Natura

Natura´s journey began in 1969 when it was founded by Antônio Luiz Seabra. He opened a little shop on Rue Oscar Freire in São Paulo where he sold his skincare products made with natural ingredients and gave beauty advice to his customers. From day one, Natura´s mission was to build a business which provides harmonious relationships of the individual with oneself, with others and with nature.

Natura was born in Brazil, the country with the richest biodiversity on earth. The label has been committed to sustainability for over 30 years, including protecting the Amazon. Because Natura´s commitment is not only to the environment but to society as well, it has started several programs in Brazil and Latin America that support social and cultural initiatives. Two of the most important are Instituto Natura, which supports public education, and Natura Musical which promotes Brazilian music to help preserve this important aspect of Brazilian culture.

Beauty care should not harm you or animals so Natura is 100% vegan. No products are tested on animals and the label is cruelty free certified by PETA and by Cruelty Free International (Leaping Bunny). Since there is no testing on animals, the label developed a 3D Skin Printer to test its products and make sure they are safe for you. 

Natura only uses safe ingredients according to the latest scientific studies. The R & D scientists study each ingredient to understand how to extract the maximum benefits for skin and hair. Ingredients are replaced when there is evidence of environmental or human health risks. The ingredients are fair trade biodiversity ingredients from the Amazon, such as Castanha, Açaí, Ucuuba and Patauá. These are gathered by local Amazonian communities and Natura works with them to develop sustainable practices to protect the forest. Currently, Natura's work benefits and promotes sustainable development for 5,500 families who help conserve the greatest tropical forest in the world. This way Natura has helped conserve 2M hectares of forest. This ethical partnership with the traditional Amazonian communities began in 1999, when the Ekos Line was launched, and is one of the most important aspects of Natura’s business model. There is an important connection between Natura and the people of the Amazon which values their knowledge and enables sustainable practices that help preserve the whole ecosystem. When you choose a Natura product, you are directly supporting these families and collaborating to protect the Amazon.

Natura´s priority is to use recycled materials and renewable origin, as well as refills. The label is constantly looking for alternatives to reduce environmental impact. Currently they work with the 4 Rs: recyclable, recycled, renewable (sugar cane) and refills. Natura introduced refills in 1983, being the first in the Brazilian market to make this kind of effort. Overall, the company contributes to removing 1.6 thousand tons of plastic annually, an equivalent to trash generated by 3 million people in one single day. Their green plastic is made of sugar cane, a renewable raw material, while conventional plastic is made of fossil fuels such as petroleum.

Natura measures carbon emissions of all products, processes and pursue greenhouse emissions reduction of the entire value chain. When emissions cannot be avoided, they are being offset through the acquisition of carbon credits. Natura, along with the Natura&Co family, has committed to reducing its carbon emissions, in a global movement to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.  In 2014, Natura became the first publicly traded BCorp, which is considered a huge accomplishment due to the company' size. For the 3rd year Natura has been reaching the highest standards of commitment even among the BCorp community. 

The UEBT Certified label is awarded to companies that meet the criteria of the Ethical BioTrade Standard. UEBT certification standard requires business practices that respect biodiversity (the diversity of life on Earth) and reduce biodiversity loss, such as restrictions on forest cutting, protection of endangered species and pollinators such as bees, enriching natural ecosystems and reducing pesticides.  UEBT certification is also different from the ‘cruelty-free’ mark. The UEBT standard focuses on which and how ingredients are grown and collected.  Since 2018, this seal confirms Natura´s commitment of sourcing natural ingredients with respect for people and biodiversity. It also emphasizes the three pillars that guide the business: fair trade, conservation of Brazilian biodiversity and trusting relationship with the community.

Operating in the region in a sustainable manner is a business decision. To do so, Natura uses Benefit Sharing, a legal mechanism from Brazil's environmental ministry that institutes the sharing of benefits from the economic exploitation of finished products or reproductive materials made from the access to genetic heritage or associated traditional knowledge. The Sharing Benefit mechanism ensures a fair relationship between companies that work with Brazilian biodiversity with the people who live in the forest and with the local genetic heritage. Initiatives stemming from it revolve around environmental conservation, supporting the sustainable growth of cooperatives and strengthening socio-biodiversity networks.

The reasons why I love Natura is the way they work with local people in the Amazon, the care with which they research their products and the effectiveness of the products and the initiatives they have implemented in creating a sustainable business. A business that takes care of our bodies and of our planet. The rich Amazon forest has so much to offer that can benefit our skin and hair and Natura knows very well how to use these ingredients and create the most rich and luxurious products while staying true to their origins and to protecting our beautiful planet.

If you want to know more about some some of the initiatives made possible thanks to the support of customers that care, you can check them here:

Association of Organic Producers of Boa Vista (Apobv). In communities that work with seed extraction such as castanha (Brazil nuts), ucuuba and andiroba, Natura works to improve the sourcing process in a sustainable manner. Through support to the Association of Organic Producers of Boa Vista (Apobv), in Pará, the community invested in the irrigation system for the production of pataqueira and priprioca, plant assets used in our perfumery. With this action, traditional knowledge is valued, reflecting in increased income. Still at Apobv, Sharing Benefit resources helped build the cooperative's new headquarters in 2011, a shed to store the production, and a new bus for commuting.

Joint Agricultural Cooperative of Tomé-Açu (CAMTA). With the Joint Agricultural Cooperative of Tomé-Açu (CAMTA), in Pará, which sells andiroba and açaí, the benefit sharing resources was applied in the reform of the storage warehouse. The investment resulted in increased production via less waste and better quality, helping the community meet the requirements and gain access to new markets.

Cooperative of Iratapuru River Co-Producers and Extractors (Comaru). The Cooperative of Iratapuru River Co-Producers and Extractors (Comaru) also has among its initiatives the training of community members through the granting of scholarships. Education improves the education of people linked to the productive chains and management of the organization. The creation of a benefit fund for all community members directly assisted in the development of cooperative and community project management.

Middle Juruá. In the Middle Juruá region, which provides andiroba oil and murumuru and ucuuba butter, resources from the Benefit Sharing help local organizations protect biodiversity. The conservation of turtles - turtles, tortoises and jabutis - requires the vigilance of eggs in order to prevent the illegal exploitation and trade of animals. Since 2017, more than 3,000 nests have been preserved. The same resources also help local entities to work with the management of pirarucu (crappie), thus acting in favor of the conservation of Amazonian biodiversity and income generation. The goal is to encourage sustainable fishing and river monitoring. Fishing at the right time conserves the species, which is essential to feed and generate household income.

Based: New York, USA

Ships to: The US website ships only to the USA. Please check local websites for shipping to other countries.

Products: Sustainable and ethically produced skincare, haircare and fragrances.

Mission: To create and sell products and services that promote the harmonious relationship of the individual with oneself, with others and with nature.

URL:  Natura

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