Victoria Cushing, KMI Brands/Plantopia Product Director
Victoria Cushing, KMI Brands/ Plantopia Product Director
Plantopia provides holistic wellbeing grounded in the use of adaptogens and essential oils. For people who don't know, can you explain what adaptogens are and what are their health benefits?
Adaptogens are plant-derived ingredients that have unique properties related to helping the body adapt to fight physical or mental stress and restore balance. They work to counteract the effects of stress in the body and are known to help the body handle stress by simulating stress and mediating stress hormones without side effects. This helps us handle stress without side effects by: less anxiety, better sleep, improved immune resistance, better focus and concentration, faster recovery, antioxidant activity, increased feeling of well being and better moods.
Plantopia had a unique approach: the brand became a UEBT member before it was launched can you explain to us why you decided to do it this way?
Plantopia’s commitment to planet wellness is foundational to the brand. It is one of the guiding principles laid out in a manifesto which ensures focus on achievement of measurable and transparent targets from the brand’s inception. Together the manifesto and targets demonstrate the how and why to our customers, providing evidence of Plantopia’s commitment and progress through a series of measurable goals over a specific time frame. The brand was committed to finding reputable partners who could help structure, track and independently audit our commitment to sourcing our ingredients from nature with respect for people and biodiversity. UEBT, with their unparalleled reputation and track record were an obvious fit. Our similar approaches whether working collaboratively or a belief in progress not perfection, have further cemented the fit.
Pantopia's vision is to generate and promote positive impact for people and planet. It is very close to UEBT's vision which is a world in which all people and biodiversity thrive. Is that why you decided to partner with us?
Yes, we felt UEBT's principles and values are clearly in line with our own values. Plantopia’s UEBT membership helps us measure and demonstrate some of our commitments to people and planet, showing our consumers and our suppliers how we are implementing actions that reflect the values in our manifesto. Our three year action plan reflects not only our commitment to making these changes in our own business, but also Plantopia’s ambition to drive change within this area of our industry. Like UEBT, Plantopia believes it is all about progress not perfection and making continual changes to peoples’ lives, habits and businesses.
In your mission you state that you wish to inspire others through deeply considered choices. What do those considered choices look like in terms of sourcing ingredients from biodiversity?
For Plantopia it is all about taking a measured approach, encouraging people to go on the journey with us and promote best practice. We have challenged our suppliers from the outset to consider the ingredients that are being used and where they are coming from which has shifted the thought process of the development.
Plantopia will continue to opt for plant based raw ingredients that replenish themselves over time or use materials from other industries that would otherwise go to waste. We will continue to prioritise the use of more of these within our formulations rather than adding new ingredients into the supply chain.
It is about working together throughout the supply chain ensuring the ingredients are at the forefront of the development process and not an afterthought so we can do to the due diligence from the outset.
In its manifesto Plantopia has a five-force focus. One of this force is to preserve and regenerate ecosystems. Can you tell us what does regenerating ecosystems look like for Plantopia?
Understanding Plantopia’s supply chain, having true transparency, enables us to work at its grass roots. For us, this means supporting and encouraging growers, harvesters and ingredients suppliers to implement practices, from water use to growing practices to biodiversity protection and enhancement, that help to regenerate ecosystems.
While this is about supporting and championing natural ingredients businesses that are already doing the right things by buying from them, we believe we have an obligation to do more. For Plantopia, it’s about stepping up and acting as change agents for ingredient producers who aren’t yet completely on that path, but with help could be. To do this, we’ve been working closely with The Beauty Botanist, Jennifer Hirsch and our suppliers to identify farmers, growers and ingredient producers who want to implement changes to actively support regenerating their local ecosystems. Then together we will work to realise a path to change.
Nowadays consumers want more naturality in their product and wish their purchases to have a positive social and environmental impact. Can you tell us, according to you, what kind of positive impacts can buying products with ethically sourced ingredients have?
Within 15 years naturality has gone from niche to mainstream with consumers demanding brands to be more socially and environmentally responsible. This can only be positive for both People and Planet in so many ways.
At its best, the increased levels of naturality have meant more money and opportunities for the grower communities. Each natural ingredient we use benefits a whole community of people involved in its growth, harvest and processing. It puts food on tables, roofs overhead and even educates minds in some of the most deprived parts of the globe. That changes the prospects and outcomes for the next generations.
All across the globe trees are being felled, whether burnt to create charcoal for heating and cooking or to make way for more lucrative crops. When a tree is felled, it’s not just the loss of that unique genetic individual and the risk of extinction of a species. It’s all the flora that relied on the shade it provided, the fauna that ate its fruit and nested in its branches. It’s the soil held in place by its roots. When we put a value on a tree’s fruit or nuts, the community sees a benefit in protecting it. The unintended consequence? They’re protecting a whole microbiome and retaining precious soil. Which can have knock-ons for flooding AND desertification. And that’s just what happens when we value the trees.
When you help a community create better futures for their children within the community, economic migration is reduced, families can stay together and support each other, opportunities and growth become home-grown. When we lift one, we all rise.
More consumers voting with their feet can continue to lead change and be a force for good, however we as an industry need to be driving this change independently of the consumer in order to ensure we are taking responsibility for our actions and drive more of the positive impacts. At Plantopia, we’re firm believers in the power of business as a force for good on the planet.
You have an ambitious goal to back up your over 200 ingredients from biodiversity used in your products to source. Your ultimate goal being ensuring total transparency every step of the way. How do you get alignment on sustainability issues across the value chain? You might be taking certain actions, but how can you ensure other suppliers are as well?
At Plantopia, we believe it’s all about relationships. We are working closely with UEBT and our suppliers to understand where they are in terms of their sustainability journey, and how together we can move forward.
Some suppliers, like our wonderful fragrance house and our contract manufacturer, are already committed to being transparent partners and are well underway in providing the information we need.
Where suppliers are not yet on board, it’s about having the conversations, understanding their concerns and constraints, and working together to unlock that transparency needed to take the first steps towards change.
Ultimately, we as an industry must drive the change just as we have with other transformative issues like animal testing. Through transparency and better understanding of the supply chain, we can see where and how we need to be more sustainable. Businesses and brands can vote with their feet, challenging suppliers who are not willing to adopt these ways of working by making transparent supply non-negotiable. The change is coming.
