Beauty boss Brianne is a global thinker
Ayoung beauty company entrepreneur from Christchurch has been named in a list of the US Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 leading ‘‘Global Thinkers’’ of 2016.
Brianne West, 29, is the founder and chief executive of beauty bar firm Ethique, which specialises in cruelty-free, climate-friendly products.
She was stunned to appear in the list alongside billionaire philanthropists Melinda Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, as well as global leaders such as the President of Taiwan, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Our overall vision is to have a bar in every shower.
Foreign Policy current affairs magazine recognises a hundred people each year, whose ideas have changed or shaped the world through business, politics, the arts, diplomacy or science.
Ethique was the only New Zealand business to feature on the prestigious list.
‘‘I’m so incredibly humbled to receive this sort of global recognition for our achievements to date,’’ said West, who attended the annual Global Thinkers presentation ceremony in Washington D.C.
‘‘We have to stop transferring responsibility for saving our environment onto consumers. Businesses need to lead the way.’’
West, who is a qualified biologist, founded Ethique in 2012 while studying for a science degree at the University of Canterbury.
The product range includes solid forms of shampoos, body washes and face creams, as well as household cleaning products and pet wash - all sold in biodegradable and compostable packaging.
Ingredients come from ethical, sustainable sources.
‘‘We’ve prevented the manufacture and disposal of more than 130,000 plastic bottles. Our next goal is one million and our overall vision is to have a bar in every shower.’’