- What are sustainable business practices?
- About KraveBeauty
- 7 Ways Sustainable Business Practices by KraveBeauty that are Not So Bad
- Summary
What are sustainable business practices?
Sustainable business practices ensure that the business will continue to thrive in the future. Those who are serious about sustainability in business are usually transparent with their efforts towards it.
Sustainable business practices include both eco-friendly and socially responsible ways of doing business. The beneficiaries of sustainable business practices are both the environment and society as a whole. Examples of environmental-friendly decisions may include choosing environmental-friendly ingredients and developing products without testing these on animals. Social responsibility covers volunteering initiatives that a company does outside the scope of its business activities.
You might have heard the buzzwords “Clean Beauty”, “Vegan”, “Cruelty-free”, “Paraben-free”, “Green”, or “Organic” when it comes to buying make-up, skincare, and other beauty products. While these buzzwords may act as guides in buying sustainable products, being a business that operates sustainably means more than that.
About KraveBeauty
KraveBeauty is a skincare brand founded by YouTube influencer, Liah Yoo. Her experience of working for a big Korean conglomerate inspired her to start a brand that cuts through the clutter in an overwhelming beauty industry saturated with constant product releases.
In 2017, KraveBeauty was introduced to the world. The skincare brand differentiates itself through its philosophy of only applying products that your skin craves. In an industry where new products are launched every now and then and trying these out in the hopes of curing skin concerns or simply having better skin is addicting, and where a bajillion-step skincare routine was naively ideal to have better skin, KraveBeauty encourages you to be intentional with products you apply on your skin.
By 2022, KraveBeauty has launched 7 products at a moderated pace, with 6 of these still being sold in the market.
So which practices of KraveBeauty tick the sustainability checklist?
7 Sustainable Business Practices by KraveBeauty that are Not So Bad
1. Sustainable Packaging (and Repackaging)
The best sustainable business practices are weaved into the business process. KraveBeauty makes sustainable business decisions in every aspect of the supply chain – from sourcing raw materials to choosing the mode of transportation of these materials to packaging its products.
One of KraveBeauty’s sustainable business practices is it continuously redesigns product packaging to reduce its carbon footprint. In fact, three of its products – Great Barrier Relief, Kale-Lalu-yAHA, Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser – were already redesigned and repackaged. Four products, all those previously mentioned and including the Oat So Simple Water Cream, have recyclable packaging that decomposes faster than others.
What Goes Around Comes Around In A Circular Economy
KraveBeauty uses post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for its products.
Two of its products have packaging made from recycled materials. The Kale-Lalu-yAHA Toner and Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser are made from 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and 50% PCR PET bottles, respectively.
Not only does KraveBeauty incorporate recyclable materials into its packaging. It educates its community on how to recycle and also encourages them, through social media, to upcycle skincare containers once products are used up.
KraveBeauty uses soy-based ink in its packaging. This is more eco-friendly than regular ink.
2. Reduce, reuse, recycle…Re-Wined.
The rules of sustainability tell us to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” a.k.a. the “3R’s”. Another sustainable business practice done by KraveBeauty in developing its product, Makeup Re-Wined, was to apply the 3R initiative. Grapeseed, the key ingredient to the cleanser, was sourced from the wine industry. Grape derivatives released during wine production were recycled and used by KraveBeauty for its Makeup Re-Wined cleanser.
3. #PressReset towards a Zero Waste Economy? Maybe.
#PressReset has been KraveBeauty’s tagline ever since its brand inception. The tagline embodies KraveBeauty’s brand philosophy. It encourages skincare enthusiasts to quit hoarding skincare products, drop overwhelming skincare routines, and focus both on buying and applying skincare products (as needed only). By looking at the tagline alone, we see that sustainable business practices are at KraveBeauty’s brand core.
We can see #PressReset with how KraveBeauty markets its products, designating a “Core Series” for skincare basic necessities. Other products are considered “Supplements”. #PressReset also doesn’t stop with product marketing. It’s a continuous process of developing and refining the list of ingredients to produce the best outcomes.
Also, as mentioned above, KraveBeauty aims to reduce its carbon footprint through recyclable and eco-friendly packaging. It may not be a direct path to a zero waste economy but it’s a step towards creating a circular economy. Ideally, sustainable business practices should lead to a circular economy.
Slow Down Skincare
In line with its tagline, #PressReset, KraveBeauty launched the Slow Down Skincare movement inviting content creators to use their social media platforms to promote only buying and applying skincare that you need. The initiative goes against the trend of impulse buying triggered by online ads.
4. Inclusivity Initiative
Sustainable business practices include inclusivity initiatives. Being inclusive promotes peace and harmony and benefits society as a whole. Below are KraveBeauty’s inclusivity initiatives:
Representation. People of various backgrounds, ethnicity, race, and gender identities are represented on social media and in its marketing materials.
Shared Values and Ideals With Partners. KraveBeauty also chooses partners, vendors, and suppliers who share the same principles as it does.
KraveBeauty Venture Studio. KraveBeauty has a venture capital fund to invest in brands that advocate sustainability and inclusivity.
5. Partnerships and Affiliations with Non-Profit Organizations that Focus on the Environment
KraveBeauty has partnerships/affiliations with the following organizations as one of its sustainable business practices:
Great Barrier Reef Foundation. With every purchase of KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief, a donation will be made to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
1% For The Planet. KraveBeauty allots 1% of annual sales for environmental conservation projects.
RePurpose Global. By partnering with RePurpose Global, KraveBeauty somehow offsets its plastic waste. For every pound of plastic used in KraveBeauty’s packaging, an equal amount is removed from the environment.
PETA – Beauty Without Bunnies Program. This means that KraveBeauty doesn’t test its products on animals or is “Cruelty-free”.
Cloverly!. This organization provides digital tools to help businesses reduce carbon emissions.
6. Sustainability Pledges and Goals
Going forward, KraveBeauty doesn’t settle with its existing sustainable business practices. It has made the following promises/goals:
ShoppingGives Program. KraveBeauty has pledged to donate at least 1% of product sales to various causes.
Carbon Neutral Certified. This is a pledge to offset carbon emissions to be Carbon Neutral Certified. KraveBeauty’s partnership with Cloverly! (discussed above) has helped them reduce its emissions from shipping.
Sustainable Tracing & Sourcing. KraveBeauty’s goal is to trace how all key ingredients of its products are sourced. This also entails cooperating with suppliers to ensure ethical sourcing.
Community Education Program. KraveBeauty also raises awareness about sustainability within its community and collaborates with members of its community to find ways to apply sustainable practices in their daily lives. This is apparent in its social media posts on topics such as upcycling and issues within the beauty industry. The brand has also opened discussions on price increases, market saturation in the beauty industry, and other topics related to sustainability on social media. More importantly, they’re planning community workshops and programs related to the same topics mentioned.
7. Price Accessibility
Last but not the least, despite the challenges of finding new suppliers of more eco-friendly raw materials, renegotiating contracts with suppliers for repackaging, rebranding, redesigning the packaging, and amidst rising raw material and transportation prices during the global pandemic, KraveBeauty has made it clear that it won’t increase the price of its products. Still no price increase amidst everything!
KraveBeauty is able to extend its sustainable business practices even in its pricing. This is notable because there are brands that offer sustainable options at higher prices. This is because sustainable materials used in products and packaging may not be as popular as mainstream alternatives.
Snack Pack Discovery Kit
KraveBeauty has a miniature version of its products. You might be thinking that creating smaller bottle sizes create more waste and KraveBeauty also considered that. However, the brand considered that not all its customers, especially new ones, are able to use up the products they buy. So the brand created trial versions of its products so that, hopefully, there will be less waste from unused products. The “mini” version also makes the product more accessible in terms of price.
Summary
KraveBeauty’s sustainable business practices are commendable for a business that’s only less than 5 years since inception. It was wise for the brand to incorporate sustainability at its early stages instead of it being an afterthought.
What’s more notable is that all its efforts listed above tie back to #PressReset and to its founder’s philosophy in creating the brand. In a world where enterprises struggle to adopt sustainable business practices and brands try to ride every trend to be relevant, KraveBeauty is taking a slow and steady but sure pace towards business longevity.
