Clean beauty with supply chain transparency

Yeah, we meet Kwamie Williams at what he calls a personal crossroads. The intersection of Lansdowne Street and Massage in Cambridge. Two blocks away is the aerospace engineering lab. And then literally, just right over here. It’s the lab to labs at M i t. That Williams knows well he came to the U S with his family from Ghana in the fourth grade and fell in love with aviation and robotics. By the end of high school, I said, Where is the best university for aerospace engineering? And I learned that that was m i t. And from that point on, I was just singularly focused on getting to m i t. He did. He interned for NASA but then returned to Ghana for a visit and everything changed. I got to see real poverty for the first time, and I started to ask myself, if aerospace engineers can help put a man on the moon, then what can I do to help put more food on the table for these families? The answer he found already growing in his native home, the Moringa tree tree. Moringa got his birth from MIT class project. True, Moringa is the Cambridge based beauty and wellness company Williams founded with Emily Cunningham. We were in Ghana on a school project we met Farmers who are working with the Moringa Tree and Peace Corps and other NGOs had basically told them to plant Moringa because the leaves are so nutritious. But they couldn’t afford to continue growing Moringa because they weren’t making money from it. And so that’s kind of where we came in with our project to take the unused part of the tree to the seeds and turn it into oil oil that can be used in a vast array of skincare products. Moringa oil has kind of been on the fringe of the cosmetic industry for a while. It’s story is kind of similar to that of argon or hobo. All the pressing and processing for true Moringa happens in Ghana were impacting about 25,000 people through our supply chain. Secondly, we’ve been able to plant over two million trees all across the country, and our trees are actually becoming a solution to malnutrition in a time where a lot of the commodities that we’re getting a really extractive Moringa provides a solution that you’re getting a really wonderful oil, but you’re also giving back to people and planet. The World Wildlife Fund says the production of palm oil used in more than half of packaged products consumed in the U. S. 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. Source. Map monitors supply chains for companies. It was founded by Leonardo Bonanni while he was a student at the MIT Media Lab. Source. Map was based on a simple idea that people have a right to know where things come from. Customers are alerted if they find problems. Is there a school in that village that’s available for the Children to go to? Is there working water pump or health clinic? Is there deforestation? We’ve been using satellite imagery to look at palm oil plantations and say, Hey, is that palm oil plantation growing into a part of the world where deforestation is happening? Yeah, Clean beauty company Beauty Counter has been working with source map to monitor its supply chain, including mica mines. Lindsay Dahl is beauty counters, senior vice president of Social mission, the mica industry is notorious for having issues, um, within the supply chain around labor issues, so forced labor, wage theft and sometimes child labor. Mica is used in everything from paints to electronics to make up the shimmer in lipstick, the sparkle in eyeshadow. Harvard Business School professor Eugene Hasher says one issue is lack of regulation. In addition, mining in general, I add on top of that is just a very messy kind of operation. Often large scale mines are surrounded by smaller, so called artisanal minds. A lot of these questions we’re 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 because of the way these, um, mining operations are structured. Beauty Counter recently completed a physical audit of all their micro suppliers. In some cases, um, we’ve dropped micro suppliers within our supply chain. Solving sourcing issues is arguably one of the hardest things that we are faced with, but it’s absolutely worth it. We’re not going to 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 is how we’ve seen transformative change in other industries, and we feel like we can help do the same kind of large scale change within the beauty industry. Mhm MM beauty Counter says that supply chain transparency really helped to transform the coffee and the chocolate industry. They think it can do the same for the beauty industry. And as in terms of clean products, look for brands that disclose the ingredients. And if you’re interested in learning more about your particular brands, Environmental Working Group actually has a free database where you can check everything out and they rank the safety of the product. So it’s a good thing because, you know, I don’t know what you’re putting on your face. A lot of data, a lot of which is nice up next, recycling your look. Mhm
SHAYNA:E W MEET QUAM HE WILLIAMS AT A PERSONAL CROSSROADS,HE T INTERSECTION OF LANSDOWNE STREET AND MASS AVENUE IN CAMBRIDGE. >> TWO BLOCKS AWAY IS ARROWSMITH VELI AND DOES — RIGHT HERE IS ONE LAB. HE CAME TO THE U.S. WITH HIS FAMILY FROM GHANA IN THE FOURTH GREAD AND FELL IN LOVE WITH AVIATION AND ROBOTICS. >> BY THE ENDF O HIGH SCHOOL I SAID WHERE IS THE BEST UNIVERSITY FOR AEROSPACE ENGINEERING AND I LEARNED THAT WAS M.I.T.ND A FROM THAT POINT ON I WAS SINGULARLY FOCUSED ON GETTING MTO.I.T.. ERIKA: HE DID, INTERN FOR NASA AND THEN RETURNED FORGOT -TO- GHANA FOR A VISIT AND EVERYTHING CHANGED. >> I GOT TO SEE REAL POVERTY FOR THE FIRST TIME. I STAEDRT TOSK A MYSELF IF AEROSPACE ENGINEERS COULD PUT A MAN ON THE MOON THEN WHAT CAN I DO TO LPHE PUT MORE FOOD ON THE TABLE FOR THESE FAMILIES. ERA:IK THE ANSWER HE FOUND ALREADY GROWING IN HIS NATIVE HOME. THIS IS A WELLSSNE COMPANY C1 >> TAKE THE SEEDS AND TUR INT INTO OIL. ERIKA:IL O THAT CAN BE USED IN A VAST ARRAY OF SKINCARE PRODUCTS. >> IT HAS BNEE ON THE FRIENG OF THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY FOR A WHIL E.ERA: ALL THE PRESSING AND PROCESSING HAPPENS IN GHANA. >> WE ARE IMPACTING 25,000 PEOPLE THROUGH OUR SUPPLY CHAIN AND WE HAVE BEEN LEAB TO PLANT OVER 2 MILLION TREES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND OUR TREES ARE BECOMING A SOLUTION TO MALNUTRITION. >> IN A TIME WHERE A LOT OF THE COMMODITIES ARE GETTING ARE RELYAL EXTRACTIVE, IT PROVIDES A SOLUTION THAT YOURE A GETTING A REALLY WONDERFUL OIL BUT GIVING BACK TO PEOPLE AND THE PLANET. ERA:IK THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND SAYS THE PRODUCTION OF POLYBAG OIL USED IN MEOR THAN HALF OF PACKAGED PRODUCTS CONSUMED TISO BLAME FOR THE RAISIN — RAZGIN OF TROPICAL FOREST. >> THESE ARE TINY FARMS THE SIZE OF YOUR BACKYARD. ERA:IK SOURCEMAP MONITORS SUPPLY CHAINS FOR COMPANIES. SOURCEMAP WAS BASED ON A SIMPLE IADE THAT PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHTO T KNOW WHERE THINGS COME FROM. ERIKA: CUSTOMERS ARE ALERTED IF THEY FIND PROBLEMS. >> IS A SCHOOL AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN TO GO TO. IS THERE A WORKING WATERPUMP PUMP OR ALHETH CLINIC? IS THERE DEFORESTATION. WE HAVE USED SATELLITE IMAGYER TO LOOK AND SAY IS THAT OIL PLANTATION GROWING INTO A PART OFHE T WORLD WHERE DEFORESTATION IS HAPPENING. ERIKA: BEAUTY COUNTER HAS BEEN WORKING WITH SOURCEMAP TO MONITOR IT SUPPLY CHAIN INCLUDING MICA MINES. LINDSEY DOLL IS THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT. LINDSEY: THE MICAH INDUSTRY IS NOTORIOUS FOR HAVGIN ISSSUE WITHIN THE SUPPLY CHAIN AROUND LABOR IMAGES — ISSUES, FORCED LABOR AND SOMETIMES CHILD LABOR. ERIKA: IT IS USED IN EVERYTHING FROM PAINTS, ELECTRONICS AND MAKEUP T,HE SHIMMER IN LIPSTICK AND THE SPARKLING EYESHADOW. A HARRDVA BUSINESS PROFESSOR SAYS THAT ONE ISSUE IS LACK OF REGULATION, AND IN ADDITION — >> MINING IN GENERAL IS JUST A MESSY OPERATION. ERIKA: OFTEN LARGE-SCALE MINES AR E SURROUNDED BY SMALLER ARTISANAL MINES. >> A LOT OF TSEHE QUESTIONS REGARDING CHILD LABOR ARE THINGS THAT AREN’T NOT LEGAL — ARE NOT LEGALLY SUPPOSED BE HAPPENING THAT IT IS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY ARE STRUCTURING. ERIKA: THEY RECENTLY COMPLETED A PHYSICAL AUDIT OF ALL OF THEIR SUPPLIERS. >> IN SOME CASESE W HAVE DROPPED SUPPLIERS WITHIN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN. SOLVING SOURNGCI ISSUES IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS THAT WE ARE FACED WITH BUT IT IS WORTH IT. WE ARE NOT GOING TO SOLVE TSHI ISSUE ALONE, BUT SOMETIMEST I TAKES A COMPANY TO KIND OF RAISE THE ALARM AND SAY WE NEED TO DO BETTER AND WE ARE AT LEAST GOING TO TRY, THAT IS ONE OF THE THGSIN WE SEE TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE AND WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN DO THEAME. S ANTHONY: BEAUTY COUNTER SAYS THAT SUPPLY CHNAI TRANSPARENCY REALLY HELPED TO TRANSFORM THE COFFEEND A COFEFE — CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY. SHAYNA: IN TERMS OF PRODUCTS LOOK FOR BRANDS THAT DISCLOSE THE INGREDIENTS AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNGNI MORE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GUPRO HAS A FREE DATABASE WHERE YOU CAN CHECK EVERYTHING OUTND A THEY RANK THE SAFETY OF THE PRODUCTS. SO, IT IS A GOOD THING BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE PUTTING ON YOUR FACE. ANTH

True Moringa and Sourcemap are working to change the humanitarian and environmental impact of the beauty industry

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

Updated: 6:32 PM EST Dec 17, 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 goes 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 goes 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.

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

Environmental Working Group database for personal care products.