Based in New Zealand, Ethique is the world’s first zero-waste beauty company. Founded and led by entrepreneur and formulator Brianne West, the brand has attracted a formidable following for its entirely solid, package-free products that promote environmental conservation. Not only has it saved over 350,000 plastic bottles that could have otherwise ended in landfills, it has also preserved tremendous amount of water that others use to mix up their formulas.
With its revolutionary approach, Ethique easily leads the way when it comes to the fusion of beauty and environmentalism. To learn more about the brand, its mission and vision, Haute Beauty talked to West.
How did you come up with the idea for Ethique?
Ethique came about as a combination of my passion for the environment, knowledge of cosmetic chemistry (and the waste the industry creates) and the desire to create a business that had far more at its core than just making profit. It seemed so obvious to remove water, and therefore plastic, and just send customers the concentrated ingredients that make up a product so they can add the water at home.
Package-free products or bio-degradable packaging have been around for some time, but water-free beauty products are quite revolutionary. Walk us through the process of developing such products.
Years ago while I was studying at University, I taught myself cosmetic chemistry from scratch with loads of research into what each ingredient does and how to build a product from the ground up. Up to 75% of shampoo and even 90% of conditioner can be water, which just seemed crazy to me. Obviously water is an important part of the product, but I was interested in what happened if you simply combined the ingredients without water. Shampoo bars aren’t particularly unusual, but the majority of them are soap, which has a very high pH, leaves a residue, and roughs up the hair cuticle – leaving some people with a result less than desired. I wanted to create something much closer to a typical salon quality shampoo, but solid of course! After some fabulous feedback from my guinea pigs (human ones of course), I branched out into conditioners and then started replacing everything in my bathroom with solid versions. A couple of our newer products do contain a little water, such as The Perfector (our solid face cream) and Bombshell (our self-tanning bar), which is necessary to get some of the ingredients in there, but the majority are completely water-free. Anhydrous (waterless) products do have a number of benefits beyond the lack of plastic; obviously they are concentrated so they last longer and some of them don’t require preservation like products containing water (some do, depending on how they are used.)
What were some of the major challenges in developing package-free products? How did you overcome them?
Our bars come wrapped in compostable boxes – they are free from chlorine, laminates and plastic coatings and are printed with vegetable inks. Whilst this is great for the environment as they are readily compostable and recyclable, it was a bit of a nightmare to develop packaging that could stand up to international shipping and look great sitting on a retail shelf. Thankfully I’ve worked with some wonderful packaging companies over the years who have put lots of time into working on this for us. We also produce in-shower containers that are made of compressed bamboo. They look like plastic but are compostable and entirely naturally-derived. We are always looking to offer new options too as so many new materials are coming out derived from lots of natural sources.
You started Ethique in a time when a lot of brands and consumers are waking up to environmental and social responsibility. How do you see the future and your company’s place in it?
Yes, there is a tide of change with lots of new and innovative companies producing all sorts of products that are displacing the ‘business as usual’ style of trading. I look forward to the time when large corporations consider the entire life cycle of their products including their packaging, as led by these amazing forward-thinking brands. I am proud that Ethique is one of them and we will continue to come up with innovative products and ways to package them smarter!
You also donate portions of Ethique’s profit to charity. What are some of the organizations you have supported so far and what are the values you seek to instill through charity?
In the past we’ve worked on a small level with a variety of animal welfare and environmental charities mainly based in New Zealand. Now that we are so much bigger and have expanded internationally, we have the opportunity to develop larger partnerships with 2-3 charities working on global problems that Ethique naturally aligns with. We are looking at ocean plastics and remedial efforts, conservation, and animal welfare projects around the world and will announce these as we go.
The #giveupthebottle campaign is going strong. What is your ultimate goal with it?
I always said we wanted to save 1 million bottles by 2020, but we actually expect to hit that this year which is very exciting! I hope that people begin to apply the idea to other areas, of course the biggest one being plastic water bottles. The next goal for us is 10 million!
Your bio on Ethique’s website mentions that you have started and sold two other small businesses. What were they about and what lessons from these ventures did you bring over to Ethique?
I started my very first business when I was 8 years old - a pet detective agency! However, this didn’t last too long. I started my first real business when I was 19. It was a cosmetics company too, but a more conventional one selling liquids and traditional cosmetics. I ran it part time for about 4 years and it was relatively successful for a hobby business. I learnt the importance of keeping good financial records (I didn’t keep any for about 3 years, which really hurt later on) and how effective social media can be (as Facebook was just becoming open to business in the later few years). I sold it prior to starting Ethique and the buyer has done a fabulous job – it’s still active now although quite a bit different.
The second business I started when I was about 21 and it was a confectionary company. It was a chocolate-based product designed to be an easy dessert that didn’t require preservation or refrigeration. The best thing I can compare it to was a mousse-y fudge product. It was again quite successful for a small business that I didn’t put too much of my time into. However, it was flawed from the beginning – I didn’t properly cost out the product so I lost money from the get-go. My family was quite heavily involved, as were friends, as the product was very labor intensive and we simply couldn’t keep up with demand. About a year and a half in I sold that company too, but it has unfortunately closed since then. The biggest takeaways from both were how important it is to spend time on the financial and planning side of business (which is much more interesting than I ever used to think it was), how important it is to have a really close relationship with customers, and that people really respond to a brand with some real personality behind it – people buy from people.
What is Ethique’s most sought-after product/range? What makes it so appealing to customers?
Definitely our hair care range. A lot of people are familiar with shampoo bars, and solid conditioner isn’t much of a leap from there. They are our ‘gateway’ products – people try them, love them, and so move on to the more unusual products such as face and body moisturizing bars. People really resonate with the plastic-free story, but we’ve grown so quickly simply because of how well the products work. People who don’t normally make decisions based on the environmental credentials of a product still buy them over bottled products because they love the way they make their hair feel.
You are based in New Zealand. What countries do you ship to? What are your market expansion goals?
We ship worldwide, but are aggressively pursuing international opportunities as they present themselves. We have distribution in New Zealand, the USA, Australia and Taiwan, and are looking at other parts of Asia and Europe. We receive constant interest from distributors around the world and spend time vetting them to ensure they are a good fit in regards to values and their passion for our brand. We are aiming to have a good foothold in our current international markets and enter another five by the end of 2019. We are aiming to be mainstream, not a niche product, as the only way to have a real positive impact is to be as accessible to as many people as possible.
What about new product development?
I love developing new products – it’s one of my favorite parts of running my own business! We have about eight new products scheduled for this year, with a very exciting new range coming out in July. It will be a bit different to what we currently offer, but a natural progression that I know our customers have been seeking. No more hints until then!
As a businesswoman who employs women, how do you see today’s business world and the role of women’s entrepreneurial spirit in it?
As a female entrepreneur, I see the business world changing for the better each day. I never knew what I wanted to do in my professional life, but I did know that I wanted to create positive change through my passion for environmental conservation. I encourage everyone to follow their passion in life as it will always result in doing something you love. Keep at it, persist, and view the obstacles that come as learning experiences – I know I certainly did!
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