There’s a lot to love about Tropic, the skincare brand set up by The Apprentice finalist, Susie Ma in 2011 and sustainability, accountability and a desire to do good is woven into the brand’s DNA.
It’s why they endeavoured to become a certified carbon neutral company – all of the brand’s limited carbon emissions (from product deliveries to powering its HQ and even the team’s commutes into work) are doubly offset by the conservation work the brand funds in the Amazon rainforest and in Indonesia. To date, they have helped to protect 65,000 hectares of forest.
It’s also why the brand favours sustainable packaging. Last year, Tropic sent just 0.52% of its waste to landfill, they introduced refillable makeup palettes, serums and facial oils (with the aim of rolling this out across their entire skincare range by the end of next year) and created cardboard parcels that are completely biodegradable or recyclable.
Undeniably, Tropic are making strides to tackle the major issues facing beauty companies by creating products that are good for our skin without being bad for the environment. Just when you thought you couldn’t admire them any more, they announced a partnership with United World Schools to provide children from under-privileged and hard-to-reach areas with the education they desperately need to access better jobs and higher incomes.
Every order you make with the brand helps to educate a child who would otherwise have no access to schooling. In practice, for every £50 you spend, Tropic are able to provide a day of education for a child in Cambodia, Myanmar or Nepal. Their aim is to contribute over one million days of education across 2019 and 2020, which amounts to lessons for 5,000 children across a school year.
“I want Tropic to empower everyone it reaches, from our customers to our 12,000 Ambassadors [small beauty business owners who sell Tropic to earn a living], our suppliers and our HQ team. I was fortunate enough to have access to a good education in the UK, which has shaped my life in many ways,” Tropic’s founder and CEO, Susie Ma said of the partnership. “Around the world, 62 million children don’t have access to an education, so partnering with United World Schools was the perfect fit. Now every time our customers treat themselves to our products, they know they’re supporting children all over the world and helping to shape their futures too.”
As for the products themselves, they’re made with exactly the same love and care. Each formulation is made in Tropic’s Innovation Lab using green science to create fresh, natural formulas that are undeniably effective. Our favourites include the Vitamin Toner Pore-Refining Mist (£14), which delivers a hit of refreshing vitamins, the Smoothing Cleanser Complexion Purifier (£16), a deliciously creamy concoction that effectively (and gently) melts away every trace of makeup), the Sun Drops Gradual Tanning Facial Serum (£22), which adds a bit of warmth to skin year-round, the Fruit Peel Resurfacing Serum (£42), which brightens and smooths dull complexions and smells delicious, and the refillable Colour Palette (from £16), which enables you to build a personalised compact of your favourite blushers, bronzers and eyeshadows.
This is considered and considerate beauty at its finest.