It’s tough to admit it, but being sustainable when it comes to skincare is complicated. Especially as a new brand.
As we double down on launching our first set of skincare products, we have been thinking a lot about how to bring them to you in the best possible way. We’re in the middle of developing uncompromising, cutting-edge formulas that are gentle on the skin (and we feel SO good about the formulas in the pipeline). We’re committed to being cruelty-free, and are super stringent about making sure that each of our ingredients are sourced ethically. But to be honest, we’re still figuring out how to minimize environmental impact and we want your input in figuring out how.
Sustainability is a huge challenge we’re facing as a brand new company, and one we want to be transparent about from day one. Given that we’re on a startup budget - and also need to think about creating a robust brand experience - there’s no way we can be perfect right out of the gates. In turn, what we aim to do is to have an open and honest dialogue about the decisions we’re making each step of the way. That way we can get your input, be real about where things are at, and continually commit to being better.
Our goal is to bring you the highest quality products as sustainably as possible each step of the way. When it comes to product development, we’re finding balance between innovation, efficacy, safety, and cost. Add sustainability into the mix, and there’s a lot of tough decisions to make.
It’s been easy for us to avoid especially bad and unnecessary ingredients: microplastics like glitter and oxybenzone. Some packaging options are obvious no-nos: individually wrapped portions, giant boxes for tiny items, plastic wrap on plastic wrap on plastic wrap.
But there’s also a lot of nuance and required compromise. Most pumps and droppers dispense liquids in measured amounts, but they can’t be recycled. Airtight packaging is amazing for ingredient preservation, but they require almost twice the plastic to make.
And then there’s packaging. As a new, digital-first brand, our entire brand experience exists via the online experience and the packaging you receive. Because we won’t have a storefront right off the bat, it’s so important for us to build the “Mirra experience” into that packaging, and that often means more waste.
It’s complicated to make sense of it all, but it’s not impossible. As we’re developing products, we want you to know we’re doing our due diligence—and we recognize that you’re there to hold us accountable. One of our key brand values is transparency, and we’re not letting that go as we shift into product launch mode. We want to be at the forefront of skincare innovation, and that includes taking responsibility for our environmental impact.
We’re still figuring a lot out, but so far, in addition to using sustainable ingredients where it makes sense, we’re thinking about: minimizing single-use plastic by using recycled plastic for our components and making sure all our boxes can be recycled (we recently learned laminated boxes can’t be!). Is there anything you really want us to know as we consider sustainability? Hopefully, at each stage of the company, as budget permits, we can keep pushing the boundaries of sustainability while preserving our formulation thesis.
