Monica Rudd and Vanessa Farrington are on a mission to reduce the amount of plastic and chemicals used in the beauty industry. Together they founded, Aotearoad, producing sustainable personal care products from natural ingredients in cardboard packaging.
“Vanessa and I created Aotearoad beauty products to try and tackle the use of plastics and chemicals in the beauty industry. We are passionate about removing plastics from our oceans and providing FSC certified cardboard recyclable alternatives,” said Monica.
While many toiletry products are wrapped in plastic, Aotearoad’s personal care products; natural deodorants, moisturizer sticks, lip balms and hair care, come in recyclable or compostable cardboard tubes.
Natural inside and out
The natural deodorants are a chemical-free formulation that use 100% natural ingredients to combat odour-causing bacteria. Unlike many conventional deodorants, they are aluminum-free.
The solid stick moisturisers and lip balms are likewise made with organic and natural ingredients, housed in compostable packaging.
Aotearoad proves a good alternative to conventional personal care products as consumers look to reduce their plastic waste, support local businesses and watch what sort of chemicals they are consuming.
Monica and Vanessa are now taking their hand-poured products to the world, exporting 25% of their product, as well as stocking over 200 stores within New Zealand, including pharmacies, health stores and supermarkets.
Importance of New Zealand Made
Aotearoad joined Buy New Zealand Made in 2020 and say being New Zealand Made is an important aspect of their brand.
“New Zealand already has a trusted and proven reputation when it comes to natural beauty products and it makes sense to use this in our marketing,” said Moncia.
“It was important to let customers know that we are New Zealand Made and certified. It provides instant credibility worldwide.”
Aotearoad’s natural deodorants now carry the “New Zealand Made” Kiwi trademark in white on coloured cardboard packaging, with new packaging still to come for other products in the range.
“We currently use the trademark on our packaging and have loaded it onto our website. We are still in the process of rolling it out across all the lines, so far it is just on the new deodorants and more packaging to arrive February/March.”
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Shop for Aotearoad products online or find your nearest stockist.
The “New Zealand Made” Kiwi trademark is available for Kiwi trademark licence holders to download online. Licence holders are permitted to use any colour or colour combination to meet their individual requirements.
