Words by Smiley Team
According to environmentalist and entrepreneur Meghan Gane, there are three essential ingredients to sustainable cosmetics: ethics, environmental awareness and inclusivity. Whereas other brands might claim to be sustainable while neglecting one of these, she includes all three in her makeup and skin products collection, SEY Cosmetics.
Meghan explains: “I think it's important that people remember to check whether products are vegan and cruelty-free, as well as adhering to human rights and inclusivity.”
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She started her journey to launching a cosmetics business while in China. Sadly, people there who have darker skin experience racist pressure to make their skin lighter, something that Meghan fell victim to, leading her to bleach her skin.
On top of the damage caused by bleach, she then developed hormonal acne. It was at that point that she decided to seek a solution herself.
Having studied marine biology and science to Master's level, Meghan was fortunate enough to have the knowledge and resources to develop her own skincare products. With time she found the perfect recipes to revitalise her skin.
But then she faced another problem. She says: “It's so hard to find foundation for dark skin and when it comes to lipstick you often cannot see it on darker lips because it is designed for lighter skin tones.”
This prompted her to introduce a collection of inclusive makeup to SEY Cosmetics. “My products are focused on offering as many skin tones as possible because I believe in inclusivity,” she adds.
She didn’t stop there though. After developing her ethical and inclusive cosmetics range, she grew increasingly aware of the negative environmental impact of many mainstream cosmetics.
Having grown up in the island archipelago of Seychelles, she has a powerful affinity with the environment, particularly marine life.
“In the Seychelles, our culture is based around protecting the environment because that's what our economy depends on,” she explains. “So as a young person growing up there, you develop a sustainable mindset just because we understand that's how we can survive.”
“When I left my country, however, I realised that is not the case for everybody else and I just couldn't understand it. This is what drives me to try and spread the word about it,” she says.
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To make her cosmetics eco-friendly, Meghan researches the chemical properties of each ingredient she uses to ensure it is not simply biodegradable, but also non-persistent. This means that unlike plastic, which can biodegrade into smaller plastic particles, it must also fully decompose into the natural environment.
Ensuring each one of her products is environmentally and socially sustainable isn’t always easy. She says: “It took me a year just to make lipstick because there are so many ingredients that needed to be carefully sourced. For instance, I could find natural essential oils that were vegan, but if they were produced in war-torn countries, or using child labour then I obviously wouldn’t buy them.”
Sticking to her principles she has successfully built her collections to include lipsticks, foundations, moisturisers, face washes and more, all of which benefit both people and planet.
