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As a part of the Morning Lazziness collection highlighting empowering ladies who’re making a outstanding influence with their concepts, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rhonda Candy.
Rhonda Candy is the founding father of Terra Tag, a Queensland-based enterprise rethinking occasion waste one badge at a time. After three many years as a service designer and strategist at Bain & Firm, McKinsey, Optus and Westpac, Rhonda turned her experience to fixing a small however ignored drawback: plastic convention title badges that sit in landfill for hundreds of years.
Each Terra Tag badge is handmade from rescued workplace paper, printed in-house, and paired with biodegradable cotton lanyards. After the occasion, they are often planted to develop wildflowers or herbs, composted, or recycled. Since launch in 2023, Terra Tag has provided 200+ occasions, prevented over two tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and eradicated 1000’s of plastic badge units.
What units Terra Tag aside is its “class of 1” stance. Whereas rPET, PLA, Tyvek and bamboo composites are marketed as eco however normally find yourself in landfill, Terra Tag makes use of no coatings and no plastic — simply paper that returns to the earth. Behind the scenes, Rhonda has engineered a lean, resilient operation: solar-assisted drying containers, greywater processes, upcycled instruments, and a codified, modular papermaking system the place one papermaker can produce 1,500 badges/day.
Rhonda’s aim is straightforward: to make the sustainable alternative the simplest alternative for busy occasion groups. Terra Tag was a Queensland finalist within the 2025 Telstra Better of Enterprise Awards (Selling Sustainability), reflecting each its innovation and its measurable influence.
When she’s not within the studio, Rhonda experiments with AI workflows, mentors founders, and walks her cussed English bulldog on the Sunshine Coast.
On this interview, she reveals the mindset shifts, daring strikes, and classes that helped her flip concepts into impactful on-line companies.
What impressed you to start out your online business, and what drawback had been you obsessed with fixing?
Most individuals don’t take into consideration emissions after they take a look at a convention title badge. However one plastic badge and lanyard create 0.12 kg of CO₂. Multiply that by Australia’s 484,000 occasions and also you get 34,000 tonnes — the equal of powering 1000’s of properties, simply from title tags.
I’d spent many years in technique and design at Bain, McKinsey, and companies. I knew the ignored issues typically maintain the largest influence. Terra Tag was born to resolve this one: we substitute plastic with title badges comprised of waste paper, plantable after occasions, and absolutely compostable.
How has your online business advanced since launch, and what key selections drove progress?
Papermaking isn’t a craft passion; it’s materials science. We spent two years codifying a system that controls cellulose fibres, urgent, and drying with precision. We constructed a solar-assisted dry field to flatten sheets in two days as an alternative of energy-hungry dryers, and a greywater system that makes use of lower than 15 litres per batch — the identical as one laundry cycle. All our gear is upcycled: café blenders, flyscreen moulds, salvaged benches.
From there, we advanced right into a full end-to-end service. We created the two-stage print mannequin to deal with late registrations, reverse-engineered manufacturing schedules from the occasion date so badges all the time arrive ready-to-wear, and added AI-assisted paintings steerage to cut back errors.
The outcome? A repeatable, teachable system the place one papermaker produces 1,500 badges/day, and ten can produce 15,000. Handmade, sure … however engineered to scale.
In your view, what really units your model aside in at present’s aggressive market?
We’re a class of 1. Each different so-called “eco badge” fails beneath scrutiny:
- rPET = nonetheless plastic, sheds microplastics.
- Bamboo = normally combined with resin, not recyclable.
- PLA = solely breaks down in industrial composting.
- Tyvek = 100% HDPE plastic, marketed as eco, normally landfilled.
Terra Tag is the one Australian firm hand-making badges from waste paper. No coatings, no plastic, no half-steps, no greenwash. Simply paper: recyclable, compostable, or plantable.
In truth, we’ve simply turn into a finalist within the Telstra Better of Enterprise Awards for selling sustainability. It validates not simply our enterprise, however the concept that actual sustainability counts. In a sea of “eco” merchandise that don’t stay as much as the promise,
What has been your best advertising technique to date, and why did it work so properly?
The again of each badge has a QR code linking to our planting and recycling web page. Visitors scan it, share it, and the product itself tells our story. It’s one of the best advertising we’ve ever achieved and way more highly effective than any advert spend. We additionally make investments closely in website positioning.
How do you keep linked to your ultimate viewers and perceive their wants or behaviours?
We work straight with EAs, occasion managers, sustainability officers, procurement leads — the folks beneath strain to get it proper. Their ache factors are constant: late visitor lists, quick timelines, and the stress of “wanting good” in entrance of their groups.
As a service designer, I exploit journey maps and personas to form our end-to-end service. That’s why we ship badges pre-sorted by visitor checklist, connect lanyards by hand, and supply two print runs. It’s not nearly sustainability; it’s about eradicating stress.
What’s one branding transfer or marketing campaign that helped elevate your online business to the following degree?
We turned each order right into a story. Tourism Australia: 600 badges, 72 kg CO₂ saved. Bloomberg: seed paper badges that met strict ESG targets. Nando’s: vivid full-colour badges with biodegradable crimson lanyards. Visitors beloved them, shared them, and talked about them at morning tea.
By tying consumer manufacturers to measurable influence, we created advertising that’s each genuine and social-proofed.
What does success appear to be for you, not simply in numbers, however in objective or influence?
Success is when an organiser tells me: “The visitors beloved them and I regarded good.” That single second combines every part we stand for: slicing emissions, eradicating plastic, and serving to our shoppers shine in entrance of their friends.
Are you able to share a problem or setback that finally grew to become a turning level on your model?
Early on, we had a contaminated scrap batch that set us again. It pressured us to construct stronger quality control, diversify sourcing, and maintain buffer inventory. That second reworked our provide chain resilience. As we speak, it’s why we are able to assure high quality each time.
What each day habits or rituals preserve you centered, artistic, and grounded as a pacesetter?
Papermaking itself grounds me — it’s meditative, scientific, and tactile. And I stroll my bulldog each morning earlier than opening my inbox. It retains me current, calm, and prepared for the day.
How do you method innovation and danger in your online business technique?
We innovate the place it issues most. We constructed solar-assisted drying programs, codified modular papermaking, and created an AI deadline calculator that reverse-engineers supply schedules from occasion dates. We’re creating Australia’s first absolutely biodegradable lanyard clip to get rid of the final artificial element.
Threat is managed by prototyping small and scaling what works. The precept is straightforward: sustainability with out stress. Each resolution has to cut back waste and make life simpler for occasion organisers.
What recommendation would you give to somebody beginning a enterprise in at present’s fast-changing digital world?
Don’t chase scale, chase programs. Begin with one ignored drawback. Construct an answer that removes friction. Use digital instruments to make your promise extra dependable, no more sophisticated.
The place can our viewers join with you and be taught extra about your work or choices?
Web site: www.terratag.com.au
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhondasweet/
E mail: hello@terratag.com.au
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