**Disclaimer: This post is reflective of our company while under the name Pledgeling and the listed information may be outdated. Please refer to our main company website on Pledge for current information and resources.**
“Clean and green” beauty products are all the rage these days. It seems every brand is trying to claim some “all natural” standing of some sort. It’s all about being fragrance free, paraben free and then some. Same thing goes for making PC claims about having a small manufacturing footprint on the earth. “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” is the chant. It’s all very noble, and many companies do succeed on many levels, but a great many more are only “green washing” their brand in order to reap the marketing benefits. They do not truly “walk the walk”, but they sure know how to “talk the talk”, or rather, spin the talk!
You see I happen to know quite a bit about this subject, as I’ve worked for many years within the cosmetic industry. First I was on the dark side (cue Darth Vader effects), working for some of the biggest, not so natural, name brands in the business. I could be found selling my heart out in my crisp white lab coat. Later I traded in the white coat for a black one, and sold even more!
But slowly I began to learn the ugly truth behind all those bright, beautiful, overly packaged products I had been selling for so long.
Though they said they offered the secret to eternal youth and beauty, what they really offered was a ton of toxic plastic packaging for the landfills, and an even larger human toxic overload being delivered through the body’s largest organ – the skin.
As my eyes became increasingly opened, I knew I had to cross over to the light (Luke!), and embrace the natural skincare world. Ultimately, I worked for over 9 years as director of marketing and research development for one of the better-known natural skincare brands, until about three years ago, when I decided to leave the corporate world for the freelance world (where I can have my dogs under my desk while I work!). It was a good move. I’ve kept very busy researching and writing for several prestigious private label natural skincare labs, as well as other companies.
WHY am I sharing all this boring back-story with you???
It’s so you will understand that my opinion on the matter of skincare companies, and their products, carries a bit of well-earned weight. I seriously know what I’m talking about here! I don’t know a thing about the latest tech gadgets or video games, but I do know natural skincare. On that you can rest assured.
So with all that said, it is with great pleasure that I share my discovery of a small, but steadily growing truly natural skincare company, Bestowed Essentials – learn more about them HERE.
They offer a selective line of cruelty free, handcrafted soaps, masks, toners and much more. This extremely conscientious company embodies the term “eco-friendly”.
But what does that really mean?
Well, it means that they have very clean, non-toxic formulas that use only naturally sourced ingredients. Yeah, but a lot of companies offer that nowadays. meh.
So what really makes Bestowed Essentials so special?
Well, where I really think they separate themselves from the pack is with their “Zero Waste”packaging initiative – learn more HERE.
This program is where Bestowed Essentials really steps up and walks the walk! They have done a masterful job of paring down their 100% plastic-free packaging to the bare minimum, yet still maintaining a trendy look that is pleasing and inviting. They also offer a clever BYOC (bring your own container) refill section in their new Rapid City, SD store. Bring your clean container in, and just fill it up with their bulk products – BRILLIANT!
Then to raise the bar on Social Responsibility even higher, they donate 10% of every order to provide clean drinking water to those in need around the globe – BEAUTIFUL! It’s just thrilling to see the difference one small company can make.
You can track their giving back in action using the Pledgeling Give & Grow app HERE.
Callee, the owner and formulator at Bestowed Essentials, gave our Give & Grow app a glowing review – “I found it by searching "charity" in the Shopify app store as I wanted to see what ways my business could be more socially + eco conscious. I've have had multiple customers mention how much they love that we donate. Followers on social media do like + engage with posts or content related to our donations to charity. I love the app, and will continue to use it indefinitely! Charity is very important to me personally, and I wanted to reflect that in my business.”
Well, Callee, you are doing a wonderful job making the world a more beautiful and well-hydrated place and Pledgeling takes your charitable initiative seriously. Giving back is at our core. We love partnering with like-minded businesses that in turn help the world. That’s what we are all about, and we bet you are too. Who doesn’t want to use natural beauty products that smell divine and provide amazing results, without adding to the body burden or the planet burden, right?! Plus you get to help provide clean drinking water to those in need. Oh that’s just crazy-good karma to Bestow upon yourself and the world. CHEERS!
Pledgeling is committed to the passion of purpose and helping companies big and small simply and easily give back while growing their business. Pledgeling can help your company support the causes of your choice also. Download GIVE & GROW from the Shopify App Store HERE and get started today or contact us and let’s talk about the possibilities.