Award-winning year for Ethique

The Christchurch-based business has been dubbed the world’s most sustainable beauty brand and Brianne was recognised by Ernst & Young as New Zealand’s 2019 ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’.

Brianne also became the ‘Business Enterprise’ category winner in Stuff’s 2019 Women of Influence Awards, as well as both the ‘Supreme Small to Medium Business’ and ‘Innovation’ category winner in the Canterbury’s Westpac Champion Business Awards.

Ethique won the 2019 American Chamber of Commerce ‘Exporter of the Year to the USA $1 million to $10 million’ category award.

Convergence researched and drafted all five successful award entries.

Brianne’s vision is that Ethique will not only prevent 50 million plastic bottles from being made by 2050 (they’ve already hit the 6 million mark), but that it will be an inspiration to other businesses that you can be environmentally proactive while being financially sustainable.

“Our business operates in a way which does as little harm as possible to people, the planet and all its inhabitants. That’s a lot to say in one sentence, but to be a truly trustworthy and ethical company you must consider everything as much as possible,” Brianne says.

“The products are also high quality, vegan and cruelty-free, palm oil-free, plastic-free and 100% biodegradable with compostable packaging.

“Our ethos goes beyond beauty: we believe in environmental stewardship, transparent trade, cruelty-free practices and charity involvement. Every business should think of its entire supply chain, its team and should be responsible for the entire life cycle of its products – including the wasted packaging at the end of the product’s life. This is what I believe business should be. We should not be the outlier. We have to stop transferring responsibility for saving our environment onto consumers – businesses need to lead the way and become responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products.

“I’d most want Ethique, which is French for ‘ethical’, to be a trusted brand, so when people think of us or speak of us they know that our products can be trusted to work,” she says.

Ethique came about as a combination of Brianne’s passion for the environment, knowledge of cosmetic chemistry (and the waste the industry creates) and the desire to create a business that had far more at its core than just making profit.

“Years ago while I was studying at university I taught myself cosmetic chemistry from scratch with loads of research into what each ingredient does and how to build a product from the ground up,” she said.

“We aim to be the world’s most sustainable lifestyle and beauty brand and Ethique is now available in 17 countries.”