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Youth To The People co-founders Joe Cloyes and Greg Gonzalez Interview · Skin Anarchy

• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Available now.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Waited at permit sure.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Have to ban over 55 episodes page to learn more.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: This is your host, Ecta, and today is a very special episode for me because the co-founders of this line, I mean, this line was my first one that I fell in love with into the skincare industry.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: No joke.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was um awesome, like when I first tried their product.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Greg Gonzalez and Joe Cloys, uh, co-founders for Used to the People.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you guys so much for coming onto the show.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks for having us.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so nice to be here.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm just like really, really starstruck.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sorry if it's like a little toppy my interview because I love, love your line.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: You guys, you it's like you really um, you know, you killed it.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: You killed it with your line.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: So um without further ado, I want to ask you guys to kind of dive deep into your um your backgrounds um individually, if you can.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, for sure.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_05: Um, I can hop in.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_05: Well, Joe and I are cousins, so uh it's a it's a family thing.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, and it started the real the line was really inspired by uh our grandmother um who got into beauty in the 70s, and she ended up creating her own skincare line.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_05: Um originally, actually, my grandmother and grandfather came uh from the East Coast and moved and opened a hair salon, and it was at that time that she really fell in love with skincare and the power of botanic, botanical extracts, but also the new skin technologies that were happening at the time.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_05: And um, she ended up starting her own skincare line.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_05: And uh she had six daughters that all got into the industry as well.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_05: And so Joe and I really spent our childhood running around uh either a skincare business or a hair salon.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, we we really had the you know, one of the things we're so grateful for was that we were just uh surrounded by powerful, strong, and entrepreneurial women our whole life.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_05: Um that really drove kind of the energy that ended up uh you know leading to us starting the brand.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I love that.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: I love that you mentioned the the female energy because like that, you know, everyone talks about their grandmother, right?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, my grandmother used to do this, and they and she had this amazing skincare routine.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it's cool to see that you her she actually went the extra mile and found her line.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, she really took it all away and you know had such a passion for beauty and aesthetics and and skincare, especially her whole life, and uh, you know, went for it.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: And as as you know, when she went for it um and built her line out, it wasn't, you know, uh there weren't many women that were going out and building skincare lines, and and that entrepreneurial spirit she had that passed down through our entire family is uh it it's it shows up in many ways across the family, and we're right.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_03: Always learning things from grandma.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_03: She passed away a couple years back, but we still are learning things from her that we didn't realize we were learning.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, I feel like the wisest people always leave behind something and we're always learning from it.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that's I that's amazing.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: So it makes sense.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: It makes sense why your line's so good and why women love it so much.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because, you know, you may you really got the information you needed at an early age from her.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: So that's awesome.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um, I know like I I want to know more.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sorry, it kind of interrupted you guys.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: So I know Greg, you were talking about your background, and but Joe, I want you to chime in and tell us like how you guys really just decided, hey, it's time to partner up and um, you know, do this.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_03: So we um, you know, as our uh grandmother's business, our family's business in skincare was growing, it's called Eva's Aesthetics.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and and uh our grandmother retired, um, well, I don't know if we can call retire, but slowly slowed down.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_03: And and our two aunts, um, my two aunts, Lori and Lisa.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: Lisa is Greg's mom, um uh were running that business.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_03: And as Greg and I got out of college um and took a couple of different paths, we both had this like innate drive bringing us to the family business.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: And it started out with just helping at trade shows, um, going to the professional, the aesthetics and spa shows, and then getting in a little bit more.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, Greg started working there full time.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_03: I came shortly thereafter, and we both just had this passion for uh for beauty and for skincare that I don't it's not like we knew we had it necessarily.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: We just it was in our DNA and it was it was we all like a part of your life kind of thing in the background that you don't know.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and then as we both started working there, um we were just really you know enjoyed it, learning it, diving into ingredients, diving into products, diving into everything we could.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_03: And uh a few years in we started thinking about um building our own line, uh taking all of our family's learnings over the 40 plus years of making skincare products and and applying some things we were learning and uh you know building our brand a little bit a little bit differently and a little more modern for the modern uh you know consumer that uh it was a and with and that was during the time as direct to consumer was really growing.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: So this was about 2015.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_03: Um and our family design is is professional.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_03: So you're got 60 plus products, it's really meant to be sold by an aesthetician or cosmetologist.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um so we wanted to take all of this heritage and really compact it and you know bring in those new ingredient ideas that we had.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_03: And and and that's that was really the first conversation where we're like, okay, we want to start something, start something new here.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean, you know, it's interesting because I was telling um Greg before we started uh recording that when I first tried your line, um it was like I I just fell in love, you know, and it because I got clinical grade skincare results with it.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I honestly, it was my bar.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like when I tried your line, you guys kind of ruined it for a lot of other companies for me.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Because I literally just was like, okay, yeah, it doesn't do what you said, people does for my skin.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I remember saying that to so many people.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to ask you both about that.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: How did you really accomplish this?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because your products are phenomenal, and I can see why you would want to gear them towards estheticians and why your family's done that.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it shows your your actual formulations.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: So can you tell us a little bit more about that?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, I think you know, really our philosophy and a lot of the best skincare brands in the world really look at that harmony between the best, you know, plant extracts, uh and then also, you know, the best cosmetic active or cosmetic science or clinical actives.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_05: And so we kind of grew up with that mentality.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and we were really excited around the concept of superfoods and the high levels of antioxidants and phytonutrients, and how we could start to create our own custom extract blends and really harness the best plants in the world.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_05: But then we're also equally as passionate about every new ingredient that's coming out, uh, you know, if that's a vitamin C or a new peptide, hyaluronic acid.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_05: And so really getting everything at the optimal percentages to where your skin can really get the benefit from everything we're putting into our formulas.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_05: It really goes back to the heritage and all the way back to that just like professional aesthetic mentality that it really, you know, we want products that are gonna make a difference for people's skin and um and hopefully, you know, improve everyone's you know outlook in life a little bit.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's such a beautiful, I love that.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: I really love that because it it really shows.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to congratulate you because you you know, you guys really brought that through.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, as a consumer, I can definitely vouch for that.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: So um, I want to ask you guys though, this is the main question, is um obviously, how did you come up with your awesome name?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because when I I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw the name of the company, I was like, this is awesome.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like I felt like it was finally something that was global.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: It could speak to everybody, obviously.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: It just I don't know, it spoke to me a lot on many philosophical levels, as juicy as that sounds.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: So please tell us about the name.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um well, I'll defer to Greg on this one because he came up with the name.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_05: So uh yeah, appreciate that.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_05: Um, well, you know, really what we were at the time we're really inspired by the idea of, I think there's two parts of it.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_05: One is, you know, a lot of skincare brands, including our grandmothers, you know, it was EBA's aesthetics or their doctor names, um, and or they're about the ingredients.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_05: And these are all great and strong concepts, but we were really inspired by the people that were creating change uh in the world and change that started with themselves or in their communities, people that were more conscious in the way that they were thinking about what they were buying and what they were consuming, whether that was clothes or food they were eating or what they're putting on their skin.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_05: And so that combined with you know, we wanted something when you looked at it that it made you think something, kind of what you just spoke to.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_05: Like it made you feel something and have an idea, something that meant something to you.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_05: And we've worked for a long time with that idea.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but that was really the ethos of like what we wanted to grab onto and and eventually um came to youth of the people.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_05: I think I was writing a a serum serum copy, and it was like power to the power to the people, you youth of the people, power, power to the serum, youth of the people.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_05: That's what it was power to the serum, youth to the people.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_05: And then uh we ended up just scratching out the first part and staring at youth of the people.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_05: And we're like, okay.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: This is well, it was it must have been a light bulb, right?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: Did you look at it and go, holy crap, that's really cool.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_05: Well, we got all we got all excited and crazy and ran around the office and then just crossed our fingers that nobody had it already.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_05: You know, and not even that they did, you know, maybe somebody was using the name for you know anything, community group, lifestyle, clothing.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and luckily nobody nobody had it.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_05: So we got the Instagram, got the website, got on GoDaddy, the whole thing.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you know it was a I mean, honestly, I'm not I'm not gonna lie, Greg.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I really want to to say this because when the whole idea of humanity, and this is my opinion, obviously, and you know, the whole idea of humanity and making like looking at it as just humanity, I think is an emerging concept for a lot of people.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: And um, when I you know, your name to me as just a consumer, for me that represents that it's a step in that direction.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, um globally, I think it's just brilliant.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think you know, it's not just about a name, it's really about what it represents.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I I can say that as a consumer, like when I use your products, I feel like I'm supporting something meaningful.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's actually like I want to talk more about that because I know you guys are starting this awesome new charity initiative, um, you know, for basically any underserved populations and you know, just really like just people, you know, wanting food and water and common necessities.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So can you um either of you just dive into that?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Joe, if you want to get us started and tell us a little bit about that, how that, you know, how you came up with that.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, um, you know, giving back is something that we learned early on, learned it from our family, learned it from our grandmother, learned it from our moms, uh, our whole family.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and in many ways.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, we learned it and not only the form uh it wasn't as much the form of financial, but it was the sharing of knowledge, the putting in, you know, the effort, the putting in work for other people, um and and you know, giving back in any way possible with whatever you know you could get.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um and as that as we launched you for the people, that was something that was really important to us is um you know giving back.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_03: So starting out with just volunteering with local organizations to as we've grown and and and you know had success to be actually able to also you know donate financially and and donate money um and also use our platform to grow awareness for these fantastic organizations that um are doing really great things and they're doing them at the local level.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um so we as we have grown, we we it started out with doing some donations here and there and um setting up a giving um department.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_03: We have a director of giving on our team.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um so setting that up and then rolled into now what we've rolled out most recently is our funds, our youth to the people funds.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um we're we're building uh we built out three funds.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: Um one core issue within is is addressed with each fund.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um and really the idea is like we have one core issue to each, there's infinite solutions to the challenges that we're facing as a planet and as the human family, and we want to be a part of that solution and a part of that change.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_03: And um one of the ways we can do that is through these funds.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um the first fund that we just rolled out was our to the people fund, which is about few uh food, water, and shelter.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um and and we rolled out actually our first couple of partners that we're donating to with that, uh Soulfire Farm and Lunch on Me.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then our next our other two funds are the To the Future Fund, um, which is all about youth and how the youth need to shape our future um for it to be more representative.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_03: And then our to the planet fund, which is about um the planet and the ongoing uh many issues that are going on within our planet.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like the multiple problems with our planet.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: So that's amazing.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, yeah.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_03: So very excited to be doing that and uh continue to to build that out and uh build within each fund area.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it really I I know that the especially the one about the the water and you know, food and just commonness those days people have.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that one really for me hit home because you know, my family comes from rural India.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we I saw like, you know, all that stuff growing up, and I remember like, you know, the local orphanages and stuff.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: People always say, you know, we don't know where the charity money goes, but I've seen so many, like so much improvement.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: I remember just being a kid, like at low on a local level, you know what I mean, in rural India.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I know that this is gonna make a huge difference.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that you guys are behind that because it does, it makes a big difference.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: I've you know, I've seen it with my own eyes in people's lives, and um, yeah, it's amazing.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's really amazing.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, so I actually want to ask you guys um a little bit about um your new brand new product.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know you just launched uh a new serum.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: So can you um kind of take us on that on that journey?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like what did you feel was the need for the serum?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why did you create this?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so uh a couple things really inspired it.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, when we're really known for our cleanser and our masks, and I think again, getting back to our heritage, you know, we've we've made within the professional space just some really hard-hitting and effective serums.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_05: And we wanted to bring that same focus and energy uh to youth of the people.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_05: And our first serum that we made was really an all-in-one kind of uh serum that had a little bit of everything, kind of use it every day.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but we really wanted to create something that was super focused.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_05: Um and we really got excited about this concept of really effective but gentle vitamin C derivatives at a nice high level 15%, but then also partnering that with caffeine, so it really helped with the depuffing and microcirculation and kind of created this really perfect AM serum.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_05: Um and so that's what kind of led us on the path of the of the energy serum, but it's it's an amazing formula.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, it's super gentle at the 15%, so really everybody can can use it.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_05: Um and it has amazing texture.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_05: And so we're really happy with how it turned out.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I tried it, it's awesome.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: I like every other product.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's really, really, really good.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, you know, I I found it interesting because I know right now um the market, you know, like the industry, people always talk about how it's like oversaturated with um with products.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I I don't know, the more and more I do this podcast, I'm realizing that every product like has its place in in the market.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, in terms of just like the vitamin C aspect, um, what were some things like were there things in your mind that you wanted to kind of keep in the forefront when you're crafting this?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Or um how like what was your process like?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like in terms of formulation?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, our process is it's it's a very uh process that's driven by many things.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_03: And inspiration is the biggest piece.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, what is inspiring us?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_03: What are we looking for?
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_03: What are the changes out there that we want to make to the skin?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then what are the new ingredients?
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then from there we get in and meet uh internally.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um usually a lot of the ingredients ideas they can come from anywhere from Greg and I or from many people on our team.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: And then we start to meet with um with our labs that we work with.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: We partner with a couple of different labs here in California.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: Um work with them, um, work with our ingredient suppliers as well, because many times we're looking at looking for ingredients that don't exist in cosmetics yet.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so we have to work with them to figure out how to extract it.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: And because you can make the ingredient, but will it still actually have the effects of what we hope?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_03: And so we'll sell the antioxidant profile, the caffeine profile, which is in our energy serum, for example.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um then once that's figured out, we uh you know, we again work with the contract manufacturers that we work with and build out the products, and it can be 10, 20, 30, 40 revisions of formulations.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um we do do a lot of the research in-house, so a lot of the RD is in-house and then you know goes to the labs.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so it takes time.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: It can take.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we worked on this product for what, about two years, Greg?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I want to say, um, to get it to where we want it.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_03: There's, you know, you can get there's this last like 10% of a product where there's real subtleties that you're changing that for us makes all the difference.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um there's there's once you're done with a product, then there's once you're like happy and final with the formula, there's a lot of quality testing we do um for a variety of a variety of quality tests where you're running uh regulatory stuff we have to do.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think someone was saying that like if you're like good in the EU, you're good everywhere, kind of thing, like with regulations and stuff.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they definitely the EU is very strange, stringent on that.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: No, yeah, I keep hearing that.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I I just yeah, it's just interesting to me because I feel like your your products always have some some really unique, um, like you bring a lot of unique ingredients to the forefront.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: So that makes sense what you said, Joe.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, I actually want to talk to you guys about the I think this is the most um for me, it's very, very cool because you guys actually kind of introduced me to the idea of sustainability in skincare.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm not gonna lie, I was very, very oblivious to the whole idea.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then when um I was reading more about your brand, I was like, wow, they're really like this is something that seemed to be at the core of your um your vision.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: So can you guys talk about what your view of sustainability really was?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like um starting off.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, Jay, you wanna take it?
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, sustainability.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's just so important to us.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um we have a couple of brand pillars at our company.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: One of them is we have one one planet to protect, and that goes into how do we sustainability across not only packaging, but formulations and packaging.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's both.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_03: So formulations, how you know what are the ingredients we're using?
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_03: Are they biodegradable?
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of stuff you rinse off your face at some point, whether it's right after you wash or it sits on your skin for 12 hours and gets rinsed off, or you jump in the ocean, what's happened?
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_03: So, are they biodegradable and how do they affect it?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: What's the life cycle of the ingredient?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_03: Where is it sourced from?
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_03: Was it sustainably sourced?
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_03: What are the processes they go through?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_03: And then for packaging, um, super important out of the gate that we did the most um sustainable options that were available to us.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, because we started out so small and our in our family business is very small.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_03: We didn't, we weren't gonna be able to do custom packaging or custom things like that.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_03: So we we we knew we wanted to use glass because glass is more easily recycled than plastic, especially in the US.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um glass is also infinitely recyclable, which is which is always great as well.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um and so we looked at some key, some glass suppliers and found the ones that would work, be able to work for us.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_03: And then the other side was the paper that we use.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um uh going with glass, um, we wanted to do be pretty minimal with our paper as well.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so we wanted to ensure two things that the paper was FSC certified, that it was paper.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_03: So all of the paper we use is FSC certified paper.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's uh made in the U.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_03: The paper is actually made in the US, and then our box maker is actually here in California.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_03: So we go for it being, you know, very clean FSC certified paper that's made using uh mixed, so mostly recycled mulch or uh sorry, pulp is used within the paper process.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_03: And then um it also being made here in the US and in California so that it's local because the other side of it is making sure we're not shipping things all around the world back and forth and trying to reduce that as much as possible.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: And that's always a goal for us reducing our carbon footprint.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah, no, I I remember like when you guys had the refillable size for your cleanser, I like overjoyed.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was overjoyed.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this is amazing.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: This is exactly because you buy so much, you know.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you end up buying a product over and over again, and it was just awesome, it was brilliant.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, we've got that we've got that back up, the refillable sizes back up, and we're gonna continue.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_03: So we're that's one of our journeys.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_03: A couple journeys we have for the next two years within sustainability is refills and other ways.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_03: We wanna, because we still have to use plastic for our tops and our pumps.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_03: So, how can we reduce the amount of those pieces needed um through refills or other options?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and or in any plastic we do use, can we try to make it using uh PCR, which is post consumer recycled plastic?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's see PCR means completely something polymer chain reaction for me from science.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm glad you're glad you elaborated.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: There's many, many yeah, I think that's what I'm sure there was a longer, even longer scientific term for it.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, recycled plastics is what we have in the packaging.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean recycling is the best, right?
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it really is.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: I remember I'm a I'm a millennial and I know they were like really pushing it when we were growing up, and that's why I asked you guys like what your concept was in your mind of sustainability.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm not gonna lie to you, I had no clear idea.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: And like the more I've research I've done, um, I've kind of you know started to understand what sustainability really means versus like, you know, just not so I don't know.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: I I just I wanted to ask that because I think your line really I mean, you guys never compromise that with being a message.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I, you know, I want to congratulate you on that.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's really awesome because you've taught me a lot when I started researching.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: So um, well, you know, I really honestly, guys, like I love everything about your line and I'm gonna just keep raving about it.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, instead of me doing that, I want to ask you um a very important question, especially um with the audience we have.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's younger, a younger audience sometimes.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, do you have a message for anyone listening out there that um you know just wants to do something really big in their life, something meaningful in their life?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, any inspirational words from either of you?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, something I always try to remember is, you know, enjoy the process, you know, process over perfection.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and anything that you're passionate about, understand that like the best way is starting small.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_05: You know, sometimes in we have big dreams and aspirations, no matter what they are.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_05: You know, you're looking at all these things that need to be done, and it's really about starting small and building on that and then learning as you grow.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_05: But I always try to get back to to process and and you know, try to find that thing that you love doing.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_05: And and and if you do, you can really dive into the art and process of it.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_05: And over time, um, you know, things just naturally build.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: That makes sense.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think it's like um, like you know, being resilient, right, in your life and just kind of moving forward.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_04: For sure.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: What about you, Joe?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Any nuggets of of wisdom for our listeners?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_03: Nuggets of wisdom.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_03: I would say, you know, uh I think you know, Greg Hall, I just you know, sometimes it's just trust your gut more than anything.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_03: Trust your gut, and ready to go for it.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I know this is such a cliche, and like, you know what I mean?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: One of those questions, it's just like, okay, oh god.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like I feel like it's so important from individuals such as yourself because you guys are doing something really meaningful, you know.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of times um I find that people just end up doing things like you you guys are doing it and then not realizing as much of an impact that it has, I think, you know, sometimes.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I ask because I think people who are leaders don't like talking about it, right?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like you don't get a lot of um, you know, advice.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, even with Joe's saying, it does seem like one of those things, but it's so true.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_05: Like uh we always say, like, you know, if we get excited about an idea, like if you're excited about it, like genuinely down to your core, that means other people in the world will be too, right?
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_05: If you can get down the true message of why you're excited about it, um, then then other people are because it that's just like the collective energy that we have that you know that's always moving forward.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_05: And we've had that time where we've had an idea and we knew we thought it was good and cool, or we wanted to move it forward and we didn't do it, and then it happens.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_05: See somebody else do it.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_05: And so those are always good reminders of like, yeah, trust trust your instinct or trust what's exciting, um, because those are that's the core of something to build on.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I love that.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: I really love that, and also like um I I want to actually say this.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: I want to give a shout out to my awesome intern, Rolani Hicks.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: She's the coolest Gen Z kid, I think I know.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: And your line was the first line she ever tried.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, she really liked it.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I I for me it was like kind of meaningful, Greg, because I what you just said about like, you know, just like that mentality that you should have, like as in building, you know, just keep on going kind of thing.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't see that happening a lot in the Gen Z generation.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: So when I say, you know, she's one of those kids that I feel like fits in there, right?
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I asked because I think the the um generation now is not getting a lot of that, you know, the reinforcement and these concepts where you know keep going kind of thing.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you guys, thank you so much.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: I know that your schedule is super busy, so I really appreciate you coming on to our show.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: This was uh for me very surreal, I like I said.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: So um, thank you so much.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely no, thank you.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having us and congrats on the show.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: And uh you're doing a great, you're doing a fantastic job, and look forward to hearing more episodes.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome, thank you so much.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody out there, if you haven't already, please go follow you to the people on Instagram, anywhere you can find them.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's truly one of my all-time favorite lines.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, leave us some feedback.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 26:58
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• 27:03
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• 27:05
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• 27:20
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• 27:37
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• 27:41
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• 27:46
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• 27:51
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• 27:57
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• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.