Sabbia Co

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Location

Australia

Made In

Australia, China

Values

Fair
Give Back
Vegan
Made Locally
Circularity
Minimal Waste

Sabbia Co is a Burleigh-based sustainable skincare brand responsibly producing cleansers, oils, bars, serums, masks, kits and skincare tools for those of us who care as much about our skin as we do for our planet.

Sabbia Co’s hero ingredients include (but are certainly not limited to) Organic Tasmanian Kelp Extract, Matcha Green Tea, Activated Charcoal and White Australian Kaolin Clay, and since the launch in 2019, Sabbia Co has stopped over 17 million single-use makeup wipes from ending up in landfill. How’s that for sustainable skincare.

The Sabbia Co team has left absolutely no stone unturned. Have a look for yourself:

Ethics

Sabbia Co formulate and bottle a lot of their products in house. When partnering with suppliers, Sabbia Co visit and work with their Australian labs regularly who bring together their skincare range, and Chinese manufacturers of some of their packaging and sustainable tools.

Not only do these manufacturers produce sustainably – which essentially means there’s no waste or offcuts, and each high-quality product is tested and approved before being produced at a larger scale – but their offices are also close to being zero-waste, and all provide safe and fair working conditions to their employees.

Sustainability

Sabbia Co is a company that cares about its environmental footprint, and this shows in a multitude of ways. In regards to stock, the Sabbia Co team ensures they never over-order on their products, and to avoid wastage once their skincare has left their HQ, their face kits are created without an expiry date.

Refill programs are common with sustainable skincare companies, and Sabbia Co is no different; in their effort to further minimise their wastage, Sabbia Co offers recyclable refill satchels used to refill the glass skincare bottles already at home. What’s more is Sabbia Co goes one step further and provides videos for repurposing and upcycling their glass packaging.

As for the packaging and shipping, the cardboard boxes Sabbia Co uses are made from recycled cardboard, the skincare is packaged in recycled glass, and the kits are housed in reusable canvas or net bags. Sabbia Co also works with carbon neutral freight carriers; uses biodegradable mailers; and uses recycled cardboard smiling boxes, which can be used to send products back to be recycled with TerraCycle.

Giving Back

In conjunction with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), Sabbia Co has launched an exclusive Pink Rose Clean Kit from which 100% of profits will be donated to the NBCF. Sabbia Co also has a goal of becoming a 1% For The Planet member in 2022, and in 2023 the founders have an aim to become a major partner of The Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

As you can probably tell, Sabbia Co is a sustainable skincare company for the ethical soul. Sabbi Co ensures their high standards of ethical and sustainable production and minimal wastage are upheld, whilst simultaneously giving back to Australian causes and, of course, producing high-quality, effective skincare. See? No stone unturned.

Want to know where Sabbia Co sits and what they’re working on in terms of these 5 values? Hover over these values to find out.

Eco Friendly

Sabbia Co is an ethical brand with minimal impact on the environment, we started by creating unique facial kits out of sustainable, biodegradable, reusable and chemical free tools. These kits cleanse, exfoliate and remove makeup with just water. We then launched our sustainably sourced and packaged (recycled cardboard and glass) skincare that is formulated by our founder Katie. In 2019 Sabbia Co proudly partnered with TerraCycle, a program for our customers to return old reusable tools and glass bottles for upcycling and recycling. Sabbia Co launched 2 years ago and has stopped over 17 million single-use makeup wipes from ending up in landfill. We also educate on using our makeup pads to replace baby wipes, which is why we launched our 'removal kit'. The removal kit is a bigger cloth version that Mothers are loving for a chemical-free and softer alternative to baby wipes. Choice of packaging. - There is no waste with the packaging of our 'face it face kit' as the canvas bag makes it easy to take the face it face kit traveling but also provides the consumer with a reusable bag to carry other skincare and personal care items. - Our cardboard boxes are made from recycled cardboard. Recycled / Glass Packaging. - We used recycled cardboard, reusable canvas or net bags (for washing the reusable items) and glass packaging to ensure we are as low waste as possible. Refill Program. - In October we will be launching our refill program which allows customers to purchase skincare refills to refill their glass bottles at home. This is part of our mission to further minimise our footprint. This program will allow our customers to purchase recyclable refill sachets to refill glass skincare bottles at home. - We also create DIY videos for upcycling our glass packaging and using them for cleaning bottles, trinket dishes and more. Choice of shipping. - We work with Carbon Neutral freight companies and carriers. - Mailing bags are made from corn and about 100% biodegradable while our mailing boxes are made from recycled cardboard, we encourage our customers to hold onto their mailing boxes to reuse them when they send back products to be recycled with our TerraCycle program. Ordering stock. - We make very calculated orders to ensure we never overorder or create 'deadstock'. We chose to create reusable face kits that do not have an expiry date to also ensure there is never 'deadstock' or waste that cannot be used. Zero-Waste Office. - We have a zero-waste office with Terracycle recycling bins, compost bins and provide our staff with facilities so they do not have to buy coffees, teas, smoothies, cutely etc. - We use all-natural cleaning products to reduce our footprint. - We inspired and educate our team around sustainability so they can better themselves and their footprint both in and outside of work. Upcycling / Recycling Program. - Dave and Katie started Sabbia Co was to help protect the Earth and the Ocean while providing simple and effective skincare options. Our reusable pads last for over 200 machine washes, which replaces over 1,000 single-use makeup wipes. After those 200 washes we wanted to offer a service to up-cycle and recycle them properly to ensure we are still protecting the Earth and eliminating them from ending up in landfill. We are so EXCITED to be partnering with TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes to arrange a system that helps us to lessen our contribution to landfill. https://sabbiaco.com/pages/sabbia-co-sustainability In 2022, Sabbia Co will continue research on sugarcane and corn bottles.

Fair

Manufacture relationships / visits. - We visit regularly and have strong open relationships with our 5 Australian labs and 1 China manufacturer. Assurances against sustainable manufacturing. - All of our manufacturers practice sustainable manufacturing and as close to zero-waste offices (this is extremely important to us). - Sustainable manufacturing means there is no waste / offcuts of materials, each item is made once for testing/approval before being made on a large scale. This ensures that the quality of the product is always the highest possible and there is no waste from incorrect manufacturing. - All of our manufacturers practice safe and fair work, we have been fortunate to meet a lot of the staff members who actually formulate and create our products. They all are very passionate about our mission and the business we are creating.

Minimal Waste

Everything we do and share with our community is to minimise waste and the consumption of single use items. We are constantly sharing and educating or greener options (not just for our products and skincare) We make intentional choices to lessen our footprint where we can for example, our Mineral BB Cream comes in a 60ml glass bottle (twice the size of standard 30ml BB creams on the market) which will last 6+ months depending on use. We chose this size so consumers don't have to purchase as frequently which helps us to continue our mission to reduce packaging and postal emissions. We carefully created 5 unique reusable, sustainable and chemical-free tools that cleanse, exfoliate and remove makeup/sunscreen/zinc/face masks with just water and packaged them into a reusable canvas bag. This combination of tools in a kit is the first on the market and has been trademarked. - This makes the 'face it face kit' a perfect clean and conscious option for skincare consumers (both men and women of all ages). The reusable ingredients (makeup pad, cotton round, brush and headband) in the kit last for over 12 months meaning they are reusable for over 1,000 uses. The Konjac Sponge is 100% biodegradable, when it begins to breakdown you can plant it in your garden or home compost. Refill Progam. Packaging Options. Choice of shipping. Zero-Waste Office. Upcycling / Recycling Program.

Give Back

- In October 2021, Sabbia Co will be partnering with the National Breast Cancer Foundation as a corporate fundraiser. Launching an exclusive pink rose clean kit with 100% of profits donated to National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). - By 2022 I am aiming to finalise the process of partnering with 1% for the planet and becoming a Certified B Corporations company. - By 2023 I hope to be able to become a major partner with https://www.barrierreef.org/, https://citizensgbr.org/ and https://coralgardeners.org/ 3 incredible organisations that are working to protect our reef. I have already engaged as a ‘Citizen of Great Barrier Reef’ with https://citizensgbr.org/ and aims to continue being able to assist in tasks such as photographing coral and species to help the organisations learn and document more about the reef and what is going on.

Transparent

Assurances against sustainable manufacturing. - All of our manufacturers practice sustainable manufacturing and as close to zero-waste offices (this is extremely important to us). - All of our raw skincare ingredients are Australian sourced and are harvested from the most sustainably operating farms our manufacturers can partner with. - Sustainable manufacturing means there is no waste / offcuts of materials, each item is made once for testing/approval before being made on a large scale. This ensures that the quality of the product is always the highest possible and there is no waste from incorrect manufacturing. At Sabbia Co we are continually refining and trying to improve our processes.

Behind the Brand

“I couldn't find products that were ethically sourced, sustainably packaged and worked. So I started studying cosmetic chemistry, Traditional Chinese Medicine and many other alternative ongoing studies to fuse scientific results with natural plant medicine”.

Katie Eales

What made you start Sabbia Co?

I grew up in Port Douglas, in a half Italian / half Australian household. Growing up diving the Great Barrier Reef, camping under the stars and eating 90% homegrown was where I found my deep love and appreciation for the planet. I moved to the Gold Coast to study marketing straight after year 12, I then went on to travel throughout many Asian countries, Europe and the States.

In 2017 I met my now husband Dave, in 2018 we found ourselves on a remote beach in Sri Lanka and devastated over the amount of single-use personal items we were surrounded by. When we arrived home we decided to minimise all single-use items in our home. As we started to research and test reusable products we fell in love with many amazing sustainable swaps. Our mission was no longer to overhaul our home but everyone else’s.

And this is when Sabbia Co was born. An ethical brand with minimal impact on the environment, that creates unique facial kits out of sustainable, biodegradable, reusable and chemical free tools. Along with sustainably sourced and packaged skincare that is formulated by myself.

We launched in September 2019, with 3 products. Our hero ‘face it face kit’, cleanse kit and tone kit, 3 kits that remove makeup/zinc, cleanse and exfoliate with just water. This was essential for us as we love to travel and pack light.

As our community grew the need for sustainable skincare was a daily request, so for our first birthday, we launched sustainably sourced and packaged skincare. Something I had always dreamt of. Over the years I have studied Cosmetic Chemistry, Traditional Chinese Medicine (Gua Sha, Facial Massage, etc), and many other ‘alternative’ (as my Mum might say) practices.

Do you have a morning routine? If so what is it you do to set yourself up for the day ahead?

I wake up at 4.45am every morning, my husband Dave brings in a coffee and then I sit and meditate for 10-30 minutes (depending on the day). I then walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and respond to customer service / social media comments. By 6.30am I usually practice 30 minutes of pilates or yoga and then have breakfast and head into the warehouse to start my offical work day.

On the weekends, there is no alarm but we will still start our day with coffee and meditation in bed. Unless of course, the surf in good – in that case it’s a quick coffee and off to the beach.

What’s the biggest barrier you’ve found to succeeding as a socially conscious business?

As a small sustainable startup finance is always the biggest barrier.
Our commitment to our sustainable mission is not cheap. Sourcing sustainable ingredients, packaging and partners is hard and EXPENSIVE, however that is the whole reason we started Sabbia Co. We will not release a product that doesn’t meet our sustainable standards (there have been many amazing products that we couldn’t bring to market due to this). Being sustainable means that our stock is more expensive than the average business. For example we use recycled cardboard instead of normal cardboard for all of our boxes, glass bottles instead of plastic packaging, compostable mailers instead of plastic mailers and so on.

Within the ethical fashion community, there’s a big question that we ask which is ‘who made my clothes?’. In the scope Sabbia Co, who made the things you sell? Can you tell us a bit about them?

Me! I couldn’t find products that were ethically sourced, sustainably packaged and worked. So I started studying cosmetic chemistry, Traditional Chinese Medicine and many other alternative ongoing studies to fuse scientific results with natural plant medicine.

I formulate each initial product concept and then work with a number of labs to test, stabilise and bring them to life at a larger scale.

Why did you pick the ingredients you have chosen to work with?

Because they are effect, organic / natural and sustainably sourced.

Best piece of advice you have ever received?

Trust your intuition / if you can believe it you can achieve it.

What’s next for you and Sabbia Co?

By 2022 I am aiming to finalise the process of partnering with 1% for the planet and becoming a Certified B Corporations company.
By 2023 I hope to be able to become a major partner with The Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Citizens Of The Great Barrier Reef and Coral Gardeners 3 incredible organisations that are working to protect our reef. I have already engaged as a ‘Citizen of Great Barrier Reef’ with https://citizensgbr.org/ and aims to continue being able to assist in tasks such as photographing coral and species to help the organisations learn and document more about the reef and what is going on.

One book and everyone should read? Why?

Skinside Out by Robyn McAlpine, Dr. Libby’s Women’s Wellness Wisdom and skinCARE: The ultimate no-nonsense guide by Caroline Hirons – three amazing and very empowering books to do with health and skincare.

Are there any other Movers & Shakers out there in your world that you think people should know about?

Anything David Attenborough, the more we learn about the planet the more we understand the importance of protecting it.