Celebrate Earth Day And Shop Sustainably With These Eco-Friendly Finds (Seen On CBS Austin)
Happy Earth Day! Today is the perfect day to chat about ways in which we can all live more sustainably and make better choices for ourselves and for the environment. With that in mind, I stopped by CBS Austin’s “We Are Austin” to share some great eco-friendly finds. Check out the segment here and read on to learn more about the eco ethos behind these great picks!
MyCHELLE Natural Skincare
Founded in 2000, Colorado-based skincare brand MyCHELLE has been a pioneer in the realm of eco-conscious beauty for more than two decades. All MyCHELLE products are vegetarian, PETA certified cruelty-free and free of phthalates, sulfates, parabens, petroleum, and artificial fragrances and colors. Moreover, all MyCHELLE products are science-driven and results focused, allowing you to reap the benefits of potent formulas without ever compromising your values.
MyCHELLE prioritizes sustainability at every level – from ingredient sourcing to packaging. As part of its ongoing commitment to clean up the environment and be proactive about maintaining our ecosystems, MyCHELLE has partnered with The Plastic Collective, a global leader in helping companies reduce their plastic footprint. In fact, MyCHELLE is currently plastic neutral!
If you’re looking for clean and effective skincare products to add to your routine, check out some of MyCHELLE’s all-star products. First, the Ultra Hyaluronic Hydrating Serum ($54.99 on MyChelle.com, Amazon and at Whole Foods Market stores) features hyaluronic acid, squalane, and sodium PCA toreplenish hydration, restore suppleness, and smooth fine lines, as well as rosehip oil and aloe vera soothe and nourish the complexion. After applying this serum, you can follow with the Deep Repair Cream ($36.99 on on MyChelle.com, Amazon and at Whole Foods Market stores), which is packed with antioxidant-rich ingredients like kombucha black tea (a great source of polyphenols) and vitamin B to minimize visible aging signs and boost skin’s radiance.
And, if your skin is looking a bit dull, reach for the Instant Radiance Vitamin C Oil ($29.99 on MyChelle.com, Amazon and at Whole Foods Market stores), which features stabilized Vitamin C (Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate), alongside nutrient-rich jojoba, squalane, rosehip, and sea buckthorn oils to brighten the complexion and stimulate collagen production for bouncier, healthier skin.
Sothys Skin Radiance Exfoliant
Dating back to 1946, Sothys is a historic, family-owned French brand that combines inspiration from nature with scientific rigor in its formulas. The Corrèze region of France has played a crucial role in the brand’s history — not only is it the area where the Mas family hails from, but it’s where the company’s production and research units are located. Moreover, since 2006, the area is home to Les Jardins Sothys, a protected nature reserve that serves as the inspiration for the brand’s botanical research and plant-based active ingredients. This magical space spans 4 hectares of botanical gardens and 26 hectares of forest park. It’s inspired the usage of ingredients such as birch sap, saffron flower, honeysuckle extract, nasturtium flower, and more. Moreover, this expansive natural preserve is itself a gift to the planet, with Sothys invests 1% of its revenue into sustainably managing the property.
The Sothys Organics line is a reflection of the brand’s unwavering commitment to sustainability and responsible beauty, with all products being COSMOS-certified and Certified Plastic Neutral.
Featuring an invigorating citrus scent, the Sothys Organics Skin Radiance Exfoliant ($58.50 on Amazon) combines organic birch sap with raspberry seeds and Camargue rice to eliminate impurities and gently polish off dead skin cells, leaving skin softer, brighter, and smoother.
NERRĀ The Dry Body Oil
Growing up in Carthage, Tunisia, NERRĀ founder Teyma Touati often practiced hammam, a multi-step bathing ritual that involves using steam to open up pores, cleansing the body with an olive oil-infused soap, exfoliating dead skin cells (a task usually performed with a mitt), applying a clay mask to purify and detox skin, and finishing with a nourishing massage using fast-absorbing and hydrating botanical oils. Touati found herself fascinated with the history of Mediterranean bathing rituals, learning about how the thermae (public baths) of ancient Rome evolved during the Byzantine and Ottoman eras, with regions like North Africa (think Morocco, Egypt or Algeria), the Middle East (particularly Syria, Cyprus, Turkey, and Iran), and Islamic Iberia (i.e. Spain and Portugal) developing their own hammam rituals. Drawing inspiration from these ancient Mediterranean bathing rituals, she set out to create a body care line that would preserve the ancient wisdom ingrained in hammam traditions while also reimagining these traditions to better suit the demands of modern life.
Not only does NERRĀ seek to preserve these ancient self-care rituals, but it hopes to honor the cultures and civilizations behind them and to preserve the environment that has nurtured us all. Crafted in France, all NERRĀ products are COSMOS Organic Certified, vegan certified, and cruelty-free. Similarly, its bottles are made using infinitely recyclable aluminum and glass and are housed in FSC certified paperboard packaging.
One of the most indulgent products in the line is NERRĀ’s Dry Body Oil ($72 on nordstrom.com) which is made with 100% natural origin ingredients. It incorporates 8 botanical oils— among them rich argan oil, fast-absorbing macadamia oil, jojoba seed oil, rose hip oil, and hibiscus seed oil, which is known as “nature’s Botox” because of its elasticity-boosting, skin-tightening properties. The lightweight body oil is designed to firm, hydrate, nourish and protect skin, and it features a spray top for an easy and mess-free application. For best results, apply the oil after your shower or bath, while skin is still warm.
This elegant body oil is available in a Fragrance-Free variety or in a Jasmine Wood scent that combines notes of jasmine, freesia and rose with woody and powdery notes, leaving skin delicately perfumed.
Tano Skincare Everyday Body Lotion
Tano Skincare’s patented, high-performance, all-natural skincare products are built around the amazing benefits of banana sap. The brand’s origin story dates back to 1999 when founder Sean Finney, then a 9-year-old boy living in a small coastal town in Brazil, was swept into a coral reef by a forceful wave, leaving his leg bleeding and badly scraped. With the nearest hospital hours away, panic set in until a local soon intervened and tended to the wound using an age-old remedy that quickly stopped the bleeding and provided some needed relief: banana sap.
Over the years, Finney found himself turning to banana sap to treat everything from cuts and abrasions to sunburns, but he still felt like this ingredient had even more potential skincare benefits that had yet to be fully explored or studied. That curiosity turned into the foundation of Tano Skincare and spurred an 18-month research and development period during which banana sap was extensively studied and compared to many of the most commonly used ingredients in skincare — among them retinol, vitamin C, glycolic acid, and niacinamide.
In clinical studies, banana sap was found to increase collage production by up to 324% —a rate that’s 4 times higher than retinol, which has long been considered the gold standard in anti-aging skincare. Banana sap was also shown to reduce inflammation and diminish redness, enhance skin hydration (and thereby give skin a plumper look), and strengthen the skin barrier, providing excellent protection against environmental damage.
The perfect body moisturizer for spring and summer, TANO Skincare’s Everyday Body Lotion ($48 on Tanoskincare.com) boasts a non-greasy, non-sticky, fast-absorbing formula that helps to restore moisture, calm irritation and strengthen the skin barrier. The one-of-a-kind formula features banana sap alongside shea butter, aloe vera, and chamomile extract. It’s dermatologist-tested, non-comedogenic, and hypoallergenic, making it an excellent choice for all skin types
Privé Repair & Style Routine Kit
Created by female racecar driver Shay Hoelscher, Privé is a brand of salon-quality, vegan, and cruelty-free haircare products made with clean, food-grade, natural ingredients.
The Privé Repair & Style Routine Kit ($86.25 on priveproducts.com) features four products designed to bring damaged strands back to life. You can start with the Damage Fix Shampoo and Conditioner, which feature ingredients like jojoba proteins, baobab oil, and kukui oil, which work to strengthen hair fibers, moisturize strands, and amp up softness and shine.
You can skip wash day and refresh your style with the Dry Shampoo, which contains detoxifying charcoal, strengthening bamboo, and luster-boosting vitamin E.
And, for added body and shine, you can reach for the Shining Weightless Amplifier, a mousse-serum enriched with ingredients like bamboo (which helps build structure and strength in strands), goji berry (rich in phytochemicals that help heal damage), and green tea extract (rife with antioxidants and vitamins C and E that help to boost shine and softness)
JustShoesForKids.com’s Igor Nemo Sandals
Next, we can help our littles step into sustainability with the Igor Nemo Sandals from JustShoesforKids.com. Made with up to 50% recycled materials, these fisherman sandals feature a zero-drop, barefoot design that supports natural movement and foot muscle development. They’re flexible and durable, and they feature an on-trend jelly style and convenient hook-and-loop closures for easy on and off.
As stylish as they are comfy, these sandals come in a range of sizes for infants, toddlers and little kids, and in a variety of colors including Maquillaje, a rosy pink, Marfil, an off-white hue, and Oceano,a stormy blue shade.
The perfect shoes to fuel all your spring and summer adventures, they retail for $48 on JustShoesforKids.com
