I am so excited to share with you today this wonderful skincare company, Rooted Beauty. They are a company that makes natural skincare products that give back – to the customer by providing natural, well-made products for our skin; to the environment by making informed packaging selections; and to women around the globe who have escaped from the throes of sex trafficking and extreme poverty.
Rooted Beauty generously sent me a few of their products to experience, and an experience it was!
Their lip butters are so clever – the packaging is paper instead of plastic, and it will break down about 2 weeks after disposal.
Instead of twisting the lip balm up, you squeeze from the bottom, like a toothpaste tube. I love products with a different twist (heh, get it? ;D), and my dry, cracked (thank you winter wind!) lips loved the shea butter.
It also smells good enough to eat (and technically, you could eat it, since they’re all pure, natural ingredients).
Under each product Rooted Beauty sells is the name and story of the woman from the Woman2Woman Project who made it. My Razz Lime Lip Butter was made by Suzi (you can read her story here) and purchases of this product enable her to learn computer skills.
The other product that really interested me was the Raspberry Citrus Facial Wipes.
I’ve started training for a half marathon on an indoor track and it gets pretty warm running inside (don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining one bit!). These facial wipes have been perfect for getting rid of the salty sweat on my face and feeling fresh.
I also gave the wipes a workout by using them to remove makeup (as the package states). My mascara was a bit tricky to get off, but everything else came off easily and with only one wipe! (I do not wear a ton of makeup, just the basic foundation and eye shadow, mascara, etc., so if you wear more than that, you may need to use more than one wipe.)
My absolute favourite thing about these facial wipes though is that they do not leave my skin feeling tight and dry after. I was shocked! Most of the time facial cleansers dry my skin out (especially in the winter) and I need to use toner and moisturizer immediately. That was not the case with these wipes. My skin felt fresh, smooth, clean, and best of all, hydrated!
On top of all that, when you purchase the Raspberry Citrus Facial Wipes, you’ll be helping six women recover from oppression!
There are more great products available from Rooted Beauty – facial cleanser, facial moisturizer, gift sets, and of course, many flavours of lip balm!
Now, let’s hear a bit about the impact that Rooted Beauty has on women rescued from trafficking from the Rooted Beauty founder, Kim Garrett
How did the passion behind Rooted Beauty begin?
I have always had a passion for beauty products. Ever since I can remember, I always found my self in the beauty aisle at the store. This passion stayed with me as I entered college and began to learn more about slavery, poverty, and sex trafficking. As I continued through college I realized that I wanted to help and make a difference. Which is how Rooted Beauty developed, mixing skincare with the opportunity to empower women around the world.
What is the mission of Rooted Beauty?
We developed Rooted Beauty with a vision to change the lives ofwomen around the world through innovative and healthy natural skincare products. We are rooted in having a positive impact on our customers, the environment, and women around the world. By using natural superpower ingredients that are pure and healthy, we can have a positive impact on our customers.
By making informed and conscious packaging selections that are most kind to our earth, we can have a positive impact on the environment.
By helping women around the world escape situations of extreme poverty and trafficking through our Woman2Woman project, we can have a positive impact on women around the world.
What is the Woman2Woman project and how do purchases made through Rooted Beauty make an impact?
Each Rooted Beauty skincare product helps a woman escape from extreme poverty and trafficking through our Woman2Woman Project. We work with 4 partnering organizations, which use the funds we raise through Woman2Woman Projects to provide each woman with vocational training and recovery counseling.
Woman2Woman Projects enable women around the world to escape bondage and become self-sufficient. Our partnering organizations work closely with each woman to ensure long-term stability and freedom. Once a project is fully funded, we sponsor a new woman, creating a cycle of ongoing impact.
Customers can also go onto our website and “meet” the woman that their purchase is helping and read her story on our Woman2Woman page.
How have you been the most impacted by the work of Rooted Beauty?
It has been amazing to see the success stories through our Woman2Woman project. The success rate is currently 91% and seeing how something as simple as beauty products can completely transform these women’s lives is truly remarkable.
What is one thing you would tell someone who is looking to make a difference in the lives of others by changing the way they shop?
I would tell them to research and ask questions, as well as try and find companies who are truly empowering others and equipping them to escape their situations for the long-term.
There are a lot of companies that just give, which is great! But at the end of the day, when those people run out of the item they’ve been given, they are in no better place to obtain it without ongoing intervention.
Seek to shop in a way that doesn’t just give to others, but empowers them to live a sustainable life and overcome their situations through the development of a skill-set or education.
Check out these organizations that Rooted Beauty partners with through their Woman2Woman Project:
(from Paul and Sarah in Thailand blog)
NightLight is committed to addressing the complex issues surrounding trafficking and prostitution by providing help to individuals and community transformation. NightLight’s vision is to offer intervention to sexually exploited women and children, to enable them to discover their dignity and to provide a program of holistic transformation, empowering them to live and work in their community.
NightLight provides an economic alternative and leadership development for women leaving situations of sexual exploitation through employment, job training and life skills mentoring in NightLight’s Businesses. Employment includes a salary and benefits.
Through NightLight Design, women are making beautiful jewellery from silver, semi-precious stones, pearls and decorative beads.
For more information, please visit NightLight International’s website.
Harvest Bridge is a network of trusted indigenous churches and missionaries that cooperate on pastor education, poverty alleviation, job training, evangelism, and various other missionary and humanitarian programs.
The Starfish Project developed a socially responsible jewelry business in order to provide women with alternative employment and a range of holistic care services. Starfish Project provides opportunities for women to heal and grow through counseling, vocational training, language acquisition, family education grants and health care access, as well as providing housing in our women’s shelter.
As of 2013, the Project had grown to support approximately 50 women, primarily through the jewelry company where women have taken on new levels of responsibility and leadership, and are able to provide for their families through meaningful employment.
Daughters of Cambodia is a Non-Governmental Organisation reaching out to victims of sex trafficking in Cambodia.
We are not a shelter, but we facilitate the girls’ exit from the sex industry by providing resources and programs that enable them to set themselves free. These include educational and social support services in life-skills that equip them to change their lifestyles.
