While the fashion and transportation industry are the biggest culprits in regard to environmental damage, the beauty industry deserves to also be scrutinized, particularly with packaging.
A report from CleanHub found that at least 120 billion pieces of packaging are produced by the beauty industry each year, and 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away. With this in mind, we chatted to Jonnie Vigar, co-founder of Leif, a Sydney-based beauty brand that is reimagining sustainability in luxury beauty and prioritizing environmentally friendly beauty packaging.
Leif: A Greener Life Is Born
Originally beginning as a design studio specializing in cosmetic packaging for mid-sized boutique brands, the brains behind Leif soon observed a gap in the market that they could fill themselves.
“One day, my business partner designed a fine-neck bottle that garnered so much attention from clients. After years of compliments, we decided to create our own brand around it,” explains Vigar.
As for what inspired the unique name, this was a spontaneous moment whereby Vigar was reading his son a storybook and saw the word ‘Leif’ on the side of a logging truck,
“I liked how it was familiar yet unique and an anagram of ‘life,’ which connects to our plant-based ethos.”
Packaging Is A Climate Villain
In terms of the beauty industry’s relationship with sustainability, Vigar isn’t exactly impressed,
“There’s a lot of greenwashing,” he says,
“Brands talk about clean beauty, but it’s often surface-level. The real challenge is tackling the lifecycle of packaging and reducing carbon footprints.”
As mentioned, green beauty is the core of Leif’s values, and this commitment to sustainability has evolved over the past decade,
“At the start, we were focused on clean beauty—sulfate-free, paraben-free—but as we grew, we realized reducing the footprint of our brand was more important,” Vigar shares.
With that, they’ve chosen to focus on packaging, which is why their primary packaging is made from 50% recycled materials. Furthermore, Vigar revealed that Leif’s one-liter refills for body cleansers have reduced plastic usage by a remarkable 80%.
Unfortunately, adopting a greener ethos is not always easy as the one-liter refills are typically tri-layer, making them difficult to recycle.
“Locally, we collaborate with a specialist called TerraCycle to process them,” Vigar explains.
Nonetheless, the brand is committed to their greener values, which is why they’re aiming for a significant leap forward by 2026 with the introduction of more recyclable materials,
“We’re working on a step-change in packaging that will hopefully serve as a test case for how luxury beauty can also have a lower impact.”
Leif Flannel Flower Handwash and Hand Cream: Sustainable and Greener Luxury Beauty
Unfortunately, luxury and sustainability often feel at odds, especially because high-end products frequently require high levels of processing and packaging, which is not exactly luxurious for the planet.
However, Leif’s aim, despite being quite challenging, is to reduce the beauty industry’s impact on the planet, while simultaneously maintaining the premium look and feel expected by their clientele,
“We’re not perfect, but we’re committed to improving. Our goal is to make sustainability an integral part of luxury beauty.”
One product that’s a true testament to Leif’s green ethos is their Flannel Flower Handwash and Hand Cream. Inspired by the Great Barrier Reef and perfectly embodying the blend of luxury and eco-conscious beauty, this handwash and hand cream is suited to gently cleanse, hydrate and nourish your hands.
Thanks to the plant-based ingredients, including extracts of the native Australian flannel flower, which boasts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, one can expect cleaner, softer and healthier hands. In addition to its floral and earthy scent, in sticking to Leif’s clean beauty motto, both products are sulfate- and paraben-free.
As for the packaging, which is crafted from partially recycled materials, the contemporary design makes it easy to display throughout the home,
“We want to show that you can have a relatively high-end product in the luxury space but with a much lower impact,” explains Vigar.
If you’re in search of greener luxury in terms of beauty products, then you will definitely appreciate this handwash and hand cream, as it effortlessly balances skincare indulgence and eco-consciousness.
Leif Flannel Flower Handwash and Hand Cream is available from Skins Cosmetics and the Leif website.
The Future of Luxuriously Sustainable Beauty
As Leif continues to grow, and the demand for luxury and eco-conscious brands grows along with it, Vigar is excited about what lies ahead, and he believes that Leif can be at the forefront of this change,
“With the right balance of innovation, design, and sustainability, we believe beauty can be beautiful—for people and the planet.”
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References
Cleanhub.com. (2024). Plastic Perspectives Report 2024 | CleanHub. [online] Available at: https://www.cleanhub.com/plastic-perspectives-report.
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: simpleform.com.au
