PANGEA’S TOP 10 YEAR IN REVIEW 2022
1. BTS from our January plastic-free Skincare shoot in Topanga, CA
We packed one set of hand-filled products to film for the upcoming launch of our plastic-free Skincare collection. With a small team, and over the course of two days, we created content for eleven products. I love this image of Lisa, a friend and (one of our models) who was able to find time to enjoy a self-care masking moment during a hectic day.
2. Launching our new plastic-free Skincare collection in April
Almost every brand in the beauty industry today uses plastics in their packaging - even if they are using aluminum and glass materials for primary packaging, many are still using plastic dispensers, caps, and seals. I knew we had to do better.
We went on a two-and-a-half-year journey, meeting with manufacturing partners around the world. Twenty-five partners turned us down in the very first conversation before we finally found one who, like us, knew there must be a way to make the seemingly impossible possible. Collaboration with brilliant engineers led to the creation of our first custom mold and a new production machine, and a few trial runs later, voila! Our custom aluminum caps were born - we became the first brand to introduce these as part of our plastic-free packaging in the beauty industry in April 2022.
3. Hosting our first-ever press event in May
Our event in Montauk, NY was the first time editors and influencers were able to experience the new Pangea Skincare collection. I was so humbled by the response and feedback we received, and so grateful that my friend Katey Denno joined us and shared her wealth of knowledge on the products (and all things clean beauty!) with everyone.
Elena is one of my very best friends, and her podcast ‘Practice You’, has garnered a strong following with content focused on mindfulness and wellbeing. I loved collaborating with her and our friend Katey, in having a conversation around what being a sustainable beauty brand truly means.
5. Winning the Glossy Award for Best Sustainable Initiative
In June, we were so honored to receive this award – it meant more than ever after all the investment we put into creating a plastic-free brand. Here’s what Glossy had so say about us:
Pangea, for example, took first place in the Glossy Beauty Awards in the category of Best Sustainability Initiative. In addition to its 100% plastic-free, recyclable and renewable packaging, Pangea’s ingredients are ethically sourced from communities it works with closely. Furthermore, the brand has now added to its mission to inspire and unify other brands to create a more sustainable plastic-free world with the hashtag #LifeAfterPlastic, creating a turtle icon that other brands can use on their products to demonstrate their commitments to supporting change.
6. Launching Pangea on goop.com – the leading clean lifestyle authorityI’ve long been a follower of goop and was thrilled when they asked to launch our products as part of their ‘goop list’ initiative in June. We were one of only two skincare brands chosen and have received so much love from their beauty editors (and customers) since we launched.
7. Regenerative wildcrafting with my partner of 13 years, James Jungwirth from Nature Spirit Herbs
In August I supported a seaweed harvest with James, our partner of 13 years (Nature Spirit Herbs). They harvest every piece of the three types of seaweed (Gigartina, Kombu, and Wakame) by hand, which is included in our best-selling Superfood Smoothie Mask. Their process is laborious and time-consuming; however, the practices of harvesting by hand ensure a commitment to meticulously selecting the right amount of seaweed – no more than 25% of any one species is harvested from each location per year. This ensures preservation of a delicate ecosystem that supports the regeneration of the seaweed within four months. The Nature Spirit Herbs team has incredible respect for the ingredient, which translates into a product of the highest quality. Beyond that, it is creating future resources for our earth and a future livelihood for the next generation of farmers. We are so proud to support this commitment and to share their purpose and craftsmanship with our consumers.
I also loved using the delicious, organic seaweed from the harvest in several new vegan recipes (the puffs for Taco Thursday were a particular crowd favorite)!
8. The launch of our first-ever sustainable holiday gift collection
This year was the first time we launched a collection of curated best-sellers – wrapped up in beautiful and fully recyclable gift boxes. Because the holiday season is typically a time when 25% more waste is created, we wanted to ensure we were providing solutions to support thoughtful gifting, with zero-waste packaging.
9. Our cranberry harvest at James Lake Farms
In October I supported a cranberry harvest with our partner for more than 10 years, James Lake Farms. After years of working in commercial farming, John and his family decided to go against the grain in the local community by purchasing and converting commercial farms into organic farms. Their practices ensure healthy preservation of the land and regeneration of the ingredient each year - and today, they have expanded to over 189 acres and twelve different varieties of cranberries in their production. The quality of the ingredient is so pure you can literally eat it right out of the marsh. The cranberries (used in our Daily AHA Gentle Exfoliator) are food-grade quality, rich in vitamins and antioxidants, and they provide a multitude of benefits topically and when ingested.
10. Superfood Smoothie Mask being selected as Byrdie’s #6 best holiday gift in 2022
Byrdie ranked us #6 on the list this year with our Superfood Smoothie Mask. This product is really special to me, as it was one of the first products I developed at home in my kitchen, incorporating the superfoods from my diet into a topical Skincare product. Friends started requesting it at dinner parties because the results were so instantly transformational; dinners then became opportunities to create self-care masking moments.
11. Creating content and memories with my longtime friend, and Pangea’s Creative Director, DJ Pierce
I would be remiss to not end this list with one more highlight – in recognition of DJ, my longtime friend and the person behind the camera who helps our team bring the stories of our products and the people who help make them possible, to life. It’s such a pleasure to collaborate with DJ because he brings so much passion, creative light, and fun to everything he does.
Founder & CEO
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