We spoke to Samantha and Brendan, the duo behind BotaniVie – a sustainable skincare business fuelled by a love of nature, and a passion for curating eco-friendly skincare. What inspired them to start on this journey, how do they promote environmental responsibility through their work, and what are their tips for reducing plastic waste in your beauty routine? Read on to find out!
Please tell us a bit about yourselves – who are the people behind BotaniVie?
BotaniVie is a passion project by a nature-loving couple. We are a husband-and-wife team and the driving force behind BotaniVie. Prior to starting BotaniVie we had completely different backgrounds. Samantha previously worked in education from the beautiful French Alps, and Brendan’s maritime career took him to remote areas in the Pacific, Southern and Indian Oceans. From both of our different perspectives – from land to ocean – we witnessed first-hand that natural environments in both the mountains and at sea had been impacted by plastic pollution, including normally pristine areas miles away from human habitation.
Our story began in 2022, driven by two passions: environmental responsibility and finding effective, natural skincare. We, like many others, struggled to find products that ticked both boxes – gentle on skin and packaged sustainably. This shared frustration ignited a mission: to curate a platform where conscious consumers could shop effortlessly for both their skin and the planet.
We started by identifying boutique brands offering mostly plastic-free and eco-friendly
skincare options. Recognising the time constraints faced by many, we aim to save
consumers time and effort in researching sustainable products. By offering a curated
selection, we help consumers make informed and effortless choices for both their skin and the environment.
What inspired you to start a natural and sustainable beauty product business?
As above. Witnessing first-hand the harm inflicted on diverse ecosystems, coupled with our personal desire for natural, sustainable skincare, it fuelled our shared passion to create BotaniVie. We were inspired by the ethos of likeminded small, natural skincare brands, that also champion the idea of "less is more" and encourage practices like recycling and reusing. We aim to showcase brands promoting innovative plastic-free alternatives in the beauty industry, proving that effective skincare and environmental consciousness can go hand in hand.
Our name BotaniVie has been blended from two words: Botanical & Vie (French for life) – to demonstrate our vision for skincare – a Botanical Life where we draw on nature and its botanical ingredients to benefit our health and wellbeing.
How do you reduce plastic waste and support ocean health through your product selection and business practices?
We take a two-pronged approach: carefully curated product selection and sustainable business practices.
Product Selection:
Predominantly plastic-free: we research and prioritise brands offering products packaged in eco-friendly alternatives like cardboard, glass, bamboo, or recycled materials. This significantly reduces the amount of new plastic entering landfill and potentially harming ocean ecosystems. The zero waste, circular economy principles and refillable options all factor heavily into our decision to stock a particular product or brand.
Natural and sustainable ingredients: we aim to showcase products that use natural, plant-based ingredients, helping to minimise the environmental impact of mass production and potential harm to marine life.
Business Practices:
Minimal packaging: we use minimal, recyclable packaging for our own shipments, and we never pack or send anything wrapped in plastic. We have opted to use biodegradable and recyclable wrapping materials, FSC certified cardboard boxes, compostable business cards and water-based inks.
Supporting brands with a focus on conservation: many of our small brands partner with and donate to organisations dedicated to ocean health, tree planting and plastic pollution reduction. Therefore, by supporting us, we can also support them. In the future we would like to create partnerships and donate to some of these causes ourselves, but we’re not quite there yet!
The beauty industry produces around 120 billion pieces of packaging each year – what are your top three tips for readers looking to reduce waste in their beauty routine?
Embrace solid products: Instead of liquid products in plastic bottles, try switching to bars or solid alternatives. This applies to shampoo and conditioner bars, soap bars for face and body wash, and even deodorant bars. These options are often more concentrated and last longer than their liquid counterparts. Fewer plastic bottles and packaging goes to landfill and you save money as a concentrated product will often last much longer – win win!
Use what you already have: Before buying new products, explore ways to repurpose or upcycle existing ones. For example, repurpose jars and pots you already have, to store homemade beauty products. You could use a soap saver bag to add all your little end soap scraps and help use them up completely (this is also a great way to exfoliate without having to buy a specific exfoliating product). Before throwing a finished product away, cut open any plastic tubes and bottles to use up all the extra product still at the bottom.
Shop local and support sustainable brands: Look for local producers creating small-batch, eco-friendly beauty products. These brands often prioritise sustainable packaging and natural ingredients while also helping to support your local community.
We also write blogs covering these sorts of topics to help provide some inspiration to readers looking to make small, easy changes in their routine.
Why should customers opt for natural beauty products and formulas?
It's important for consumers to weigh the potential benefits and considerations and choose products that align with their own personal values and skincare goals. However, we hope to make that journey a little easier for people trying to find these products in one place!
Natural ingredients are often less likely to irritate sensitive skin or cause allergic reactions compared to some synthetic ingredients found in conventional products, that can raise concerns about potential health risks, for example such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Opting for natural formulas can offer peace of mind for those who want to avoid these potential risks.
Many natural ingredients are more sustainable, derived from renewable resources
and often have a lower environmental impact compared to the production of some mass-produced synthetic ingredients.
Natural beauty brands are typically committed to cruelty-free practices, meaning they do not test their products or product components on animals. This aligns with the values of consumers who are concerned about animal welfare.
Excellent customer service is at the heart of BotaniVie - what can customers expect when shopping with you?
When you shop with us at BotaniVie, you can expect exceptional customer service alongside high-quality, natural beauty products. We know how important it is to have the personal touch and that’s why we always prioritise customer service. We are passionate about natural skincare and are happy to recommend products that may be helpful for a particular need or skin concern. We are available on our website live chat or by phone and email, during normal business opening hours to answer any customer queries.
We strive to make the shopping experience seamless and convenient. Our website is set up to be mobile and tablet-friendly and we offer various secure payment options.
BotaniVie is committed to transparency. We provide detailed information about every
product, including key benefits, key ingredients, exact ingredients list and how to use and store the product for best results. Additionally, we keep the customer informed by email throughout the order process from despatch to delivery. Overall, BotaniVie aims to create a positive and supportive shopping experience where the consumer can feel valued and empowered to make informed choices for their skin and the planet.
In your journey with BotaniVie, what have been some of the most rewarding
moments so far that highlight the positive impact you've made in promoting natural, cruelty-free, and sustainable beauty products?
The main one for us has been customer feedback! We’ve had so many positive reviews
and comments from customers, thanking us for the wonderful products and small brands they have discovered and now love to use. Hearing a customer’s excitement about finding a natural product that genuinely works and are now convinced to continue using as it’s helped their skin or hair, has been really rewarding. Although we don’t manufacture the products ourselves, it’s a testament to the brands we represent and the journey we wanted to create for the consumer. It also means that our research into representing new brands is on the right track for our platform.
Also calculating how much plastic we have saved from entering our rivers and oceans in
the first place, by either not stocking the plastic counterpart in the first place (ie. shampoo and conditioner bottles), to sending all our packages and gift-wrapping options in eco-friendly packaging, has been a great feeling, and exactly our goal when we decided to create a new brand.
Finally, knowing that the products we stock and recommend use natural ingredients so are generally gentle on skin and we don’t have to worry about recommending products that don’t align with our values and which could potentially contain microplastics or chemical ingredients or irritants such as SLS. We can safely recommend our product range as cruelty-free, and often natural enough for vegan users also.
What are your predictions for sustainable and natural beauty in 2024?
Continued rise of "skinimalism." We’ve seen a trend towards consumers favouring
minimalist skincare routines, prioritising multi-tasking products and focusing on skin health over excessive product layering. This aligns with the concept of "less is more."
Innovation in sustainable packaging. Consumers are now more aware of product
packaging and its link with detrimental environmental impact, especially with new legislation being introduced over time that aims to phase out single use plastic and polystyrene, which until not so long ago used to be the mainstream options. We think consumers will demand more from the brands and manufacturers themselves, to create products packaged in alternatives to single use packaging and those that offer refillable and reusable options. Zero waste products and shops are a big trend which we feel will continue to grow and could help to minimise packaging waste altogether.
Vegan and cruelty-free beauty going mainstream. Vegan and cruelty-free beauty is no
longer a niche market, and we expect it to become increasingly standard in the beauty
industry. Consumers are likely to prioritise brands that align with ethical practices regarding animal welfare and boycott those that don’t meet these benchmarks as standard.
Sustainability beyond packaging. While packaging remains crucial, the conversation about sustainable beauty is expected to go beyond just materials. This might involve (especially larger) brands addressing carbon footprint throughout the supply chain, minimising water usage in production, and exploring innovative ways to reduce waste across their entire operations.
Finally, what are your plans for the years ahead?
Looking ahead, this includes the introduction of a scheme whereby we can contribute a percentage from our sales to directly support tree planting and ocean clean-up initiatives, which circles back to why BotaniVie was created in the first place- to not adversely impact but instead protect our land, forests, rivers and oceans. We feel this quote rings true in regard to our environmental impact on the planet:
“walk lightly on the earth, for you walk upon your own dreams.”
We also understand the importance of exceptional customer service, and this will continue be a core value. Our commitment translates to honesty, openness, reliability, and professionalism in every interaction we have. We hope to continue to give the consumer confidence to trust the products and brands we represent, even though they may not be testing and purchasing them in a traditional bricks and mortar store, and thereby allow us to continue building a customer-focused relationship.
Find out more about BotaniVie and shop their range - which includes Battle Green cosmetics - at www.botanivie.co.uk and follow them for more natural and low waste living tips on Instagram, here.