Last February, ELLE editors along with a team of experts reviewed hundreds of submissions for our thirteenth annual recognition of the best in eco-friendly and sustainable beauty. From Dove’s bottled products, now made from 100% recycled plastic packaging, to French heritage brand Guerlain’s goal to help save a billion bees in the next ten years, the 2020 Green Beauty Stars not only deliver results, they also leave a lighter footprint on the planet in the process.

While the COVID-19 crisis has drastically changed the current state of our world, its future remains in the balance making these beauty brand’s efforts to be more sustainable all the more critical. The need to treat each other and the planet with kindness is now.

A baby will soil an average of 5,000 to 6,000 disposable diapers before they’re potty trained. And many of them will end up in a landfill.   Made from multiple materials — plastic, wood pulp, superabsorbent synthetic polymers  — diapers are difficult to break down. It’s estimated that the average diaper can take 500 years to biodegrade. Since the 1950s, when the disposable diaper came to be, it has grown to a $65 billion market worldwide. In the United States and Europe, plastic diapers are one of the largest categories of nonbiodegradable items in landfills; the problem is even worse in other parts of the world.   "Disposable diapers have become one of the most urgent environmental problems in our area, especially where waste removal services are limited or nonexisting," said Philip Owen, who works with South African water conservation group Geasphere, told HuffPost.   That’s why Sergio Radovcic, CEO of diaper subscription company Dyper, credits his children — "exhibits A, B and C" — as one of the reasons he decided to offer a composting service for its diapers.   Radovcic said that after having their second child, he and his wife began to realize that the waste they were generating from diapers was stacking up rather quickly.   "You have this diaper you’re applying to a child early on seven to 10 times a day and then rolling it into a burrito-like thing and tossing it away to your regular garbage," he said.   Radovic said when he looked at how much his family was spending on diapers, he realized there was an opportunity to lessen the environmental impact while increasing convenience for parents.   That’s when he founded Dyper in 2018, which offers home delivery of a four-week supply of diapers for $68. Its diapers are made from bamboo, widely credited as a sustainable or renewable material. Dyper received a non-disclosed investment from HCAP Partners, a California-based private equity firm, in October.   Numerous companies are using bamboo as an alternative to traditional timber or fibers. For example, there's EcoPlanet Bamboo that is working to industrialize bamboo and bigger companies such as Kimberly-Clark, which announced nearly a decade ago that it would "source 50 percent of its wood fiber to alternative sources by 2025." Dell has engineered similar plans for its packaging.   Using bamboo and eliminating the use of chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, polyvinyl chloride, lotions, tributyltin and phthalates for the diapers made them compostable, and therefore, potentially better for the environment. But the infrastructure needed for people to compost the diapers on their own is lacking across the U.S. and the rest of the world. So Dyper had to work on creating its own.       In February, the company announced Redyper, a partnership with TerraCycle, the Trenton, New Jersey-based recycling company, to compost its diapers. Prior to that — nearly a year ago — Dyper partnered with local services in select cities such as Earth Baby, a compostable diaper service in the San Francisco Bay Area, with which it is redirecting about 10 tons of diapers from landfill per week. It plans to expand this type of partnership to 10 other cities "in the market where the demand is" for local composting and is still partnering with Earth Baby.   "We looked at that and said, can we expand this nationally?" Radovcic recalled.   Caregivers who use the Redyper service — an additional $39 on top of the $68 diaper subscription — are given biodegradable bags to store the diapers as they are used and a cardboard box that is engineered to meet the United Nations’ strictest HAZMAT shipping standards. The bags are large enough to hold two to three weeks' worth of diapers. From there, users can print a label and schedule a UPS pickup.   When TerraCycle receives the diapers, it checks them in and aggregates them, then moves them to a compost facility. There, they are placed in a hot commercial compost, which typically takes between three to six months — depending on the mixture — to be safe to use for vegetation growth purposes.   Radovcic notes that the compost is typically not used for production of fruits and vegetables meant for human consumption because of the fear that some pathogens would be in the mix.   The Redyper service is available only in the U.S., but TerraCycle, known for recycling the unrecyclable, also has a partnership with P&G's Pampers brand to recycle diapers in Amsterdam, which it plans to expand into Asia and other parts of Europe.   P&G started working to reduce its diaper waste in 2018, when it launched a joint venture with Gruppo Angelini, a large Italian health care products company, to introduce recycling infrastructure for soiled disposable baby diapers, feminine sanitary napkins and adult incontinence napkins in Italy, near Venice.   "We have invented a technology that can turn 100 percent of diapers into valuable material, like plastic cellulose and absorbent material," Virginie Helias, vice president of global sustainability at P&G, told GreenBiz at the time. This effort is part of a larger effort at P&G, which formed its Global Asset Recovery Purchases team in 2008 to find new uses for the waste at its industrial sites. Since that program started, P&G has saved more than $2 billion and helped divert 4.5 million metric tons of waste from landfill, according to its 2018 Citizenship Report (PDF).     What separates diapers that are composted from ones that are recycled is their source materials. Compostable diapers eventually biodegrade, while the recycled ones are sanitized and separated into their different components, such as the cellulosic material and plastic that can be reused.   There’s also a third option emerging — a return to the reusable cotton diaper — that TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky said the company is planning to launch itself later this year.   "I hope consumers wake up and realize that diapers don't have to be a big waste stream and start voting with their dollar for diapers that offer circular solutions," Szaky said. "Then hopefully other types of companies will be inspired to do similar activities whether with disposables or reusables or compostables."   Radovcic is hoping for the same and notes that Dyper is not the only company doing this work.   "We’re not the only ones that realize a problem. We’re certainly not the only ones that are going to have a solution," he said. "But maybe having a little bit of a race with some of our larger competitors where they’re forced to maybe adopt some of this approach faster, personally as an entrepreneur and as a father, I think would be an incredible success."

In 2019, the cosmetics industry was valued at some $532 billion, and it’s been growing by nearly 5 percent each year since 2016. The numbers and growth are certainly astounding. And while the beauty industry does much to improve people’s sense of self and wellbeing, it is also responsible for a great deal of waste that has taken a toll on the environment.   Advancements in modern technology means shopping – online and in-store – has never been easier. However, the rapid production and accessibility of any and all products have created a damaging cycle for our ecosystems, wildlife, and planet. And the beauty industry is a big culprit. “According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a third of the landfill is from the beauty industry with the majority of it coming from color cosmetics because they're using single-use plastics and materials” explains Tiila Abbitt, founder of vegan makeup brand Āether Beauty.   While this information might be a bit daunting, many beauty and hygiene brands are stepping up to combat the negative effects of the industry by bringing shoppers eco-friendly alternatives that don't sacrifice quality. In honor of Earth Month, The AEDITION is looking at sustainability practices within the cosmetics, skincare, and wellness worlds, what it means, and how we can all do better to make our world – and ourselves – more beautiful.  

Sustainability in Beauty

Sustainability in and of itself is the fulfillment of a modern-day need in a way that does not hinder the future or the present through the production of said need. In beauty and personal care, sustainability means recyclable packaging, decreased use of single-use plastics, consciously curated ingredients, safe-to-use components, and small-footprint production from start to finish.       But because many of the products go directly on the skin, hair, or teeth, creating safe and efficacious products adds an additional challenge. “It's about sourcing natural ingredients sustainably,” says Bee Shapiro, founder of clean perfume brand Ellis Brooklyn. “But it’s also looking at how green chemistry and biotechnology can be used in the industry to save trees and natural resources.”  

WHY THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY IS NOT SUSTAINABLE

In 2015, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of microbeads in cosmetics products after research showed its negative effect on the oceans. More recently, brands have started to research and invest in biodegradable alternatives while shifting away from single-use plastics. But there are still aspects of the industry that need addressing.       “I visited a ton of recycling facilities and talked to packaging engineers in this space and realized that, with color cosmetics, you have mixed materials,” Abbitt explains. “There are heavier plastics where there isn't a secondary market to recycle them, and they're being mixed with mirrors, magnets, and screws. There's nobody there taking these pieces apart.” Not to mention, many of those additives are not recyclable. “Mirrors and magnets are completely unrecyclable,” she says. “And they're in almost every makeup component."   While no one expects beauty and personal care to be zero-waste, procedures and protocols can and must change. Currently, much of what the industry produces is a long-term waste. Paper takes two to six weeks to decompose, while plastic needs nearly 1,000 years. This is why shopping smarter is more important than ever.  

CAN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY BE SUSTAINABLE?

Despite its massive presence on the global stage and rapid growth, the beauty industry can be more sustainable so long as brands take the necessary steps. “True sustainability is complicated,” says Lejla Cas, founder of biodegradable facemask brand KNESKO. “Balancing cost, sustainability, and safety, you have to find a fine balance between sustainable items that won’t degrade into our skincare, in addition to looking good.”   In order to be sanitary and portable, beauty products tend to come in smaller packaging built to be both ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be sustainable. “When you launch a new product, you need to look for the most sustainable alternative for everything, from the cap to the material used for the tool to the paper, the cellophane, formulations, even the scent,” explains Sue Nabi, founder of clean beauty and fragrance brand Orveda. “We are the only skincare line that is scented with a 98 percent biodegradable scent that does not contain allergens.”  

What Brands Are Doing

While no company can be completely zero-waste, many are doing as much as they can to offset the environmental impact of their formulation and production process, while maintaining quality and safety. Below are a few steps beauty brands have taken toward sustainability.  

1. PACKAGING

When you consider how many layers of shrinkwrap, cardboard, and plastic you have to go through (and discard) in order to open many beauty products, it should come as no surprise that packaging is a major source of waste in the personal care industry.   “Packaging sustainability encompasses everything from design, to production, to transportation, to disposal,” Cas notes. In the case of KNESKO, she says her team is “educating” itself by “exploring new technologies and considering every angle before adopting any new initiatives to always keep improving.”   Mirrors and magnets are two such packaging components in need of an eco-friendly update. At Āether Beauty, Abbitt developed makeup palettes that do not contain either and made sure everything was FSC certified. Additionally, she sought out fair-trade paper from sustainable forests, and she continues to monitor her ink sources to see if recycling is an option.   For Nabi and Orveda, innovation is the natural solution. “We are currently working on sustainable options for the plastic wrap around our products,” she explains. “We have launched the first 100 percent biodegradable and reusable deluxe candles, and we are working on a next-gen, 100 percent sustainable and efficient SPF.”   While moving away from plastic may seem like an obvious solution, it’s not necessarily as simple as it sounds. “If we move from plastic containers to aluminum or paper, where does it come from,” asks Matthew Malin, co-founder of MALIN+GOETZ. “How much more or less energy was used to get it to us and produce it?” Emissions from manufacturing and transportation must be evaluated before deciding on a suitable alternative. “We consider all of our manufacturing and how to keep it local,” he explains. “What ingredients are the most sustainable, effective and best for use? Can we consider and transition to packaging that is more environmentally friendly? And what does that mean?” Such efforts don’t just extend to new products. Legacy brands have made similar commitments to evaluating their own systems and processes. “Last year we conducted a ‘plastics scan’ and analyzed our full line of packaging weighing up its impact on the environment from cradle to grave,” explains Charles Denton, CEO of Erno Laszlo. The findings led to an “approved” packaging list that includes resins with a known, viable recycle stream – such as glass, aluminum, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP).   In keeping with this commitment, the brand also upgraded its iconic double-cleanse method to be more environmentally sound by removing the soap dish and plastic wrap in favor of parchment paper. The result? A fully recyclable customer experience. “Ultimately, I would like to own and operate a closed-loop recycle stream to recover our own plastic waste for repurposing into new packaging that will wind up back in the hands of our consumers,” Denton says.   And he encourages other businesses to move in a similar direction: “Take action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging,” he suggests. “Take action to move from single-use towards reusable models. Where relevant, 100 percent of plastic packaging should be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.”  

2. INGREDIENTS

When speaking about sustainability, product formulations and ingredient sourcing must also be considered. While there is very little FDA regulation in the beauty industry, brands are taking matters into their own hands.   Vegan formulas are increasingly common, as are promises that ingredients are sourced ethically. “There are certain ingredients that you have to be especially wary of, and they generally have to do with wood-derived ingredients,” Shapiro explains. “You can definitely have well-sourced sandalwood, but there is still a shocking amount of sandalwood that is illegally traded or not sustainably grown/harvested at all. Anything palm oil-related also needs a second look.”   Mica, a mineral dust used to add shimmer and sparkle to makeup, is another ingredient with a troubling reputation. “Thirty percent of the world’s mica is child labor-related,” Abbitt laments. “With every single innovation that's happened with ingredients, there's no reason to be supporting brands that source in this way.” As a workaround, Āether Beauty uses synthetic mica when it can’t source ethical mica. “It looks exactly like mica,” she says of the man-made alternative. “But it's clear.” Fragrance is another area in which eco-conscious synthetic ingredients can go a long way. Ellis Brooklyn recently released Iso Gamma Super — a 100 percent synthetic scent. “It is made with green chemistry, completely renewable, and allergen-free,” Shapiro says.   Orveda, meanwhile, has figured out ways to reduce its carbon footprint using technology. “We have decided to use mainly biotechnology sourced natural ingredients to avoid exhausting nature’s resources,” Nabi shares. “We are using less than 5 percent plastic components across all touchpoints and have pure glass packaging, FSC papers, and bin-free point of sales where everything is reusable. Therefore, no single usage items.”  

3. ADDITIONAL EFFORTS

But what about all the less sustainable products currently in the market? Brands and retailers have come up with eco-minded programs to help reduce waste and offset manufacturing processes.   In January, The Detox Market debuted its Sustainability Starts Now initiative, which was inspired by rising global temperatures. Its Earth CPR strategy involves offering clean products, planting more trees, and recycling used beauty products. The goal is to plant 500,000 trees in 2020 and 2.5 million by 2025, in an effort to become carbon negative. The recycling program, meanwhile, is in partnership with TerraCycle and allows anyone to drop off used and/or expired products knowing that it will be recycled properly.  

What Can Consumers Do?

As with all businesses, the basic economic rule of supply and demand plays a key role. Those who want to make their beauty and hygiene routines more sustainable and eco-friendly have to make their purchases based on those values. Here’s how you can make your beauty routine a bit more sustainable.  

1. RESEARCH

There is a lot of greenwashing in the industry,” Cas says. “The words ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ are essentially meaningless.” So the best way to know what goes into the product and how it’s made is by doing due diligence. “Consumers can learn about the company by viewing its website and ingredient deck, if available,” she recommends. Resources such as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep database verifies beauty and hygiene products based on their chemical makeup to ensure consumers are shopping safely.  

2. SHOP SMARTER

If you are interested in creating a more sustainable routine, look for cosmetic products with a longer shelf life and refillable options that will eliminate the need for single-use products. From fragrance and hygiene to hair, makeup, and skincare products, there are many ways to make your regimen a bit more eco-friendly. “Less is more,” Abbitt says. “Āether Beauty palettes have a huge fill that last three to four years. We're taking the idea of slow fashion into beauty.” Clé de Peau Beauté, Kjaer Weis, L'Occitane, Le Labo, and Rituals are just a few of the brands that offer refillable products.    

3. ELIMINATE WASTE

  For starters, try purchasing reusable cotton rounds instead of single-use cotton swabs. When it comes to small changes, Malin explains that “something as simple as egregious use of unnecessary and unsustainable packaging practices can be worth avoiding to make a small impact daily.” Do an inventory of what products can be substituted with eco-friendly alternatives and how your shopping habits can be changed to decrease the amount of waste.  

4. RECYCLE

What many eco-friendly brands offer is recyclable packaging but finding a place to do it can be difficult. And at times, it’s hard to tell if something can be recycled at all. Brands and retailers including The Detox Market, Garnier, Kiehl's, Lilah B, Lush, Origins, and Summer Fridays allow for customers to return expired and/or used beauty products to ensure that not just the packaging but the remaining formula are disposed of properly. Companies like TerraCycle can be a good alternative for those who cannot find a recycling facility near them.  

The Takeaway

It’s impossible to be perfectly sustainable all the time, but that doesn’t mean a series of small actions can’t make a big environmental impact. Never is that more true than in the beauty and personal care space. When consuming anything, your money speaks for you — so opt for brands that share your values. While it might seem overwhelming, it is important to remember that the power is in your hands. Consider all the factors: Will you use it? What is in it? How was it made? How will you recycle it? And go from there.

Serum, blush, hair mask: when the time comes to get new beauty products, you always know where to go. But when they are finished, do we really know how to dispose of them?   Each year, the cosmetic industry produces 120 billion packaging units, of which 2.7 billion plastic containers end up in landfills. "The complex design of beauty products makes them difficult to recycle," says Alex Payne, public relations manager for TerraCycle. This is why the environmental organization has been collaborating with many beauty brands - including L'Occitane en Provence, Burt's Bees, Weleda and DECIEM - for ten years to facilitate the recovery of these particular products, through various programs. collection. "Depending on the brand, consumers can send their cosmetics by post free of charge or go and wear them in stores," he explains. TerraCycle does the rest. Whether we go through this type of program or through its municipal recycling system, the goal of our consumption is to understand what is recycled (or not) and how we can get there. From the actions to adopt to reduce our environmental footprint to the list of companies that advocate a zero waste philosophy, there is indeed green at the end of the tunnel.  

4 actions to adopt for an eco-responsible beauty routine

1. Look for zero waste products.

  From conditioner to facial scrub, more and more personal care is offered without packaging.   2. Small containers = perfect for the plane!   Is our eye cream finished? We collect the jar and fill it with our favorite moisturizer on our next trip: it will fit perfectly in our hand luggage!   3. Avoid single-use products.   Although practical, they are a real scourge for the environment. We swap our disposable makeup remover pads for a machine washable set. We leave the masks in individual format and choose the good old version in a jar (preferably in glass).   4. Favor large formats and bulk products.   It is a gesture not only economical, but which considerably reduces our consumption of plastic.  

Recyclage 101: which product goes where?

  These major lines are memorized to transform the once tedious recycling chore into child's play. Please note: the packaging of beauty products that cannot be recycled in our municipality can often be recycled through TerraCycle. We go to his site ( terracycle.com ) to get the correct time.   Plastic bottles   "All plastics are recyclable, except those on which the number 6 is stamped [figure found in a small triangle under the packaging] and on which there is nothing indicated", underlines Jean-François Lesage , planning advisor in the Direction of residual materials management of the City of Montreal. He reminded us that we have to clean our containers for hygienic reasons before sending them to sorting centers.   Pumps and pipettes   They do not recycle. So, if one of our products has one of these tips, we unscrew it and dispose of it before putting the container for recycling!   Makeup   As the cases of our cosmetics are often made of several materials that are difficult to separate from each other, they generally do not recycle. "Laminated tubes [a type of flexible plastic packaging often used for foundations and make-up bases] are also not accepted," says Jean-François Lesage.   Mascara   The tube, too difficult to clean, does not recycle. The brush is washed in soapy water and sent to the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge ( appalachianwild.org ), an organization in North Carolina that uses it to clean the fur of small, vulnerable animals.   Aerosols   As a safety issue, they cannot be recycled through the usual municipal recycling system. "Aerosols and pressurized containers can explode if they are heated or punctured," says our expert. We do not despair! They are accepted in eco-centers and when collecting hazardous household waste.   Makeup brushes   Like makeup cases, brushes do not mix with recycling because of the range of materials that make them up (plastic, metal, bristles, etc.). Before saying goodbye to them, we probe our surroundings to find out if a friend might need them, or we give them a second life by adding them to the children's artist's kit or using them as nail brushes, for example!   Glass containers   "Glass is fully recyclable and can be repeatedly collected without ever affecting its quality," said Alex Payne of TerraCycle. It makes it one of the most eco-friendly materials. ” Warning! In the case of a perfume, we make sure to separate the bottle from its atomizer, since the latter does not recycle.   Nail polish   Since the containers are almost impossible to clean, they cannot be recycled directly - they are part of the category of household hazardous waste (HHW). So we bring them to the ecocentre nearest to us.   Cleansing wipes   Unless they are biodegradable - we could then compost them - they take the garbage path.  

"Pamper the next one"

  If for various reasons (an impulse purchase, perhaps?) Unused products clutter our pharmacy, we turn to organizations for women in need. One thinks in particular of the Fairies Marraines ( feesmarraines.ca ), which give the necessities to the teenagers coming from underprivileged environments so that they can put themselves beautiful for their graduation, or The stuff of success ( dressforsuccessmontreal.org ), which supports women in difficult situations who wish to (re) enter the labor market.  

An app to facilitate recycling

  Last spring, the company RECYC-QUÉBEC launched the application C'est va Où? The objective: to clarify, according to our municipality, which products are intended for the trash, the recycling bin or the eco-center. The information remains summary, so if question marks persist, we complete our search on recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca.   The article 4 gestures to adopt for a responsible beauty routine appeared first on Elle Quebec .

Pioneering vegan brand Follow Your Heart (FYH) recently implemented a series of new recycling measures to divert most of its waste away from landfills and the ocean. Since 2016, the company has already diverted 98 percent of its waste through traditional recycling, composting, reducing, and reusing programs, and FYH teamed with waste management company TerraCycle to further eliminate waste that cannot be recycled through traditional methods due to the complexity of the materials.   The program consists of three zero-waste boxes set up around FYH’s offices and warehouses: The Candy and Snack Wrappers Box (which collects waste in break rooms); The Office Supplies Box (which is meant to collect pens, paper clips, label sheet backing, tape dispensers, and more); and the Plastic Packaging Box (which collects flexible and rigid plastic packaging waste). All of the waste materials collected can then be repurposed into items such as park benches, bike racks, shipping pallets, and recycling bins.   Additionally, FYH recently changed the adhesive on its products to make it easier to remove labels (another recycling challenge) and modified the backing on their labeling rolls to a recyclable alternative, which amounts to diverting 1,000 pounds of waste from landfills each month. “Sustainability is simply an important part of being a responsible business in today’s world,” FYH Founder Bob Goldberg said. “It’s time for every business to contribute to changing the world for the better.

Vegan brand Follow Your Heart (FYH), makers of Vegan Egg, Vegenaise, and several dairy alternatives, has partnered with the waste management company, TerraCycle, to repurpose its hard-to-recycle office waste. FYH has already diverted 98% of its waste through traditional recycling, composting, reducing, and reusing programs. ©Follow Your Heart The much-loved vegan brand has been operating for 48 years, has over 60 products on sale in 25,000 retail outlets in more than 25 countries. The privately-owned company employs over 200 employees. As part of a sustainability plan, FYH is distributing three boxes to collect waste throughout its offices and warehouses, to gather candy and snack wrappers, office supplies, and plastic packaging. The materials gathered can then be repurposed into park benches, bike racks, shipping pallets, and recycling bins. FYH has also amended the labelling of their products so they are easier to remove in order to make them more recyclable. “Sustainability is simply an important part of being a responsible business in today’s world,” Follow Your Heart Founder Bob Goldberg said to VegNews. “It’s time for every business to contribute to changing the world for the better. FYH has also recently launched an avocado oil mayonnaise, which will soon be available at locations including Sprouts Markets and select regions of Whole Foods Markets.

April 22, 2020 marks the 50 year anniversary of Earth Day. The holiday was first celebrated in 1970 and has since become a global celebration of environmental protection in more than 193 countries. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of this year’s Earth Day celebrations are now being held virtually. The great part is that it’s now much easier to attend events from all over the world in your own home! This guide includes virtual events and activities that take place during Earth Month (April) and on Earth Day (April 22). I’ve also included educational resources for students and activities that you can do at home to make your abode more sustainable. I’ll be updating this post throughout the month but if you come across another virtual event or resource that you’d like added to the post, shoot me an email at jessica.califano@temboo.com.

Sustaina­bility has come a long way in the past decade, as more and more consumers look to be better global citizens by being more environm­entally conscious in their lifestyle. It is much easier now than in decades past to be green, but it still is not EASY, challenging green leaders and business owners with the hopes that their heart compells them to move forward despite adversity.   Jenny Duranski, founder and CEO of Lena Rose Day Spa, is one of those business owners. After her experience with chemicals as a nail technician, she learned about sustaina­bility in the spa and was fueled to make a difference in the industry.   Skin Inc. visited Lena Rose Spa and sat down with Duranski to learn more about the steps she takes to run a green spa, her 2020 initiative to reduce her plastic usage and how she believes more businesses need to understand that sustaina­bility is about progress not perfection.   Skin Inc. (SI): How did you get started in the industry?   Jenny Duranski (JD): I moved to the city when I was 19 because I wanted to gain more life experience, but I could not support myself working minimum wage jobs. I had friends who were going to beauty school, but I did not enjoy doing hair. I did enjoy doing nails, so I found a program that only focused on nails. About four years into my career of working in a traditional nail salon, I developed allergies and sensitivities to the products I was using. In 2009, I volunteered for an ability study designed for nail technitians by the State of Illinois’ Occupational Safety and Health Administ­ration. They tested things like my balance and lung capacity. Suddenly, a light bulb went on. I came across this organization called The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which had connected personal care product ingredients with the health and safety of the service providers. This opened my eyes to everything that was going on. I became angry and frustrated at the thought that no one was trying to protect us in this work force. At the time, no one was shining any light on this. I developed this need to leave the industry better than how I found it, so I started Lena Rose. After I found a space, I started by turning and burning nails. I was offering free manicures all the time to try and build my clientele list and share my story. People didn’t necessarily understand, though, because the nails didn’t stick or last a long time, and people preferred the chemicals that kept their nails lasting. At first, I didn’t offer no-chip, because there wasn’t a product on the market I felt comfortable using. The moment I added no-chip to my menu, the spa really changed. The first year opening was extremely hard, but we pushed through.   SI: What made you decide to be a green spa?  

JD: It really was my passion. Once I started learning about all of it, I became very passionate about it. There is no other way of beauty for me. I really want to be that safe place for people to come in and shop worry free. We’ve done the homework for them, so they don’t have to think or worry about it.   SI: What efforts do you take to keep your spa green and sustainable?   JD: We are launching an initiative to reduce our plastic packaging by at least 50% within the next coming year. Our goal is to be a completely plastic-free retailer by 2024. We have an entire campaign that encompasses the sustainable packaging of our products and making sure we place bulk orders to reduce our carbon footprint. We are trying to apply for B Corp Certification this year, which will be important to our social impact of the business. We have a partnership with TerraCycle, which will have personal care product recycling here on site. It’s really about being very conscious of the lifestyle of our product and its usage at every single point.   SI: How did you create your spa menu?   JD: I’m inspired by food. I love following chefs and food bloggers and seeing the creations they have for actual food menus. Now, I focus on creating a menu that is different. I’ve always felt that Lena Rose is the “GAP” brand, where we are in the mass market that isn’t the bargain beauty or the luxury beauty, but it’s somewhere in the middle. To reach everyone, you can’t be polarizing.   SI: What made you decide to expand?   JD: We desperately needed more space. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my business though. Growing is harder than starting, and it was a huge learning curve. You have to have a viable business that can fix and balance itself. The goal is to grow and touch more people and reach more people.   SI: How do you train your staff?   JD: As a small company, we tend to use Skype because we can’t afford to fly brands over here for training. We have been getting new brands in, and with scheduling, we can’t shut down and do a half-day training with the new brand. We have to do these training as we go and share this information with each other. The training has been challenging, and part of the growth plan is to really put together a soundproof onboarding process.   SI: How do you market your spa?   JD: Everywhere. Anywhere. Howevewhere. We do a ton on social media, but we’ve tried all types of marketing. Recently, we put money into the PR company, but we are still figuring out what sticks for us.     SI: How do you stay competitive with other spas in the area?   JD: I love competitive research and working with data a lot. I always try and keep a good pulse on the industry because I want to know what’s happening, so I can pivot the business if I have to. I invest in a lot of continuing education for myself as well as business development. From a green beauty perspective, there is no one that really compares to us. There is no retailer and spa combined that does it all, which makes us extremely unique.   SI: What is your most unique treatment?   JD: Our Moon Cycle Body Treatment is unique. Herbs, plants and flowers are incorporated into the treatment to help with your period.   SI: What do you think is most important to running a successful spa?   JD: I’m still trying to figure that out, but I will say being flexible with the ebb and flow that will happen in your career is important. Pivoting will get you success not slam dunks.   SI: How do you set the ambiance of your spa?   JD: It’s not intentional. Everything was a mix and match of things, and we just made it pretty. We DIYed the whole space that really made it more homey.   SI: What made you decide to launch an in-house brand?   JD: It’s a very slow experience, which is frustrating. I wanted to launch the brand because it would open up a different opportunity for us with press, and now our brand can reach more people. We can also use this as a marketing tool for brand recognition. I don’t really have a desire to compete in the product world, but as a revenue arm, I think it would be silly to not diversify our revenue model.   SI: What advice would you give a spa/brand looking into green beauty?   JD: Look into the Green Spa Network for sure. There is a plethora of information there. I would also say when people are launching sustaina­bility initiatives, take a look at the top three things you consume the most and see how you can reduce that usage by even 20%. In a spa, that 20% would be a huge impact on the environment. It’s important to remember that it’s about progress not perfection. We need a lot of people doing sustaina­bility imperfectly not just a handful of people doing it perfectly.