Local businesses working to change the impact beauty product manufacturing has on the environment

HE CALLS A PERSONAL CROSSROADS THE INTERSECTION OF LANSDOWNE STREET AND MASS A INVE CAMBRIDGE. TWO BLOCKS AWAY. IS THE AEROSPACE ENGINEERING LAB AND LITERALLY JUST RIGHT OVER HERE. IT’S D-LAB. TWO LABS AT MIT THAT WILLIAMS KNOWS WELL, HE CAME TO THE US WITH HIS FAMILY FROM GHANAN I THE FOURTH GRADE AND FELL IN LOVE WITH AATVIION AND ROBOTICS BY THE END OF HIGH SCHOOL. I SAID, WHERE’S THE BEST UNIVERSITY FOR AEROSPACE ENGINEERING AND I LEARNED THAT THAT WAS MIT AND FROM THAT POINT ON. I WASUST J SINGULARLY FOCUSED ON GETTING TO MIT. HE DID HE INTERNED FOR NASA, BUT THEN RETURN TO GHANA FOR A VISIT AND EVERYTHING. I GOT TO SEE REAL POVERTY FOR THE FIRST TIME. AND I STARTED TO ASK MYSELF IF AEROSPACE ENGINEERS CAN HELP PUT A MAN INHE M TOON THEN WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP PUT MORE FOOD ON THE ON THE TABLE FOR THESE FAMILIES? THE ANSWER HE FNDOU ALREADY GROWING IN HIS NATIVE HOME THE MORING. 3 TRUE MORINGA GOT HIS BIRTH FROM AN MIT CLASS PROJECT. MORINGA IS THE CAMBRIDGE-BASED BEAUTY AND WELLNESS COMPANY WI LLIAMS FOUEDND WITH EMILY CUNNINGHAM. WE WERE IN GHANA ON A SCHOOL PROJECT. WE MET FARMERS WHO WERE WORKING WITH THE MORINGA TREE AND PEACE CORPS AND OTHER NGOS HAD BASICALLY TOLD THEM TO PLANT MORINGA BECAU THESE LEAVESRE A SO NUTRITIOUS, BUT THEY COULDN’T AFFORD TO CONTINUE GROWING MORINGA BECAUSE THEY WEREN’’ MAKING MONEY FROM IT. AND SO THAT’S KIND OF WHERE WE CAME IN WITH OUR PROJECT TO TAKE E UNTHUSED PART OF THE TREE. WHICH ARE THE SEEDS AND TURN IT INTO OIL OIL TTHA CAN BE USED IN A VAST ARRAY OF SKIN CARE PRODUCTS MORINGA OIL IS KIND OF BEEN ON THE FRINGE OF THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY FOR A WHILE ITS STORY IS KIND OF SIMILAR TO THAT OF ARGAN OR JOJOBA ALL THE PRESSING AND PROCESSINGOR F TRUE MORINGA HAPPENS IN GHANA. WE’RE IMPACTING ABOUT 25,000 PELEOP THROUGH OUR SUPPLY CHAIN. SECONDLY, WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO PLANT OVER TWO MILLION TREES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND OUR TREES ARE ACTUALLY BE SAYING A SOLUTI TONO MALNUTRITION IN A TIME WHERE A LOT OF THE COMMODITIES THAT WE’RE GETTING ARE REALLY EXTRACTIVE MORGAIN PROVIDES A SOLUTION THAT YOU’RE GETTING A REALLY WONDERFUL OIL, BUT YOU’RE ALSO GIVING BKAC TO PEOPLE AND PLANET THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND SAYSHE T PRODUCTION OF PALM OIL USED IN MORE THAN HALF OF PACKAGED PRODUCTS CONSUMED IN THE US INCLUDING COSMETICS IS TO BLAME FOR THE RAISING OF TROPICAL FORESTS IN ASIA, AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA. THESE ARE TINY LITTLE FARMS. THEY’RE LIKE THE SIZE OF YOUR BACKYARD. SORT MONITORS PPSULY CHAINS FOR MPCOANIES START ORVE NANI SOURCE MAP WAS BASED ON A SIMPLE IDEA THAT PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHERE THINGS COME FROM. CUT IS A SCHOOL IN THAT VILLAGE? THAT’S AVAILABLE FOR THE CHILDRENO T GOO T IS THERE WORKING WATER PUMP OR HEALTH CLINIC? IS THERE DEFORESTATIONE W USING SATELLITE IMAGERY TO LOOK AT PALM OIL PLANTATIONS AND SAY HEY IS TTHA OIL PLANTATION GROWING INTO A PART OF THE WORLD WHERE DEFORESTATION IS HAPPENING. CLEAN BEAUTY COMPANY BEAUTY CO UNTER HAS BEEN WORKING. WITH SOURCE MAP TO MONORIT EATING MICA MINDS LINDSEY DOLL IS BEAUTYCOUNTER SENRIO VEIC PRESIDENT OF SOCIAL MISSION. THE MICA INDUSTRYS I NOTORIOUS FOR HAVING ISSUES WITHIN THE SUPPLY CHAIN AROUNDAB LOR IS SUES. SO FORCED LABOR WAGE THEFT AND SOMETIMES CHILD LABOR. CAMIH IS USED IN EVERYTNGHI FROM TO ELECTRONICS TO MAKE UP THE SHIMMER IN LIPSTICK THE SPARKLE IN EYESHADOW. HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR NIEN HASHEA SAYS ONE ISSUE IS LKAC OF REGULATION IN ADDITION MINING IN GENERAL I ADD ONOP T OF THAT IS JUST A VERY MESSY KIND OF OPERAONTI OFTEN LARGE SCALE MINES ARE SURROUNDED BY SMALLER SO-CALLED ARTISANAL MINDS A LOT OF THESE QUESTIONS WERE TALKING ABOUT WITH REGARD TO CHILD LABOR AND THINGS LIKE THAT ARE THINGS THAT AREN’T LEGALLY SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING, BUT THEY DO HAPPEN BECAUSEAY W THESE MINING OPERATIONS ARE STRUCTURED BEAUTY COUNTER RECENTL CYOMPLETED A PHYSICAL AUDIT OF ALL THEIR MICA SUPPLIERS SOME CASES. WE’VE DROPPED MAKE A SUPPLIERS WITHIN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN SOLVING SOURCING ISSUES IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS THAT WE ARE FACED WITHUT B IT’S ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT. WE’RE NOT GONNA SOLVE THIS ISSUE ALONE, BUT SOMETIMES IT TAKES A FIRST COMPANY TO KIND OF RAISE THE ALARM TO SAY LOOK WE NEED TO DO BETTER AND WE’RE AT LEAST GOING TO TRY THAT THAT IS HOW WE’VE SEEN TRANSFORMATIVE. CHANGE IN OTHER INDUSTRIES AND WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN HELP DO THE SAMEIN KD OF LARGE-SCALE CHANGE WITHIN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY. BEAUTY COUNTER SAYS TRANSPARENCY AND SUPPLIED CHAINS HAS REFORMED THE CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE INDUSTRIES AND THEY BELIEVE THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY CAN DO THE SAME NOW IFOU Y WANT MORE INFORMATION ON CHECKING THE SAFETY OF BEAUTY PRODUCTS WE HE INFORMATION ON OUR WEB

Local businesses working to change the impact beauty product manufacturing has on the environment

Erika also talks to local scientists and entrepreneurs developing beauty products you can feel good about

Updated: 8:04 PM EDT Oct 19, 2021

True Moringa is a Cambridge-based beauty and wellness brand that benefits farmers in Ghana. Millions of moringa trees have been planted in Ghana to help address malnutrition. Oil pressed from seeds from the trees go into their products. Founded by Leonardo Bonanni, Sourcemap is a company born out of the MIT Media Lab. The company traces supply chains, providing transparency about where products come from. Beautycounter is a cosmetics company focused on providing safe, clean beauty products with ethically sourced ingredients. Environmental Working Group database for personal care products.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

True Moringa is a Cambridge-based beauty and wellness brand that benefits farmers in Ghana. Millions of moringa trees have been planted in Ghana to help address malnutrition. Oil pressed from seeds from the trees go into their products.

Founded by Leonardo Bonanni, Sourcemap is a company born out of the MIT Media Lab. The company traces supply chains, providing transparency about where products come from.

Beautycounter is a cosmetics company focused on providing safe, clean beauty products with ethically sourced ingredients.

Environmental Working Group database for personal care products.