S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
WINNERS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS By Wingecarribee Shire Council
BARE BODY BEAUTY Co. won the award in 2017 and 2018 and received highly commended in 2019.
This is why!
BARE BODY BEAUTY Co. Is an all-natural, organic and chemical-free handmade skin and body care company based in the Southern Highlands.
A passion for food and plant-based skincare has led to years of helping people who have skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and irritations, who have previously not found solutions for these problems elsewhere – especially with commercial mass-produced chemically-laden products. Basically, our motto is – if you wouldn’t eat it, why put it on your skin?
Being environmentally conscious means that we source recyclable packaging at a greater cost to us. We offer our customers a discount when they bring in the original packaging for refills. We hand-make all our products in small batches in our head office and production location in Bowral where we can control quality and freshness.
From what started on a kitchen bench in 2014, has now grown to four store locations - Berrima, Bowral, Bulli and Macarthur Square, and in 2017 and 2018, the business was awarded the Environmentally Sustainable Award by the Wingecarribee Council which we would be honoured to receive again.
Originally stocking 5 product lines, the business now stocks over 150 - ranging from face scrubs, body butters and lip balms to charcoal toothpaste and a complete hair care range.
We have a strong online presence and over 45 wholesalers that span across NSW, VIC and QLD.
With over 10,000 followers on Instagram and over 6,500 followers on Facebook, we are constantly growing and continue to do so because our customers admire our business ethos, that we are environmentally conscious and strive to genuinely help our customers, by offering them products that are natural and organic.
Our mission is to help people use products on their skin that is food-based and doesn't contain chemicals or any nasties. We believe that what we put inside our body should also be on our skin.
Briefly describe the history of the business:
BARE BODY BEAUTY Co. started in 2014 when I had only just had my second child and was a sole-parent, looking for a cost-effective way to treat my skin.
I knew what the basic ingredients were to make a body and face scrub and it was then, that the Coffee & Rose Tub of Scrub was created. Even then, recycling coffee grounds and drying home grown rose petals and using sustainable packaging for our close friends and family, were important.
My son and I went to the local markets in the Southern Highlands and sold our scrubs and we continued to grow and snowball with new ideas, methods and support.
Describe the level of customer service and the quality of the products your business provides:
The business prides itself on customer service – speaking to each of our customers and getting to know what their issues are, what they are looking for and how we can help them.
We like to offer our customers products that will help them.
All of our products are natural, organic and plant-based. We hand-make all our products in the Bowral location so we know what is going into each of our tubs or packages.
We only source quality products and ensure that our packaging is recyclable and refillable.
Detail your commitment and endeavours in business and/or environmentally sustainability:
We want to continue to grow and service our customers – providing real-life solutions for their skin. Our goal is to help people and to provide them with plant-based products that are natural, organic and pure.
We will also continue to be environmentally sustainable by offering more refills and recyclable products. We are constantly searching for suppliers who share our business ethos and support the environmental consideration. We naturally also only use paper bags currently but we are looking to be bag free in the future.
We will continue to use recycled materials for all out shopfronts and continue to recycle all the packaging and material that we receive from our suppliers.
We will not be moving into travel packs for our products because it’s more landfill for the environment. We’re constantly asked whether we can provide hotels and Airbnb's with smaller product packages but we explain that this is not possible as we are environmentally conscious.
We continue to seek suppliers who can supply our chosen ingredients in bulk to further reduce packaging and delivery frequency.