Lifestyle

Inventory: These made-in-B.C. hand sanitizers are helping us keep clean in germy times

By Alyssa Hirose /

Credit: Ampersand Distilling

Ampersand Distilling makes its hand rub in Duncan

We can’t leave home without them (if we do leave home at all)

Good Spirits

Ampersand Distilling was born in 2014 from a very passionate family: there’s Jeremy and Jessica Schacht’s love of craft cocktails, Jeremy’s father, Stephen Schacht’s, engineering training and Jeremy’s mother, Ramona Froehle-Schacht’s, organic farming know-how. They’re a dream team-turned-clean team, thanks to COVID. Their sani is as simple as it gets–it’s made in Duncan from high-quality pure spirits and it’s unscented, so folks with sensitive noses won’t be bothered. And you might as well order some gin while you’re at it. Online

Credit: Sootsoap

Not a Drill

After her firefighter partner returned home smelling of smoke–again–K. Dee Howard decided to take his hygiene habits into her own hands. She and Kevin Delano founded Sootsoap in 2019 (charcoal is their secret for stubborn smells; it’s in the company’s shampoo, soap and odour spray) and rolled out a hand sanitizer last year. The gel-liquid hybrid, made in Kelowna, has a fresh, minty scent. Online

Credit: Healing Bees

Bee Clean

Agnes Kalmar launched Burnaby-based Healing Bees in 2017 after much encouragement from her loved ones (the beekeeper-dietician had been mixing at-home lotions for friends and family). Her hand sanitizer spray has nourishing ingredients like aloe vera and glycerin, which prevent hands from drying out. Online

Credit: Kasandy

No Frills

Granville Island–based Kasandy is known for selling handmade goods crafted by artisans in East Africa–and helping support the developing economy there. But founder Jackee Kasandy also curates products made locally, like the all-natural SDLV Body Essentials hand sanitizer spray produced in Vancouver. The line has five soothing scents, including eucalyptus lemon and lavender orange. Online

Credit: Nezza Naturals

Hand Shake

When it comes to getting through tough times, working together is key. Case in point: this collaboration between Victoria-based Nezza Naturals and Victoria Distillers. Father-daughter duo Sasha Prior and James Trueit teamed up with the distillery for a sweet-smelling orange hand sanitizer that’s sold in both small bottles and one- and four-litre refill sizes, to reduce waste. Online