Beauty and Impact Ashley Renne Nsonwu & Jasmine Hill

It’s our final show of the season and we have an awesome episode for you! Ashley and Jasmine chat with beauty influencers Iye Bako, creator of @Iyeloveslife, and Francesca Murray of @onegrloneworld. 
Together we look at the past, present, and future of beauty and sustainability. Our guests have grown up in the U.S. but like us, come from mixed backgrounds including Nigeria and Honduras with Garifuna roots so we had a lot to chat about how our cultural identities have impacted how we define beauty and what we are hoping to see in the future in the beauty industry for people of color. 
In this episode we spill the green tea on:
Generational beauty treatmentsRecycling beauty trends and how the beauty industry is monetizing traditional indigenous beauty rituals – skin slugging is not new!Ageism in the beauty industry and our hope to see more age diversity in marketing campaigns Shifting beauty trends from our youths to what we are seeing now How communities of color are impacted by climate change 
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag Ashley and Jasmine @Beautyandimpact and our guests Iye @iyeloveslife and Francesca @onegrloneworld
Don’t forget to subscribe and follow @BeautyandImpact on Instagram to keep up to date with the latest in beauty and sustainability. 
About Francesca Murray:
Francesca Murray is a California based beauty + travel expert who shares beauty, natural hair, fashion, and lifestyle tips for women on-the-go. She is fluent in French and conversational in Spanish. Known for her curly natural hair, she is passionate about encouraging self-love, and believes that life is a journey – so why not travel in style? She is a proud Afro-Latina with Honduran Garifuna roots. Francesca is also a professional journalist and on-camera host. 
About Iye Bako:
Iye Bako is a vegan skincare and beauty lover, plant-based foodie and social justice advocate who believes in fighting for total liberation for both humans and non-human animals. She’s a founding advisory board member of Plant the Power 614 a local grassroots nonprofit organization that seeks to cultivate a caring plant-based community for POC that demonstrates unconditional love for ourselves, other animals, and our world. She is originally from Nigeria, raised in the United States, and currently resides in Columbus, Ohio. 
Links of things mentioned in this episode:
Latest IPCC report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-3/
Ashley’s beauty pick of the week: BITE refillable deodorant - https://bitetoothpastebits.com/products/deodorant
Francesca’s beauty pick of the week: The Lip Bar - https://thelipbar.com/
Iye’s beauty pick of the week: Naturium - https://naturium.com/collections/all
Dermatologist influencer Iye loves: https://www.instagram.com/dralexisstephens/
Connect with Iye and Francesca:
Facebook: Iye https://www.facebook.com/iyeloveslife/ 
                   Francesca https://www.facebook.com/onegrloneworld/ 
IG:     Iye https://www.instagram.com/iyeloveslife/  
                 Francesca https://www.instagram.com/onegrloneworld/ 
Twitter: Iye https://twitter.com/iyeloveslife?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 
Francesca https://twitter.com/onegrloneworld 
TikTok: Iye https://www.tiktok.com/@iyeloveslife?lang=en 
Website: Francesca https://www.onegirl-oneworld.com/ 
YouTube: Francesca https://www.youtube.com/c/Onegirl-oneworld 
Connect with Ashley Renne Nsonwu and Jasmine Hill:
Website: https://www.beautyandimpact.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautyandimpact 
IG: https://www.instagram.com/beautyandimpact/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beautyandimpact 
Ashley: https://www.instagram.com/heyashley

If you were looking for an affordable, easily accessible, clean, and sustainable skincare brand then you will love our latest guest. Marta Cross is the Founder and CEO of APTO Skincare, a minimalist, cruelty free, vegan (of course!), sustainable and affordable brand with products costing $20 and under. 
We spill the green tea with Marta on starting APTO and how the brand has grown slowly and why she took the decision recently to streamline APTO’s product line from over 40 products to just seven hero products – a brave decision in an industry that tends to push us to buy more beauty products than we actually need and is fueled by the trendiest newest thing. 
In this episode you’ll hear:
How APTO started and why making clean skincare affordable is important How APTO have evolved their packaging to be more sustainable using aluminum and post-consumer resins and how they bring customers along the packaging journey to embrace imperfections What slow growth looks like for a clean skincare brand  How feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed about sustainability is a common feeling and what Marta does to overcome thisHow plastic consumerism impacts wellbeing and fertilityPartnering with value driven organizations to do better, learn and deliver sustainable solutions How consumers can make conscious and sustainable product choices and why brands need to be clear what their values are 
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag Ashley and Jasmine @Beautyandimpact and our guest Marta Cros @APTOSkincare
About APTO Skincare:
APTO is a natural skincare brand for people looking to simplify their skincare routines with affordable, clean and eco-friendly products that do what they actually say they’re going to do. Their (real) in-house formulation and production makes APTO a brand that can promise and deliver.
About Marta Cros:
Marta Cros is a seasoned wellness entrepreneur and the founder of APTO Skincare. Barcelona-born and Brooklyn-based, Marta spent much of her childhood on a tennis court as a professional player. After retiring from the sport and graduating from ESADE in Spain and getting an MBA from INSEAD in France, she landed an array of corporate jobs that took her around the globe, living in ten cities in ten years.
Marta spent time working in fashion in New York City before launching her first independent venture: The Ritualist, an at-home facial service that disrupted the traditional spa model. Honing her business skills, Marta launched APTO in 2015 to create clean and affordable beauty products for all.
Marta’s vision for APTO goes well beyond skin deep. She firmly believes in the interconnectedness between physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, and has seen firsthand how beauty products can help someone feel their best. APTO’s thoughtful formulation, production and manufacturing processes—all of which happen at the brand’s manufacturing facility in New Jersey—reflect her keen desire to promote a more environmentally conscious, sustainable future.
Links to things mentioned in this episode:
Thread - https://threadbeauty.co/
A beauty brand for humans of color.
KVD Vegan Beauty - https://www.kvdveganbeauty.com/
Tattoo-inspired vegan beauty.
Novi Connect - https://www.noviconnect.com/ 
Novi connects brands, manufacturers, and suppliers to verify claims and help launch products faster. Meet complex retailer, regulatory, and environmental standards and discover innovative materials in real-time.
Project Beauty Share - https://projectbeautyshare.org/ 
Project Beauty Share® provides personal hygiene, cosmetics and beauty products to non-profit organizations who serve women and families overcoming abuse, addiction, homelessness and poverty to help restore hope and dignity in their lives. 
rePurpose Global - https://ww

We chat with the brilliant and accomplished Chante Harris, Co-Founder of Women of Color Collective in Sustainability (WOC/CS). Chante is the woman WE want in our sustainability corner as she and her fellow Co-Founder, Jordy Vasquez are opening doors for women of color to share their voices, make their impact in the sustainability industry, and take a seat at the policy table to address climate change. 
WOC/CS was created in 2019 to create the collective they wish they had when they started in their sustainability careers and provide access for women of color to advance their careers in the sustainability industry with tools and resources, mentorship, job matching and give them opportunities to connect with like-minded women. 
Chante is slaying the tech space when it comes to sustainability and innovation and was named by America on Tech as an ‘Innovator and Disruptor’ and Women eNews as a ‘Pioneering Woman in Sustainability’. 
In this very in-depth chat we cover:
How WOC/CS came to be founded and the importance of providing a safe space for women of color to connect with like-minded women so they can thriveEnvironmental justice and breaking it out of its silo and being part of all sectorsHow sustainability was whitewashed for so long and how it’s now changing to be more inclusive with diverse voices Why and how people of color have been disproportionately affected by climate change and don’t contribute at scale to environmental problemsMisperceptions about people of color and the environmental crisis Why governments need to mandate environmental change to address climate change at scaleChanging consumer behavior by driving cultural change The impact of Covid on people of color and how it has highlighted communities which are directly affected by climate change on a daily basisClimate Tech providing solutions to the environmental crisis 
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag Ashley and Jasmine @Beautyandimpact and our guest Chante Harris @woc__cs. Got a tech solution bubbling in your mind and want to chat about it? Drop Chante a DM – she would love to hear from you!
About Women of Color Collective in Sustainability (WOC/CS):
WOC/CS, pronounced /woke•sīs/, is a collective created to support women of color who want to connect, collaborate, identify mentorships, job opportunities, and seek resources within sustainability. We are engineers, architects, businesswomen, high-performance building consultants, recycling experts, permaculture-composting gurus, social impact doers, civic advocates, and artists. WOC/CS strives to highlight opportunities for collaboration, connection, resources, and mentorship for women of color in the sustainability industry. WOC/CS knows that when we actively and decisively step forward in ensuring other women’s voices are heard and valued, we are contributing to the overall success of all women.
About Chante Harris:
Chante Harris is the Co-founder of WOC/CS, Director of Climate Investment & Partnerships at SecondMuse and a Venture Partner, investing in early-stage entrepreneurs with an environment focus. 
She is an expert in driving long-term growth for startups and established companies by leading them through the complex processes of winning procurement opportunities, securing pilot projects, undertaking design challenges, and launching community impact initiatives. 
Chante is a Venture Partner for Republic, an Advisor for The Kota Alliance and Vice-Chair of Diversity for Teach For America-New York’s Associate Board. 
She is passionate about the intersection of urbantech, the circular economy, and impact. Her civic engagement and fierce advocacy for inclusivity and representation to advance sustainability in all communities has led her to serving as a Senior Summit Fellow

Hey Beauty + Impact fam! You may have spied Jasmine stocking up at Target on BYBI Beauty products on the Beauty + Impact Instagram recently. We both love this skincare brand so much we had to get the founders on the show to spill all the green tea!
BYBI Beauty, founded by Elsie Rutterford and Dominika Minarovic in 2017 is a pro-planet, vegan, natural, and cruelty-free skincare brand. BYBI brings a bit of fun to the clean beauty space with their cute and bright packaging (which is 100% recyclable) but are making a big impact with skincare that not only works but is sustainable and affordable, making it accessible for everyone. 
And BYBI just launched the world’s first-ever carbon negative skincare product! So, you may have all heard the term carbon neutral but in this episode, we get the lowdown on what does carbon negative mean and how it takes the sustainability factor one step further. BYBI is really leading by example when it comes to building a 100% sustainable beauty brand.  
In this episode you’ll hear:
Starting off pioneering the clean beauty space in the UK How they are influencing their supply chains to be carbon negative/neutral – they recently petitioned their factory suppliers to run on green energy and now they all function on 100% green energy! Building innovation into BYBI from the beginning and how they continue to drive innovation from product to packaging to brandingSome of their failures and what they learned– some products sadly are just too ahead of their timesThe product lifecycle analysis and what it involves from start to finish – this was eye-opening and something every product brand should be doing What the beauty industry is ignoring when it comes to sustainability How consumers have the power to create change in the beauty industry with their purchasing power What the tell-tale signs are of greenwashing and how you can spot when a brand is truly sustainable The differences between the UK and the US when developing and marketing a new product including how European laws impact the ingredients allowed
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag Ashley and Jasmine @Beautyandimpact and our guests Elsie and Dominika @bybifounders
About BYBI:
BYBI is pro-planet from seed to shelf and is committed to producing skincare with the lowest possible environmental footprint, utilizing low carbon production processes across their entire supply chain. Helping to keep your skin—and the planet—healthy (without having to compromise on either).
Co-founders Elsie and Dominika started out in their kitchens, meticulously crafting DIY beauty recipes with potent natural ingredients. BYBI was born in 2017 and quickly became known for their efficacious, pro-planet formulas and standout eco packaging. 
Fast forward to today, Elsie and Dominika are published authors, trained skincare formulators, podcasters and entrepreneurs who are paving the way for more climate conscious practices, from ingredients to production and packaging. 
About Elsie Rutterford and Dominika Minarovic:
Dominika Minarovic, co-founder of BYBI, is a natural beauty lover, DIY expert, and natural skincare formulator. She co-founded Clean Beauty Co with Elsie Rutterford, a natural beauty brand based out of London, empowering individuals to take control of what they put on their skin. Before stepping into beauty, Dominika worked in digital advertising and knows more about ad tech than she cares to share. The brand regularly appears in the pages of the Evening Standard, Red Magazine, In Style, and the Daily Mail and she also co-hosts annual event Clean Cult. She grew up in Australia and Hong Kong, but currently lives in London with her husband and son. 
Elsie Rutterford, co-founder of BYBI, is also a natural beauty expert. Her career backgroun

In this episode, Jasmine and Ashley spill the green tea on beauty and culture with serial entrepreneur and CEO and Co-Founder of award-winning brand Wander Beauty, Divya Gugnani. 
Did you know the average woman is actually ingesting five pounds of hormone disrupting and toxic chemicals into her system every year via her personal care and beauty products. A shocking fact, we know! 
Divya shares how and why Wander Beauty is different and how she and her co-founder Lindsay Ellingson created a beauty brand that makes a real impact while making amazing products that are actually good for you. We chat about the Indian beauty practices that Jasmine, Ashley and Divya grew up with and the key takeaways Divya learned that now influences Wander Beauty. 
In this episode, we spill the green tea on:
Indian beauty practices and habits and the passed down beauty secrets from our moms– we share a couple in common How hair oiling practices were a thing in Indian beauty before they were even a thingGrowing up in America with Indian parents and how it shaped Divya’s perceptions and inspired her to be an example to the next generation How an auto-immune diagnosis led Divya back to natural, clean beauty and co-founding Wander BeautySetting the standard as a clean beauty brand and why it’s important to make packaging 100% recyclable across every state of America – no easy feat at all!Being a serial entrepreneur and how Divya’s paying it forward by supporting women of color entrepreneursThe shocking state of VC funding when it comes to women entrepreneurs – currently only 2% of women receive VC funding. 
And of course, we chat about all our favorite Wander Beauty products and why they are on repeat purchase.  
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag Ashley and Jasmine @Beautyandimpact and our guest Divya Gugnani, @dgugnani. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, DM Divya on IG – she’ll love to hear from you! 
About Wander Beauty:
Clean beauty essentials you reach for every day, wherever you wander was launched in 2015. Cruelty-free and always free of parabens, phthalates, synthetic fragrance, and mineral oil. Wander Beauty was co-founded by Divya Gugnani, serial entrepreneur, and mom of two, and Lindsay Ellingson, jet-setting supermodel and mom. They spent their days multitasking, but their beauty products weren’t doing the same. They decided to create Wander Beauty, effortless beauty essentials. That you reach for every day, wherever you wander. Each multitasker is co-created with their community and enriched with clean, globally sourced ingredients that work with your skin, not against it.
About Divya Gugnani:
Divya Gugnani, CEO and Co-Founder of Wander Beauty, began her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs before moving on to private equity and venture capital, and ultimately becoming a serial entrepreneur. She has co-founded multiple companies along with an investment fund, Concept to Co, and is passionate about mentoring and supporting women of color and women entrepreneurs. 
Links of things mentioned in this episode:
Sight C-er Vitamin C Concentrate-  https://www.wanderbeauty.com/products/sight-c-er-vitamin-c-concentrate
Baggage Claim Eye Masks - https://www.wanderbeauty.com/products/baggage-claim-eye-masks
Connect with Divya Gugnani:
Website: https://www.wanderbeauty.com/ 
Facebook: @wanderbeautybrand 
IG: @dgugnani @wander_beauty @lindsellingson
LinkedIn: @Divya Gugnani
Twitter: @dgugnani
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/wanderbeauty
Connect with Ashley Renne Nsonwu and Jasmine Hill:
Website: https://www.beautyandimpact.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautyandimpact 
IG: https://www.instagram.com/beautyandimpact/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beautyandimpact 
Ashley: https://www.instagram

In this episode of Beauty + Impact, we found ourselves just nodding, agreeing and loving EVERYTHING our guest was putting out there!  We’re so excited to spill the green tea with Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD and Moonshot Snacks. 
Planet FWD is the leading carbon management platform which helps brands understand and reduce their carbon footprint and have created their own 100% carbon neutral food product, Moonshot Snacks, which uses ingredients from farmers that use regenerative agriculture practices. 
There were so many nuggets of gold in this episode with Julia! Fun fact – 94% of Americans snack every single day! No doubt about it - snacking is big business - actually a US $605 billion big business. With 70% of consumers in North America believing it's important that a brand is sustainable or eco-friendly, it’s never been more important for organizations to be truly sustainable and contribute to the global net-zero targets. 
In this jam-packed episode, you’ll hear:
About regenerative agriculture and what it means and the way forward as we tackle net-zero Differences between mainstream sustainability and regenerative sustainabilityHow and why Julia started Planet FWD and Moonshot Snacks The history of regenerative agriculture from Indigenous ways of protecting the land to farming practices in India and how it is making a comebackWhy you DON’T need big budgets to be a sustainable brand – first step is just deciding to be climate friendly!How the beauty industry can step up, take note and implement regenerative agriculture practices The power communities of color have to champion sustainability and be voices in the climate change conversation
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag Ashley and Jasmine @Beautyandimpact and our guest, Julia Collins @juliaecollins.
About Planet FWD:
Planet FWD is the leading carbon management platform for consumer brands. Leveraging the largest LCA database for agricultural products and advanced value chain modeling, we make it easier to take climate action.
About Julia Collins:
Julia Collins is a serial entrepreneur who realized food was her calling as a young girl in San Francisco where it was the epicenter of her community. She’s spent her career building food companies, helping to launch and grow brands such as Mexicue, Murray’s Cheese Bar and Harlem Jazz Enterprises, the company responsible for the award-winning restaurant, The Cecil. She later went on to co-found Zume Pizza where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company. When she became a mother, she knew she needed to find a way to bring delicious food to people in a way that helped heal the planet for everyone including her son.
Julia founded and leads Planet FWD, a company on a mission to tackle climate change by making it easier to bring climate-friendly products to market and support other brands to be carbon neutral through their software platform for regenerative agriculture. Along with Planet FWD, she is the instigator of the first climate-friendly snack brand, Moonshot.
In addition, Julia sits on the advisory council for Launch with GS and the Food for Climate League board, serves on the All Raise operating committee, and is an EIR for Cleo Capital. She is an active angel investor focused on funding female entrepreneurs and BIPOC founders. She also co-founded When Founder Met Funder (WFMF) in 2019 to address the fact that Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the US, yet they receive a negligible percentage of overall venture funding. This annual event by All Raise offers a unique opportunity for Black female founders to connect with investors and fellow founders in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Links of things mentioned in this episode:
Moonshot Snacks - h