seedlings and young plants, then twists and expands through an engineered origami structure to accommodate larger root systems – replacing the need for multiple pots as a plant matures. The product can be used to grow from seed, propagate from cuttings or just keep already grown plants thriving. Helix is an entirely new growing system that adapts to the user and the plant.  
  
An integrated reservoir at the base delivers water to the roots via capillary action, helping maintain consistent moisture levels and reduce overwatering. The single material, flat-pack design minimises material use, simplifies recycling and reduces transport impact. Modular in form, Helix units can tessellate to create a larger herb garden, making it easy to grow fresh ingredients at home. By combining adaptability, resource efficiency and intuitive plant care, Helix reimagines the traditional plant pot as a long-life, sustainable growing system.

Niche Bee Post

Niche | Bee Post

We manufacture solid timber bee posts that provide nesting habitat for solitary bees and solitary wasps as well as many other types of invertebrates, including flies, beetles, spiders, snails, earwigs and even snails. The product is designed to replicate standing deadwood as closely as possible but achieved in an ornate way which delivers on various aesthetic design principles such as structure, height, fine detail, texture and colour, making it easy for garden designers and gardeners to integrate functional habitat into their landscapes without compromising site aesthetics.

A bee post provides an immediate nesting habitat for a variety of different bees and wasps from its first season. They are easy to install and require the smallest space for implementation. Best results are achieved in a sunny, south facing aspect with minimal obstruction and some shelter from prevailing wind – if possible. The product requires no maintenance (though optional renovation can be undertaken), so is simply installed and left for nature to colonise and utilise without interference.

Discover the other RHS Chelsea Sustainable Lifestyle Product of the Year finalists

Botanical Interior Design Luminaire Lamp

Botanical Interior Design | Luminaire Lamp

Our tabletop lamps are ‘impossible objects’ â€“ bespoke interior lighting fixtures that leverage geometry as a function. By using plant-based polylactic acid (PLA) and 3D printers, we create highly complex, light-diffusing, lattice structures with internal channels that are physically impossible to manufacture using traditional methods.

Pairing energy-efficient LED pucks with distinct 3D-printed PLA completely removes the carbon-heavy risks of mass production, replacing energy-intensive legacy materials with a highly efficient, sustainable alternative targeting the growing demographic of eco-conscious consumers.

Willsow Plantable Desk Calendar

Willsow | Plantable Desk Calendar

Our RHS Plantable Vegetable and Herb Desk Calendar is a truly unique and sustainably made gardening gift. Each desk calendar comes with a different seed to plant for each month. There is a plantable paper insert that grows a different vegetable or herb, accompanied with full instructions. 

The calendar has been created with entirely UK-made seed paper, created at our very own paper mill, which is the first to be started in the UK in over 70 years. Traditional calendars are heavily laminated with plastics and use non-recycled paper. All of our paper is recycled, and we have full traceability throughout the manufacture as it is all made in house.

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