At Bend Beauty, we have a strong commitment to the environment and acting like a business that is a force for good in the world. These values came from our founder, Marc St-Onge, who created a business that embodies new ideas, perspectives, and practices from which we can build a greater sense of prosperity together. In celebration of Earth Day 2019 this coming Monday, we chatted with Marc about his what inspires his commitment to sustainability, and what this means to him as an entrepreneur.
What inspired your passion for environmental sustainability?
Growing up, I was always drawn to nature. Spending a lot of time growing up playing in nature leaves a strong imprint. Today as an activist entrepreneur, the passion still originates from my love and connection to nature. The saying is “you protect the things you love”. But my efforts are not just born out of passion, they are driven by the awareness that our ecosystems are collapsing and we have little time to transform industry and our unsustainable lifestyles.
Bend Beauty insists on a responsible supply chain. As an entrepreneur, it takes serious time and effort to keep your environmental footprint as small as possible. What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs who are committed to sustainability?
For responsible supply chain management, the goal is to choose supply chain partners who make high-quality goods, produced or harvested in a sustainable manner and uphold ethical practices. While this sounds simple in many cases this can be quite complex and take time and resources. Fisheries management is a very complex issue. In this case, you want to look for suppliers that have third-party certifications like Friends of the Sea or Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). We sometimes go one step further and hire qualified experts to carry out the research on our behalf. I also recommend attending sustainability conferences relevant to your business and find companies doing it right to learn from. I learned a lot from simply studying Patagonia’s practices and visiting their headquarters. They published a book titled The Responsible Company. This is a must-read.
Earth Day is on April 22. What does this day mean to you, and how will you honor it?
I would love to say that Earth Day will be for me a day of celebration. The reality is I celebrate the Earth every day so I’d prefer to honor it by spending time working on some of our ambitious long term sustainability goals.
For more on what Bend Beauty is doing to recognize Earth Day 2019, click here.
