Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Buscho.
Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Earth Tu Face began in my kitchen somewhere between 2005-2007. It didn’t fully materialize into the line that it is today until 2012 however there was a lot of creation behind the scenes for years that went into the design of the products and packaging. My skin has always provided a lot of feedback and therefore, I have always made my own skincare products and they grew into the offerings they are today after I studied essential oils in my twenties and then became a clinical herbalist. During that time, I started to grow medicinal herbs in an organic garden that went into the products a la farm to face. Today we still grow lavender, calendula and roses for the line. Back in the early 2000’s green beauty wasn’t a thing like it is today. All of our products have an emphasis on organic ingredients, zero-waste packaging and ethical plant populations sourced by us. We make much of the line in small handmade batches weekly in our Apothecary (and we formulate for other brands there too!).
Where we have landed has circularity at the forefront of our minds. Earth Tu Face has developed a skincare product line inspired by the need for pure, plant-based skincare options that are free from synthetic compounds normally found in cosmetics. The aim is to run a sustainable and small operation that is resilient alongside the changing patterns of a warming planet and offers precious goods for people connecting them back to the natural world and meaningful employment to a handful of people. We are currently a four women team.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been nonlinear and definitely not smooth. I used to believe it was simply more turbulent to work for yourself but now I attribute the bumps to being a part of life in form for all of us. The bittersweet poignancy of life is that it is ever-changing. This translates into a lot of adapting and uncertainty in business just as in every realm of life. One year projections look one way and the next, we all have new realities to face collectively and individually.
One of the struggles in natural product creation is that the marketplace is used to mass-produced synthetic products instead of small-batch domestically produced natural goods. This means that every step is more costly when we create with these precious materials. Every hand along the way that touches the products matters to us, as does the way the plant is grown and the stability and health of the plant population. Often the way we small-batch formulate and pour into, for example, real seashell containers for our lip balms and perfumes makes the line almost functional art objects. It is definitely slow and ethical over fast and depleting. The products are also daily self-care tools that we hope help connect people back to the natural world around us. This means that we can’t offer the line for a price point that we wish we could.
We’ve been impressed with Earth Tu Face, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
All ingredients in Earth Tu Face creations serve a nutritive purpose for skin. Our formulas are original, created and tested by us, on us — never on animals. Our motto is what is good for the earth is good for us. We select every ingredient both for its safety and curative properties as well as stable plant population and impact on the Earth. We avoid monocrops, endangered plants, and those that cause environmental harm (we are entirely palm-free). We grow lavender, calendula, and roses with organic hand farming practices in our San Rafael garden to use in our face masks. We hand harvest dry and powder these fragrant flowers to impart their benefits to the skin. We source our other raw materials from responsible producers, as local as possible, many who use the same regenerative farming practices they have for centuries.
We offer a full face and body line of self-care tools. I think we are most known for our Skin Stick. It is an ounce of herbal salve for anywhere that needs it (face, lips, body) packaged in a beautiful compostable tube so that it doesn’t leave anything behind when it inevitably goes back to the Earth. Currently, we are phasing out plastic caps and moving to metal closures in all products where that is possible.
Our face care items are our best sellers. Among others, the Face Balm and Face Wash are actually the same original recipes from my kitchen making days in the early 2000s.
Besides our line, we provide formulation and small-batch manufacturing services to others as well as a little bit of consulting to those in the industry.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
It seems like I take more risks than most people. At least, that is how my family and friends describe me. I am an all-in and go-for-it type of person. I downhill ski raced competitively when I was young. I absolutely access the risk and opt not to go down some roads, but I seem to operate with less fear than the norm.
In business, I went for it when we launched in 2012. It was a big risk. We made a lot of inventory and invested significantly in startup costs. I invested my own savings, took out loans, and reinvested what we made back into the business for years. It was a worthwhile investment in terms of building something that I value and (hope) contributes positively for the planet. I guess it all comes down to what you value personally. If I had valued making the most capital possible, personally, this might not have been the road. However, what I value most is creating something meaningful that can be a win-win for the collective while being a functional small business. I hope we all take risks in order to steward the future instead of making decisions to value the bottom line that are net negative for future generations (I would call those extractive).
I think it is important to acknowledge that we are a part of something larger, the Earth. Every choice we make has an impact that ranges from net positive, neutral, or harmful. What we create, do, keep, support, eat, wear, and interact with goes back to the Earth either as food or toxins.
At one point in 2016, I took a big risk in building a sister line to Earth Tu Face called COSMOS Botanicals. The aim was to reach a bigger audience and make in much larger batches thereby reducing the end cost. Thus enabling it to be in giant retail chain stores. It didn’t pan out the way I initially hoped it would, but it still exists for people to use. Successes and failures are just a part of life for everyone. After all, what is the worst that can happen? Failure? Do we really fail if we learned something? I believe there is value in what the culture deems as failure. We also just have so much on the line in terms of where we are in this moment in human history. We have climate change to contend with (as well as other huge factors on the game board). If we are taking steps towards living in a more circular way, it seems like those are worth the risk.
Pricing:
- $25
- $34
- $52
- $68
- $15
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: earthtuface.com
- Instagram: @earthtuface
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthtuface/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS-pyf9foLQ
Image Credits:
Earth Tu Face and Hollie Fernando
