April 22 is World Earth Day. This day in the annual calendar is intended to spark conversations about our environment and how we look after it, as well as inspire change. With that in mind, today feels like as good a time as any to share the steps we are taking at The Beauty Chef to protect our planet.
Here at The Beauty Chef, sustainability has always been front of mind. From day one, we have also been dedicated to changing the way the world looks at beauty—not only in terms of delivering formulas that are as innovative as they are efficacious, but also in terms of our commitment to sustainability.
Waste within the beauty industry has reached catastrophic proportions and so it is essential that as a brand that prides itself on health and transparency, that we do our part to transform the status quo and promote a more circular, sustainable business model.
Small steps lead to big changes. While we can't overhaul the entire industry overnight, what we can do is turn our attention inwards. We can focus on what we can do and use our platform to pioneer what’s possible in the inner beauty industry—and deliver on our promise to become as clean, green and sustainable a beauty brand as possible in the future.
Our Commitment to Sustainability
Across every touchpoint, our dedication to sustainability is front and centre and we are driven each day to not only be the change—but to create the change.
Currently there are a myriad of challenges that we face as both a sustainable beauty brand and an industry in terms of creating a more circular economy. Operating across different regions means that there are different regulatory requirements that our products and packaging must adhere to—but also due to the nature of our highly active bio-fermented formulas, there are certain barriers in terms of the materials and packaging we are able to safely use to ensure efficacy.
As we look to tread more lightly, here is an outline of our ongoing commitment to the environment...
1. We Promise to… Continually Re-evaluate Our Packaging
In 2020, The Beauty Chef became a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)—a national regulatory framework that helps businesses hold accountability and share responsibility for the collective impact of packaging on our environment.
We are committed to continually re-evaluating our packaging—and by 2025, have vowed that all Beauty Chef packaging will be made from recycled materials, as well as refillable, reusable, recyclable or compostable. Over the last 18 months, we have been working closely with some of Australia’s top packaging engineers and global experts to investigate how we can continue to become as sustainable a beauty brand as possible whilst also ensuring we adhere to global compliance regulations and deliver shelf-stable, highly efficacious formulas.
As it stands, the majority of our packaging is recyclable. We also advocate for reusing and upcycling our packaging as much as possible. For some ideas on how to do this at home, check out our upcycle blog.
2. We Promise to... Choose Organic Where Possible
As a proudly Australian-owned and operated company, our goal is to use only the cleanest, Certified Organic, biodynamic and local ingredients to create sustainable beauty supplements—wherever possible. Our Certified Organic ingredients are recognised by Australian Organic or OFC.
Working with a team of leading microbiologists, nutritionists and naturopaths, we ensure that every formula contains ingredients that adhere to our strict selection criteria. Our priority is to source ingredients that are:
- Derived from plant-based sources
- Backed by scientific research
- Plant-based where possible
- Non-GMO, cruelty-free and without artificial flavours, preservatives or colours
Research also shows that organic wholefoods contain greater levels of nutrients than conventionally grown produce—so when combined with our exclusive bio-fermentation process Flora Culture™, we are able to create powerful, sustainable supplements with live and bioactive formulas that are truly nourishing for your body, beauty and belly.
3. We Promise to... Select Ingredients from Sustainable Sources
Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond our choice of ingredients—it also reflects how and where we source them.
Where possible, we are dedicated to sourcing and promoting Australian ingredients. Our packaging reflects the percentage of Australian ingredients used within each product—with our best-seller GLOW® currently containing 60 per cent locally sourced ingredients.
It is only in instances where local ingredients are unavailable due to the harsh Australian climate, unsustainable, or do not meet our strict ingredient selection criteria that we look to source high-quality ingredients elsewhere.
One example of our sustainable sourcing practices is DEEP MARINE COLLAGEN. This cutting-edge formula contains 100% sustainably sourced marine collagen peptides, DEEP MARINE COLLAGEN is a fine hydrolysed marine collagen powder that is prepared from wild-caught, deep-sea, North Atlantic cod, exclusively and sustainably sourced in accordance with stringent Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards.
As a brand, The Beauty Chef has always chosen to omit palm oil from our formulas, as we know that this ingredient has been a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s oldest and most diverse rainforests. Instead, we opt for palm-free glycerol, which is a more sustainable and ethical alternative.
4. We Promise to... Continually Reduce our Carbon Footprint
Behind the scenes, we have been working hard to reduce our carbon footprint. This means that we have shifted our entire production process from one that was previously outsourced, to a primary production model.
In 2020, we built our very own state-of-the-art fermentation plant in Sydney, Australia. This project supports our long-term sustainability strategy given that we are now able to have complete control over our ingredients, our exclusive fermentation process and production methods.
