When Brianne West hatched a plan to launch a sustainable beauty company from her kitchen table she believed her idea could change the world.
Her friends and family were skeptical as she planned her business between classes at university after becoming disillusioned by the amount of single-use plastic in her bathroom.
Now the 34-year-old New Zealander runs Ethique – the world’s first zero-waste beauty company and a multi-million dollar business servicing customers all over the world.
She is excited to see how much her company has grown since 2012, but told FEMAIL there is still so much to do.
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The Ethique products are solids and include soaps, shampoos and conditioners
‘When I first started people were skeptical, there wasn’t the push we see now to help protect the environment,’ she said.
Brianne admitted good timing, luck and hard work were all crucial factors to her success.
If she had launched any earlier people may not have taken notice, any later and she may not have been the first zero-waste company in her field.
‘I wanted to save a million pieces of waste from landfill by 2020 – we beat that by a factor of ten,’ she said.
The Ethique products are solids and include soaps, shampoos and conditioners.
Because they are solid there is no need to package them in plastic – so they can use paper-based products instead.
‘But just swapping out plastic for paper isn’t good enough – paper production can come with a raft of other environmental concerns too.’
So the company recirculates and recycles their paper which means they use just 10-25kg of water per kilo for their packaging instead of 400kgs of water.
Brianne’s vision has also pushed ‘the big guys’ to create sustainable packaging for their products too.
‘We aren’t worried about more bar products because they aren’t really our competition – our competition is and always has been liquid products.
The company partnered with Bindi Irwin to make a Wombar – a limited edition shampoo here $1AUD from every sale directed towards the Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors
She says there needs to be a shift away from single-use plastic
‘There’s a lot of people who believe bar products are drying and damaging,’ she said.
‘This is because for the last 80 years there has been really solid marketing for liquid products.
But the form doesn’t mater the formulation does and we have to keep an open mind if we want to tackle this environmental emergency,’ she said.
Ethique’s most recent offering is lip balm. Presented to the customer in a cardboard tube the product can help lip balm users shake the guilt of losing their tiny plastic tubes.
‘Most people use lip balms and very few people actually finish them,’ she said.
Instead the tiny plastic tubes wind up in landfill after being found in old bags or dropped in dark corners, she explained.
That or they accidentally end up in our waterways after falling from pockets and handbags.
She wants to be able to offer a sustainable alternative to every bathroom and kitchen product
‘We have finally been able to make a carboard tube which is compostable and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive,’ she said.
The company plans to offer a sustainable option for every product used in bathrooms and kitchens globally.
Brianne was young and naïve when she started the venture and admits she made mistakes.
But without them she would not have the finely-tuned and ruthless business mind she has today.
Breaking straight out of university and heading out on her own was a no-brainer.
‘I make a terrible employee,’ she said admitting she prefers to take the reins.
Her range includes cleansers as well as lip gloss, moisturiser and deodorant
The brand’s biggest market is the US, however they have also seen huge success in Japan and are growing their presence in Europe.
Currently freight is the most challenging aspect of the business – however this is something many companies are experiencing following the start of the global pandemic.
Brianne says good timing, luck and hard work have been key to the success of her business.
When she started her business less people were concerned about the environment but the tide soon shifted and people were excited to see her waste-free products.