June 11, 2020
The perfect storm that created Whollygrail's honest skincare range.
It was kind of like the perfect storm. As a nutritionist and with a body that was very sensitive to synthetics and chemicals, I was very aware of what I used on my skin. It might have been enough for me to keep my own body happy if it wasn’t for an experience I had some years ago.
I was working in the food industry and had a lot of exposure to the pharmaceutical, cleaning and cosmetic industries. They’re interlinked as they use a lot of the same ingredients, packaging and even sales and distribution channels.
It's quite a different perspective when those doors are open, seeing how products are made, the drivers behind decisions that impact the product that ends up on the shelf, what you use on yourselves and in your homes.
I was at a party during this time and weaved my way over to a man looking decidedly alone and very unhappy. We started chatting. I think our conversation was a conversation he needed but didn’t know how to have.
He was a chemist working in R&D for a large multinational. It paid well and he was acutely aware that this was keeping a roof over his family and food on the table. The dark cloud he couldn’t shake was the lack of ethics involved in the company he was working for. He knew the company were aware that ingredients they were using were carcinogens - the research and studies were kept within his department.
They had no intention of removing or changing their formulations to make them safe.
It was eating away at him, knowing that he was involved in the formulation of products people would buy in good faith, but in reality, were loading the gun that is responsible for illness and disease.
It was a struggle for him. 'But if I don’t do it, someone else will’ and ’how would I pay the mortgage if I left?’, but the stubborn fact remained - he knew, and in his world, if he knew, that made him responsible.
I have a lot of respect for that struggle. Everyone deserves to know - it’s our right and I believe it’s a company’s responsibility to produce things that are safe and respectful of people and our planet.
To read and learn more, we have a series of articles in our blog on skin care and other important matters, all designed to give you the information you need to make the best choices for you and your family. When you know, then it’s up to you.
Information is cheap,
Knowledge is valuable,
Awareness is priceless.