Gregg Renfrew Leads The Clean Beauty Movement

The Rich Roll Podcast - Ein Podcast von Rich Roll - Montags

Podimo 45 Tage kostenlos testen

Ein Universum voller exklusiver Podcasts und Hörbücher. Klicken Sie hier um loszulegen!

Werbung

“Never compromise health in the name of beauty.”
Gregg Renfrew

This show spends a lot of time exploring the health, environmental and ethical implications of the food we eat.

But what we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in our bodies.

Today we shift gears to explore how vastly uninformed most of us are when it comes to the consequences caused by the innumerable products we slather daily on our largest organ: our skin.

You might be surprised to learn that approximately 84,000 chemicals currently find their way into commercial products -- with over 1,500 new chemicals released annually. Despite evidence of health harms, most of these chemicals have not been adequately tested for their impact on humans. Nonetheless, many of them find their way into a vast and problematic array of skincare, beauty and cleaning products.

Moreover, due to laws that haven’t been updated in 80 years, I was shocked to discover that the Food and Drug Administration -- the regulatory authority charged with ensuring the safety of such products -- doesn't necessarily screen product ingredients for safety. In fact, it provides very little oversight when it comes to what ends up in beauty products. Worse yet, the FDA has zero authority to recall products even in the event of a proven harm.

When entrepreneur Gregg Renfrew learned that the US has not passed any major legislation about the safety of ingredients in personal care products since 1939, she became determined to make the business of beauty better. Hence was born Beautycounter -- a market disrupting, direct-to-consumer line of cleaner, safer skincare products and cosmetics that made Fast Company’s 2019 list of the 50 most innovative companies.

Gregg's been at the helm of Beautycounter since its 2011 inception, driven by a desire to provide toxic-free fare and greater economic opportunity for women. In addition to overseeing 150 employees and 40,000 consultants, Gregg is also a ferocious fixture on Capitol Hill, where she lobbies relentlessly for cosmetic industry reform. And she somehow does it all while remaining a present and involved mom to three of the most incredible kids I have ever met.

Her ultimate goal? Overhauling the archaic laws that currently govern her industry -- so we can all be beautifully clean.

Similar to a handful of past podcast guests, I struck up a friendship with Gregg in 2018 at The Nantucket Project. Over the last year and a half, I've had the privilege of observing her in action -- at work, on stage, and at home. Let's just say it's all very impressive.

Today she shares her story.

It's a conversation about an entrepreneurial journey that humbly began with cleaning houses before founding Wedding List -- a company she built and later sold, leading to lessons learned working tricky stretches under powerful women like Martha Stewart and Susie Hilfiger.

It's about the experience that motivated her to start Beautycounter, and the unorthodox decisions that followed. Like the 1,500 potentially harmful ingredients that she vowed never to use in her products. And eschewing retail for a direct-to-consumer business model driven by a network of independent consultants.

But more than anything, this is a powerful primer on the perils of conventional beauty products that will leave you completely rethinking what you put on your body (and your children's bodies) -- and well armed to make more educated decisions about the companies and products you patronize going forward.

The visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Gregg is a true force of nature. And this conversation is a gift. May you receive it with gratitude.

P.S. Special thanks to Gregg for letting me occasionally kidnap her husband Mark, my new best friend and go to workout partner. I promise to bring him back from Ötillö Catalina in one piece (but in truth I think it's Mark that needs to worry about bringing me back intact).

Peace + Plants,

Listen, Watch & Subscribe

             

Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts

Thanks to this week’s sponsors

Native: Safe, effective protection against odor & wetness. For both men & women, Native is deodorant that isn’t a chemistry experiment – no aluminum, parabens, phthalates or talc. All ingredients are non-toxic and it lasts all day. For 20% off your first purchase, visit nativecos.com and use promo code Roll during checkout!

Quip: Your one stop solution for oral health! Quip starts at just $25 and if you go to: getquip.com/richroll right now, you can get your first refill pack for FREE!

Seed: Stewarding the future of how we will use bacteria to restore and sustain human and planetary health, Seed’s Daily Synbiotic combines 24 clinically-verified, naturally-occurring, probiotic strains with plant-based prebiotics. Head on over to seed.com/RICHROLL to get 20% off your first month of their game-changing Daily Synbiotic.

Note: One of the best ways to support the podcast is to support the sponsors. For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity url's and discount codes, visit my Resources page and click "Sponsors".

SHOW NOTES

Background, Context & Reference

Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy

Thanks to Jason Camiolo for production, audio engineering and show notes; Margo Lubin and Blake Curtis for video, editing and graphics; portraits by Ali Rogers; and theme music by Ana Leimma.

*Disclosure: Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

for 1000s of delicious, customized plant-based recipes & so much more, check out our Plantpower Meal Planner

HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE PODCAST?

Tell Your Friends & Share Online!

Subscribe & Review:  iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Soundcloud | Google Podcasts

Donate: Check out our Patreon account

Support The Sponsors: One of the best ways to support the podcast is to support our sponsors. For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity url's and discount codes, visit my Resources page and click "Sponsors".

Visit the podcast's native language site