In the sea of new makeup brands, Thrive Causemetics might not ring a bell right away. Honestly, it’s hard to keep track of all the people dropping makeup lines nowadays. However, you might want to know more about this unique beauty brand.
Animal cruelty is one of the most discussed topics in the fashion industry at the moment. Aside from diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability, brands are also trying to bring justice to animals, and stop using them as a source for clothing, shoes, and accessories. One of the most popular retailers, ASOS, is introducing a huge change to their policy. By the end of January 2019, the online retailer pledges to eliminate all of the products that include silk, cashmere, mohair, and feathers. In other words, they are making a strong step towards protecting silkworms, ducks, goats, and geese.
These four animal-derived materials are often used by numerous fashion houses and labels. Not many customers are aware how the widespread use of these fabrics affects the animals in the most negative way. Luckily, the issues of animal cruelty are becoming more evident, and a lot of brands are joining join the fight for sustainability.
The American animal rights organization PETA strongly praised ASOS’ decision. The brand’s online shop includes more than 850 international labels and is one of the most popular retailers. They followed the decision of Marks and Spencer, Topshop and H&M, who have also announced they will be staying away from mohair. Just recently PETA discovered the cruel techniques used in the mohair industry in South Africa, which led many brands to adopt this resolution.
“PETA applauds ASOS for leading the charge for compassion in fashion. In response to Peta’s campaigns, consumers are changing the face of the industry by demanding that designers and retailers ditch animal-derived materials in favor of cruelty-free alternatives that look great without causing suffering.’- said the director of corporate projects at PETA, Yvonne Taylor.
ASOS already introduced the changes on their website. All of the items that contain silk, mohair, cashmere, and feathers are on sale until the whole stock is cleared. They decided to put all of these clothing pieces, shoes, and accessories on discount, so that the shop will have a fresh start in January 2019.
“ASOS firmly believes it is not acceptable for animals to suffer in the name of fashion or cosmetics. ASOS is committed to working with industry expert groups to support the ongoing research, development, and implementation of animal welfare standards and transparency in the leather supply chain.”- says the retailer’s animal policy on their official website.
In the past year, a lot of luxury fashion houses pledged to stop the use of fur in their designs. Versace, Michael Kors, Gucci, and Furla are joining the ranks of Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger in the fight for the animal rights.
Photo Credit: ASOS
Stella McCartney is about to make a huge power move in 2018. The beloved British designer is on a mission to become one of the rare female designers that have a full control of their brand. In 2001, one of the leading fashion conglomerates Kering co-founded McCartney’s namesake brand. After 17 years of split ownership, Stella is ready to continue on her own. The designer will buy out Kering’s part and run her brand solo from now on.
“It is the right moment to acquire the full control of the company bearing my name‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√묨‚àÇ. I look forward to the next chapter of my life and what this brand and our team can achieve in the future,” Stella McCartney said in a statement.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
The surprising move is revolutionary in many ways. First of all, there almost isn’t a designer who managed to buy back his/her brand from the big fashion conglomerates such as LVMH and Kering. Stella McCartney’s massive success and the ability to take full control of her brand is a huge statement for all women. There is a lack of female designers in the fashion industry. Moreover, women get the position of creative directors of huge fashion houses much less than men do. The climate for female designers is slowly changing in the last few years. And Stella McCartney is one of those leaders for positive change.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
The British designer is able to buy back her brand thanks to a special clause in her contract with Kering. Her uncle and lawyer John Eastman helped her at the time she was launching her brand with a piece of smart advice. Stella McCartney managed to make a deal for an even 50-50 ownership with Kering with the option to repurchase her brand no later than March 31, 2018. The fact that she was able to avoid giving the conglomerate the usual 51 percent is very impressive.
Photo By @stellamccartney/Instagram
McCartney had many advantages throughout her life and career but that doesn’t discredit her success in any way. She attended Central Saint Martins school and is a daughter of the rich and famous Beatles member, Paul McCartney. Her father helped her at the very beginning of her career, but Stella’s innovative work is what rose her brand to fame and success. Sustainability is in the DNA of the luxury fashion house, Stella McCartney. As a lifelong vegetarian, the designer found eco-friendly and harm-free ways to produce luxury goods. She has launched the “skin-free-skin” and “fur-free-fur” as high-quality alternatives to real leather and fur.
By having a full control of her brand, Stella McCartney can focus even more on bringing sustainability and vegetarian-friendly designs on the luxury fashion market. With her decision to buy back the ownership of her brand, Stella might inspire many female designers in a similar position to follow her example.
Each day we get new, exciting news from the beauty and fashion world about new launches. But there is no better thing than hearing that everyone’s favorite brands are invested in delivering quality products without harming animals or the environment. The latest brand to join the green club is Milk Makeup. The popular cosmetics company announced that from now on, all of their products will be 100% vegan.
Milk was launched in 2016, by Georgie Greville, who is now the brand’s director, Diana Ruth, chief operating officer and Zanna Roberts Rassi. Ever since the very beginning, the Insta popular makeup label has been cruelty-free. Milk’s three founders refused to test on animals from the very beginning. They also stayed away from harmful chemicals in their formulas. Parabens, formaldehyde, phthalates, mineral oil, talc, sulfates, SLS, SLES are just some of those chemicals that everyone wants to avoid. In those terms, all of the label’s makeup was clean but still used animal-derived ingredients. Milk is also very popular for the fun, minimalist recyclable packaging.
Diana, Georgie, and Zanna decided to take a new step in the course of their brand, after doing a lot of research. Considering the fact, that all animal products can be substituted with vegan alternatives, Milk Makeup is now going 100% green. The fact that they will not be using any animal ingredients such as bee honey, lanolin, gelatin, collagen doesn’t mean that we will get products with a lower quality.
“When we started Milk Makeup, we all had young kids, which makes you hyper-aware of all the toxicity in the world. We wanted to use healthy ingredients that we felt great about, especially if our kids got their hands on the products.”-Georgie explained. ” While we’ve always been a majority-vegan line, the shift to 100% vegan is important to us because using animal byproducts is an unnecessary practice. There is no animal product or byproduct that doesn’t have a safe natural or synthetic alternative. These ingredients are questionable for your health and have no place on your face.’-Diana added.
The label is already using plant-derived alternatives such as mango butter, coconut oil avocado oil and more as substitutes. A number of cosmetics and fashion labels have already adopted the cruelty-free way of creating their products. Anyway, not many are ready to go 100 % vegan. Fortunately, things seem to be changing. Milk Makeup is joining the ranks of brands such as Kat Von D Beauty, Hourglass Cosmetics, Lush and more which are committed to delivering goodies made of natural, vegan constituents.
Photo Credit: Milk Makeup