Ethique to take on Australia’s love of plastic bottles

Ethique to take on Australia’s love of plastic bottles in the beauty industry

Christchurch-based beauty brand Ethique has signed a deal with major Australian retailer that will see 22 of its products sold in more than 420 stores throughout Australia.

From the end of October, Ethique [pronounced Eh-tique] will supply its range of products to Priceline – one of Australia’s largest health and beauty retailers.

Since 2012, Ethique has grown from a one-woman business in a Christchurch kitchen to an award-winning beauty brand that sells online to New Zealand, Australia, the US, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Its skin, hair and personal beauty products come in a concentrated bar, minus any bottle. The bars are wrapped in compostable packaging and certified cruelty-free, palm oil-free, vegan and climate neutral.

The deal with Priceline means Ethique products will be available in Australian shops and malls for the first time – and just in time for the Christmas shopping season too.

Ethique founder Brianne West says it means Ethique is closer to realising its vision of keeping a million plastic bottles out of landfills by end of 2018.

“To date we’ve kept more than 500,000 plastic bottles out of landfill, simply by selling an alternative,” says West. “Selling 500,000 more before the end of the year depends on our ability to keep up with demand!”

“Ultimately I want to change the way we use beauty products, so there are bars in every shower – hair and skin care, without the plastic bottle – and I’m very excited to be working with Priceline Pharmacies to help drive that change.”

West’s desire to shake up the multibillion-dollar global beauty industry is the result of her passion for the environment and background in biochemistry.

In 2012, she started formulating beauty products with salon-quality ingredients, minus any water, dispensing with the need for a plastic bottle. In 2015, she ran a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised $200,000 and allowed Ethique to expand. A subsequent crowdfunding drive in 2017 raised $500,000 in half an hour.

West says she’s confident eco-conscious Aussies will snap up Ethique’s brightly-coloured bars once they hit the shelves at Priceline, “giving them more reason to #giveupthebottle.”

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