Think all coconut oil is the same? Think again. Laura’s ethical coconut oil brand exposes the true cost of that £5 supermarket jar…
Not all coconut oil is as pure as it seems. While supermarket jars promise wellness on a budget, the reality behind how they’re made often tells a darker story.
From monkeys forced to harvest coconuts to murky supply chains, the coconut oil industry is riddled with ethical blind spots. Enter Laura, a former denim designer turned founder of Three By One, a brand on a mission to do better.
Her ethical coconut oil is harvested by hand in Sri Lanka, with every jar supporting small-scale farmers, zero-waste practices, and full transparency. I sat down with Laura to uncover how a chance meeting in a Bangladeshi denim factory led to a coconut revolution, and why she’s not interested in playing by big retail’s rules.
You lived in Belgium for quite a while, how did you end up there and what was this experience like?
I moved to Belgium to work for Wrangler, where I headed up the Denim Product
Development for 10 years. In 2015, I started Three By One while I was still working for Wrangler.
I also started teaching some fitness classes around the same time in gyms and
studios. In January 2017, I decided to leave Wrangler to become an independent denim
consultant and to have a bit more time to focus on the brand.
Take me back to the moment you’ve decided to start Three By One, how did you find the courage to start your own business?
It was 2015, and I was sitting in a denim factory in Bangladesh that I visited monthly. I was feeling a bit stuck, thinking about changing jobs. During a conversation with a Sri Lankan colleague, I met his sister-in-law and learned about her family’s efforts to revive their coconut business.
Before I really knew it, I had a pallet of ethical coconut oil with my own branding on its way to Europe by boat!
A bit over a year later, I visited Sri Lanka to meet the farmers and producers. I finished the trip with a surf and yoga retreat, where I met a British guy who had just quit his UK job to move to Sri Lanka. His story gave me the final push to leave my secure job at Wrangler!
What’s the story behind the name Three by One?
There are two meanings behind the brand name. The first is that I, myself, do three things: denim, fitness, and coconuts. The second is that 3×1 is the traditional twill weave of denim fabric.
You work directly with small-scale Sri Lankan producers. Tell me a little about this partnership.
By working directly with farmers and producers it means that there is a very short and
transparent supply chain of all the products. Short supply chain means no brokers, no
agents, no middlemen between the producers and me. That way, I can be sure that the
producers are working in an ethical and sustainable way, as well as ensuring they receive a
fair price for their goods.
On your website, you specifically mention the fact that your coconuts are not harvested by monkeys. Tell me a little about this issue.
In parts of Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, monkeys are routinely exploited to harvest coconuts. They’re taken from the wild, often stolen from their mothers at a young age, and chained, caged, and forced to work under brutal conditions.
Trained using fear and violence, these monkeys wear metal collars and are made to climb trees up to 25 metres high, collecting as many as 1,000 coconuts a day, ten times more than a human could. Many are beaten if they don’t obey commands. When they’re not working, they’re kept in isolation, often muzzled and chained.
This hidden cruelty is behind many coconut products sold on supermarket shelves.
At Three By One, our coconuts are picked and harvested by skilled, passionate people, not animals. Our producers are paid a fair wage, provided with healthcare, and treated with the respect they deserve.
Your brand uses every part of the coconut – what inspired that total commitment to zero waste?
It started with seeing the waste firsthand. After the oil was extracted, coconut shells were being burned by the roadside, and husks were left to rot. It didn’t sit right with me, so much of the coconut was just being discarded. I thought, why not turn that ‘waste’ into something useful? That moment sparked a commitment to using every part of the coconut, creating thoughtful, zero-waste products that respect the people who produce them and the planet they come from.
Your very first product was a jar of ethical coconut oil, but you’ve now expanded to a variety of lifestyle products made from coconut. How did you come up with this idea?
In Sri Lanka, they traditionally use a lot of different coconut products. So it was a combination of being there, seeing what they make as well as use, and seeing if it is something that is appealing to the European market. And then working through new ideas for the ‘waste’ that was created.
I’ve noticed a lot of your products are currently sold out – when can we expect a restock?
A lot has changed since Brexit. I wasn’t able to transfer stock from Europe to the UK, and unfortunately, that meant starting from scratch – new certifications, new systems, everything. It’s been a slow process, but I’m working hard to get back up and running. If all goes to plan, you can expect a restock later this year. Watch this space!
Are there any other interesting products you’re looking to bring to the market that would be made from coconut?
I always have loads of ideas for new products! Watch this space!
Would you ever take on a big corporate investor if it meant getting your products in every major store, or would that compromise your values?
At this stage, no. I want to grow my brand organically and ethically. Major stores usually don’t align with my values, so I have no desire to be stocked there.
That said, I’m open to small investors who want to support an ethical business and help fund the UK relaunch.
A 500ml jar of your coconut oil is £13, at Tesco, people can buy it for under £5. With the current cost-of-living crisis, how do you justify the price point of your product?
Comparing Three By One coconut oil to a cheaper jar from Tesco isn’t a fair comparison. Our quality, ethics, provenance, and taste are worlds apart.
Yes, our products are pricier, similar to other ethical brands, and I understand not everyone can afford them. But I believe in “buy better, buy less,” and our products truly deliver on that promise.
They’re for people who value ethical sourcing, organic farming, and quality over quantity. Many customers tell me once they try Three By One, they won’t use anything else!
Sustainability and zero waste are huge buzzwords right now but I’ve noticed that brands promoting those values often come with a much higher price tag, whether it’s clothing, beauty or homeware. So, do you think sustainability has become something only accessible to people who can afford it?
Unfortunately, sustainability is mostly accessible only to those who can afford it. Our current capitalist system pushes cheap, low-quality, and often unethical products, while hiding the true costs behind them.
Big supermarkets and corporations often don’t pay suppliers fairly, making ethical, transparent businesses seem expensive and out of reach.
Until more people choose to avoid big retailers and support ethical brands, these businesses can’t scale or lower prices. Capitalism focuses on profit without considering people, the planet, or fairness, making it very challenging, and costly, to build truly ethical products.
You’ve taught yoga, run a business, and relaunched in a whole new market. When do you rest and what does wellbeing mean to you?
I find rest in small moments, walking my dog on the beach, doing yoga for myself, and reading a little bit regularly.
For me, wellbeing means having the freedom to live according to my values and feeling connected to people, to purpose, and to what truly matters.
What does success really look like for you now?
Not worrying about what other people think of me. Staying strong in my values. It’s about
creating something meaningful and sustainable, guided by purpose rather than pressure.
Any exciting projects in the pipeline that you’d like to share with us?
The UK relaunch is the major project at the moment.
At the same time, I am trying to create a community of small business owners, solopreneurs and freelancers in the North East coastal region with the Creative Co-work Days.
How can people support you and your business?
Sign up to my newsletter to keep up to date with everything. You can do this on the
homepage of my website.
Find me on Instagram at @ThreeByOneEU
If you want to join the co-work day or any of my regular yoga beach sessions, tickets are available here.
And if anyone is interested in micro investment get in touch via email: Laura@threebyone.eu