This week’s Brand of the Week is Natura, a Brazilian-born vegan cosmetics brand that prides itself on a sustainable approach to beauty. The mission of the brand is to “create and sell products and services that promote the harmonious relationship of the individual with oneself, with others and with nature.” And their products smell freaking great.
Most of my family and friends refer to it as “that good Brazilian soap” - the kind that is usually carefully packed into my suitcase for a return journey to the U.S. and makes up about 60% of the contents of said suitcase. In a world full of companies that are affordable or convenient but at the same time destroy the Earth and mistreat their workers, Natura is a real breath of fresh air for me.
So, what’s the campaign?
I wanted to draw special attention to a mini documentary they produced about bringing an indigenous tree back from the brink of extinction, called Tree of Plenty. The less-than-nine-minute story follows a female-led organization called Movimento de Mulheres, a group that Natura has worked with since 2006 to protect the Amazon and support its communities. Produced in 2021 with video platform WaterBear and Nobel-prize winning climate scientist Carlos Nobre, Tree of Plenty not only showcases the power of natural Brazilian ingredients but brings awareness to deforestation of the ucuuba trees in the Brazilian Amazon and the resolve of the women who live there.
So, what are Natura’s values, reflected in Tree of Plenty?
Through Tree of Plenty, Natura highlights the resilient and entrepreneurial nature of the women of the Movimento de Mulheres. In the minidocumentary, the women craft creative and ethical solutions to sourcing the ucuuba seeds as an extension of their mission: to create alternative sources of income for women so that they can be financially independent. Adriana Lima (no, not the supermodel), co-founder of Movimento de Mulheres, recognizes that their work is not only work to make money, but “social work too.”
It is work that is useful to the world: to society and to nature. Because of these women, incredible progress has been made. “People stopped cutting the trees,” says member Roseléa Almeida. They have saved this tree from becoming extinct and even more, affected positive behavior changes among the communities they live in. All this creates a better, healthier world, as the ucuuba trees purify the air, enrich the soil, and clean the water. But really, this is just one example of algo lindo, like the tree itself, that comes along with uplifting women.
Natura’s modus operandi of being benevolent and ethical in their approach to beauty is a great example to other brands in the industry. Not only do they care for their customers, but they clearly place emphasis on caring for their suppliers, employees, and the communities they partner with, as they have done in Tree of Plenty. They care about a harmonious relationship with the people involved in their business ecosystems, working “directly with over 30 local communities in the Amazon region—including more than 300 families– to help them develop sustainable business models that benefit the forest.”
They’re a great benchmark to set when buying beauty products, and their work stands as a call to action to those who purchase from them to be more conscious of how connected their decisions are to not just the toll on nature, but also the people working to supply the products they buy.
And did I mention their products smell freaking great?
Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
Sophia
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