Pure and Green Grace

It is not often that a product range really excites me but Pure and Green touched a few of my hard to reach places. I met up with the husband and wife team briefly at the Spa and Beauty expo in Sydney the other week and just had to learn more so  on Friday I had tea with founder Grace.

Before I delve into the details of our conversation I want to highlight the things that I like about Pure and Green. You, of course are welcome to make up your own mind.

The vital ingredients.

As soon as I picked up the shampoo from Pure and Green I could tell that this company was onto something good. The product’s formulation is so brave and different from other “green” shampoo’s (I mean, it contains volcanic ash and mud for goodness sake) that it had to be worth a closer look.  [link back to article]. Anyway, this isn’t another blog post about shampoo but the philosophy, the history and the ingredient design behind this product shows a real depth of thought and understanding, an appreciation for the history of personal care and a desire to find a solution to today’s problems.

All of the ingredients included in the Pure and Green range have been selected because they work with the body, give a benefit to the consumer and yet can safely be released into the environment without risk. The need for chemical preservation has been reduced by implementation of a careful manufacturing processes, through good ingredient selection and packaging choice.

The look and feel

Looks wise (OK the shampoo and toothpaste do take some getting used to) the products tick the boxes. The packaging is truly inspired – the use of airless pumps prevent air being introduced to the creams (air creates an environment for some bacterial growth). Plastic is made from sugar and is processed here in Australia to reduce “product miles” and the cardboard is created out of  100%  recycled paper!

The understanding that a little bit of luxury is good for the soul has resulted in a range that celebrates all that is being green rather than making you feel like you are paying a penance for former sins!

The nuts and bolts.

I really feel that Pure and Green have gone beyond just “ticking the box” when it comes to the small details. They are looking to use manufacturing methods that again cut down the need for preservation, that are water and energy wise and that are cost effective for consumers. Ingredients have been sourced with care and fair trade or fairly sourced from farmers is a preferred option – organic of course. Pure and Green also operate a waste wise policy and support farmers in offering them an outlet for their bruised fruit or not quite tasty enough vegetable oils. These “food rejects” make for perfect cosmetic ingredients meaning that that fruit that has been watered and tended for doesn’t just get composted, it gets a new lease of life.

The Big Issue.

These days you only have to “google” an emotive term and you will get thousands of pages of “evidence” to support whatever agenda you require supporting. It is easy to get sucked up in all of this through either blind faith or lack of time or lack of understanding. There is no evidence of any of those honey traps for this range. The use of aggressive marketing, alarmist wording and suggestive headlines has been replaced by solid, evidence based information. Now, as I always say, the facts are open to interpretation and there are always other viewpoints to consider but I can see that the positioning of Pure and Green has been created with a passion for truth and answers regardless of where than may lead.

OK, onto Grace! Grace is another amazing person with energy to burn. How on earth she and her husband have juggled developing AND manufacturing this range in the time frame that they have is inspiring. Grace has a legal background, only coming to the cosmetics industry in the last few years after becoming a mother of a baby who started to suffer from eczema. The sheer number of babies affected with this skin condition struck Grace as worrying and she went about investigation ways of easing her babies pain. This opened up a Pandora’s box of information on nutrition, the environment and well being alighting the flame of invention!

Grace wanted to create a range that was “good enough to eat” and while researching ways to manage her child’s eczema, became concerned over the vast array of synthetic chemicals present in baby products; Grace explained  “When a product is based on synthetics there are many chemical reactions that can occur. As the product breaks down more issues arise and it really does require a chemistry background to ensure those types of  products are safe for use. Animal testing is founded on this fear of synthetic products causing harm to humans! A negative spiral in my view, one bad decision leading to another”.

Grace decided to create a range that contained only food grade ingredients thus removing the burden of doubt. The “first do no harm” motto that Innoxa made famous rang true and set the scene for a truly wholesome range.  Grace’s husband Sam came from a food manufacturing background. His knowledge and skill enabled the couple to build their own small manufacturing facility and source equipment. This allows for full control over manufacture. Sam is also an electrical engineer with a “can do” attitude, apparently whenever Grace said “I need something to…..” Sam just built it!   Grace summed up perfectly with her statement “What we have here is so special, we naturally feel very protective of it and want to ensure that every claim we make is true- something we couldn’t do with 100% certainty if someone else manufactured for us”.  High standards indeed!

As they say, the rest is history and earlier this year the range was born (again – it has been re-vamped and extended for the spa market). Grace’s legal background and questioning nature helped her to discover the essence of a good “green” product. She tells me that it took a lot of goes  and many “that is not possible” comments from chemists and consultants before she got the formulations right – something that I can relate to!  However, it is a credit to her that she stuck with it and ended up creating a range which now spans 21 products and has another 20 in the wings, waiting to be released.

Grace’s passion is in creating products that leave the earth as we found it – a noble goal and one that I fully support. The team at Realize Beauty wish Grace and her family well and look forward to seeing their range flourish over the coming months and years.

Pure and Green are looking for wholesale partnerships in the retail, spa and beauty market. You can contact them directly via the web site for more information.