Bending the path towards sustainable beauty.

As the founder of a beauty company, I want first to acknowledge what’s not beautiful in this world. For the past century, humans have single-handedly disrupted the natural order of things. We’ve wiped out entire species, lost our wild spaces, and contaminated the air, water, and soil. And with global CO2 levels at unprecedented levels, we all face some tough choices. 

And while the world around us appears bleak, we believe real transformation is possible. We have to start working with Nature, not against it. At Bend Beauty, we are using our business as a force for good and a force of nature. We feel it’s important to share, with transparency, our path to create more beauty in this world: 

Rapid decarbonization (UN SDG 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts): with global CO2 levels still rising, the world needs to move quickly to reduce its carbon footprint and shift towards green energy solutions. 

Our progress to date:

  1. Our facilities are 100% powered by green energy from solar, wind, and low impact hydro.
  2. We completed a screening Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our Marine Collagen + Co-Factors product. This work provided us a reliable, science-based estimate of that product’s carbon footprint.
  3. We used the data gathered from the LCA to estimate the carbon footprint of all our products and purchased offsets from Carbon Fund to compensate for that.
  4. High virtualization of our workspace means we’ve dramatically reduced our transportation footprint.

Fund frontline activism (UN SDG 14 – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development):  leading the efforts of Climate Action are the non-profits. Without their tireless efforts, there would be no hope for change. Through our membership in 1% for the Planet, we donate one percent of each sale to environmental non-profits. 

Our progress to date:

  1. We’ve donated more than $1million to non-profits and have helped raise awareness of their work and supported important campaigns. Their achievements have included preserving wild spaces, protecting endangered species, and lobbying for upgraded regulations.

Sustainable supply chain (UN SDG – 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns): Like all businesses, we consume stuff, and will continue to consume. The difference is that Bend Beauty has developed a responsible supply chain strategy to minimize environmental impact.

Progress to date:

  1. We completed a draft Sustainable Procurement Policy that ensures all office supplies, electronics, food, and cleaning agents go through a detailed environmental impact screening process.
  2. We have developed a separate policy for raw materials to ensure each ingredient is considered for its environment and ethical standards. We choose organic and/or regenerative ingredients when possible. For marine ingredients, including fish collagen, fish oil, and seaweeds, we ensure it’s sustainably harvested and from trustworthy sources.

Next steps:  

  1. We are working on a sustainable packaging strategy  
  2. We are working on novel ingredient solutions that have value-added benefit for the environment
  3. Perform screening LCAs on the remainder of our products and use that data to more accurately calculate carbon offset quantities

Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.

Zelda Fitzgerald
  • 1% For The Planet
  • Bullfrog Power
  • David Suzuki Foundation - One Nature
  • Nova Scotia Nature Trust
  • Ecology Action Centre