As owner of FIELD Botanicals, Jennifer Tinsley offers vegan and cruelty free beauty products, making her one-stop shop an option in time for National Clean Beauty Day on Tuesday.
“Everything in the store is vetted by me,” she said of her products sold at 215-A 2th St. in Augusta. “We have four brand pillars; one of those is ingredient integrity. That means we ban certain ingredients. Everything here is vegan and cruelty free.”
Tinsley said the other brand pillars that represent FIELD Botanicals are community, sustainability and conscientious growth.
National Clean Beauty Day is dedicated to raising awareness of clean beauty brands focused on formulas, ingredients, ingredient sourcing, production methods and consumer transparency.
Eye on sustainability:Augusta shopkeeper carefully chooses products with an eye on sustainability
“At FIELD Botanicals, the products that we carry have to be good for the skin and the environment,” said Tinsley. “Elate Beauty is the primary makeup brand that we carry. … They have values that align with FIELD Botanicals such as sustainability, clean ingredients. The products are safe and clean.”
Tinsley said Elate Beauty is a certified B Corp brand, a voluntary designation that companies can achieve to meet standards that they set for themselves on ethics and sustainability, social justice, and fair wages for their employees.
Other environmentally-friendly products noted as for sale at FIELD include Dip, a plastic-free hair care brand, and Otto skin care.
Erin Carpenter, head of relationship development for Elate Beauty with 20 years of industry experience, says Elate Beauty’s values align with her own, inspiring her decision to work for the beauty brand.
Carpenter said when it comes to understanding the meaning of clean beauty, language is key.
“We typically don’t use terms like clean, green and nontoxic at Elate,” she said. “People will often say, ‘I want products that are chemical free’. There’s no such thing as chemical free. We make sure that people know that we are a vegan beauty brand. We are sustainably sourced and we make sure that our products never come at the expense of the planet or the people on it.”
Kate Assaraf, owner of Dip, learned about the global plastic crisis in 2014 which inspired her clean beauty journey.
“I learned about not only the accumulation of plastic leaching in waterways but also the problems in human and animal health,” she said. “When I began my own plastic purity journey the only thing that I couldn’t find that fit my standards was haircare.”
So Assaraf stepped up to the plate.
“My husband and I both have worked in the industry for 20 years,” said Assaraf. “Not only did I want to create a plastic free product, I wanted to create a product that could be used no matter your hair type. I sought out a chemist who had 40 years experience in developing luxury haircare. And that’s the genesis of how Dip came to be.”
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Funding Partners.
Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@gannett.com or on X: @EricaVanBuren32.
