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		"top_banner": {"block_order":["1"],"description":["\u003cp\u003eIt all started back in 2012 when Brianne started mixing formulas up in her kitchen at her Christchurch (New Zealand) home. Back then, plastic-free wasn't the huge concern that it is for many today. Solid beauty bars weren’t a ‘thing’ and they definitely weren’t available from your local supermarket - or even Amazon.\u003c\/p\u003e"],"desktop_image":[[{"filename":"Our-Story-Banner-Desktop.jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_type":"image","alt":"","id":1589414249945,"key":"48902144042\/1589414249945\/Our-Story-Banner-Desktop.jpg","scope":"48902144042","handle":"1589414249945","src":"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1589414249945\/Our-Story-Banner-Desktop.jpg?v=0","original_src":"https:\/\/original.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1589414249945\/Our-Story-Banner-Desktop.jpg?v=0","cloudinary_src":"https:\/\/images.accentuate.io\/?image=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.accentuate.io%2F48902144042%2F1589414249945%2FOur-Story-Banner-Desktop.jpg%3Fv%3D0\u0026c_options=","width":1440,"height":495,"aspect_ratio":2.909090909090909}]],"mobile_image":[[{"filename":"Our-Story-Banner-Mobile.jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_type":"image","alt":"","id":1589414255045,"key":"48902144042\/1589414255045\/Our-Story-Banner-Mobile.jpg","scope":"48902144042","handle":"1589414255045","src":"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1589414255045\/Our-Story-Banner-Mobile.jpg?v=0","original_src":"https:\/\/original.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1589414255045\/Our-Story-Banner-Mobile.jpg?v=0","cloudinary_src":"https:\/\/images.accentuate.io\/?image=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.accentuate.io%2F48902144042%2F1589414255045%2FOur-Story-Banner-Mobile.jpg%3Fv%3D0\u0026c_options=","width":800,"height":960,"aspect_ratio":0.8333333333333334}]],"text_color":["#ffffff"],"title":["The journey of Ethique"]},
		"title_w_description": {"background_color":["#ffffff","#f0f0f0","#ffffff","#f0f0f0","#f0f0f0"],"block_order":["2","3","4","6","9"],"description_html":["\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 70%; vertical-align: middle;\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“I started Ethique out of frustration for the abhorrent amount of waste created by the cosmetics industry, and in particular, the amount of plastic and waste created by our bathroom essentials. I figured out that up to 95% of your bottle of conditioner is made up of water - which is just ridiculous considering you have water in your bathroom! I have always been deeply passionate about the environment and science and so I set about learning cosmetic chemistry (I was completing my Bachelor of Science at university at the time), and looked to formulate a solid shampoo. I figured that switching to a solid product would be the answer not only to the water waste issue, but also plastic waste”.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePictured:\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/strong\u003eBrianne in our second kitchen that was quickly outgrown.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 25%; vertical-align: middle;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Brianne-Sobert-Lab.png?v=1589368141441\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 400px;\"\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 25%;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-St-Clements-Sobert.png?v=1589368658023\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 400px;\"\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%; vertical-align: middle;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 70%;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“I used to create small, 1kg batches of shampoo with the help of my Mum, Janette, (who still works alongside me today as part of our wider R\u0026amp;D Team), selling them online on a website I built myself (which is embarrassing to look at now), and surprisingly, there was huge demand! From there on, we’ve been steadily growing and putting more and more bars in showers around the globe”.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePictured:\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/strong\u003eSorbet (what Ethique began life as), \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/products\/st-clements-shampoo-for-oily-hair\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eSt Clements solid shampoo bar\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e packaged in our water soluble, home-printed packaging.\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“I started Ethique with little to no money, in my kitchen, as a poor university student. When I started it, I didn’t worry too much about how to fund it. I simply reinvested all sales back into more ingredients, packaging and eventually a little bit of marketing. But to start a business properly, you need a lot more money than initial sales will generate. \u0026nbsp;\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI entered a university competition and was paired with a business mentor to write a business plan. That business mentor actually offered me investment at the end of the competition and is now one of my business partners. But, we still needed more money, primarily to take the brand from looking like this...\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Sorbet-Packaging-vs-Ethique-Packaging.png?v=1589361229092\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 700px;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 47.5%; vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd so, Brianne turned to equity crowdfunding with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.pledgeme.co.nz\/investments\/52-sorbet-by-ethique-limited\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePledgeMe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. Most popular in the USA but at the time, it was still a very new concept in New Zealand. Brianne and the Ethique team offered up shares in the company in the hopes of attracting enough investors to fuel Ethique’s growth.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEquity crowdfunding appealed to Brianne in two ways; one, it was giving people who can’t normally afford to invest in companies an opportunity to support those brands they believe in, and hopefully make them some money, and two, it is excellent for raising a small brands profile - if done well. (For a company built on the goal of putting a bar in every shower, this was a huge draw.)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 47.5%; vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Crowdfunding definitely doesn’t suit all businesses, you need to have a strong brand that people get excited about and want to support, but when you do it right, it’s an amazing way to raise capital. In 2015 we did our first equity crowdfunding raise on Pledgeme and In just under 10 days, we raised $200,000 from 152 people around New Zealand.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“It’s a very stressful time as you are going out publicly and asking people to support your dream, but it’s also the most amazing time because every now and then you get an email saying ‘so-and-so’ has just pledged $30,000. I mean, try beating that for an email.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eAt this point Ethique had moved out of Brianne’s kitchen and into a very small, cramped, dark unit which served as our lab, warehouse and office. Ethique had four staff members, one of whom was Brianne’s Mum, Janette, and we were making at the most, about 100 bars a day. It may not sound romantic but it was an important step in the growth of Ethique which we were able to achieve all thanks to our new investors who believed in our goals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 25%;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Article-Forbes.png?v=1589370483586\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\"\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 70%;\"\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“I was in Hawaii, at a conference and I met a\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/meimeifox\/2016\/07\/22\/meet-the-young-female-entrepreneur-saving-the-world-from-plastic-waste\/#3b14b2142560\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eForbes\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;reporter. She did a little interview on what it was like to be a woman in business. Now this made me very excited, because I thought it was going to set the world on fire.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/meimeifox\/2016\/07\/22\/meet-the-young-female-entrepreneur-saving-the-world-from-plastic-waste\/#3b14b2142560\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eForbes\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;is a big deal and I figured that everyone would read it, retailers around the world would stock our products, we’d get heaps of orders and it would catapult Ethique into success.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eIt turns out that on the first day, just four people read it.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBut about two weeks later, when I got over the disappointment and I was back in New Zealand, I had an email from a\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.in\/entry\/genius-solid-shampoos-use-less-plastic-packaging-by-leaving-out-water_n_57963f19e4b02d5d5ed24951\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;reporter. She said ‘I saw your story in\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/meimeifox\/2016\/07\/22\/meet-the-young-female-entrepreneur-saving-the-world-from-plastic-waste\/#3b14b2142560\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForbes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e, I really liked it, so I have written about you on our website’.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 70%;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.in\/entry\/genius-solid-shampoos-use-less-plastic-packaging-by-leaving-out-water_n_57963f19e4b02d5d5ed24951\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eThe Huffington Post\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e gets about 200 million unique visitors every month, in comparison, Forbes is under 100 million. And that is when the world set on fire (figuratively speaking).\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003eThe team had hundreds and hundreds of emails, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing, we had people offering investment, Ethique had thousands of orders, 90% of which we had to cancel because we couldn’t fulfill (remember, we were still in our tiny kitchen and office still!). We drafted in friends and family, who saved us by spending their time answering the emails and the phone, wrapped bars and just kept the general morale up. Because while it was super exciting, it was also incredibly stressful and at least one person was in tears each day.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 25%;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Article-HuffPost.png?v=1589370873428\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\"\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“A few days after the initial article, I woke up to a text from my Mum. It said, ‘\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/britneyspears\/posts\/10154393769998234\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBritney Spears has shared you on Facebook.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e’ Now I’m not very friendly in the morning, so my response was probably something along the lines of ‘don’t be stupid, it’ll be fake’ or something.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Britney-Spears-And-Ashton-Kutcher.png?v=1589415204350\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 600px;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eBut Janette was dead right, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/britneyspears\/posts\/10154393769998234\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eBritney Spears had shared our website\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e to over 30 million people on social media! If you’re not a Britney fan, you will have missed out on what a superstar she was when Brianne was growing up. And so \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.in\/entry\/genius-solid-shampoos-use-less-plastic-packaging-by-leaving-out-water_n_57963f19e4b02d5d5ed24951\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/meimeifox\/2016\/07\/22\/meet-the-young-female-entrepreneur-saving-the-world-from-plastic-waste\/#7c4b5d992560\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForbes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e articles aside, this was an even bigger deal for Brianne and the team.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“It was definitely one of the best days of my life (at that point anyway). AND\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ashton\/videos\/10153571366057820\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eAshton Kutcher followed suit about two days later,\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;even making a video about us! So that was when the world began to pay attention. Not only that, but it reinforced to us that this idea had legs and that it wasn’t just a product for New Zealand, but one for the world.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003ePlastic free packaging:\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eGrowing a plastic free business has not been without challenges, many unique to us. Growing any business at the pace we have grown is tough, but encouraging people to get behind an unusual product was at first, very difficult.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 15%;\" valign=\"center\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Challenges-Compostable-Packaging.png?v=1589411419716\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 80%; vertical-align: middle;\"\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“In the early days, I went through four packaging providers, all who told me that what I wanted wouldn’t work. The boxes would break down on the shelves, they wouldn’t survive shipment and that it was impossible to guarantee sustainable stock. It was apparent they didn’t understand the need for boxes that were free of laminates, coatings and chlorines and weren’t prepared to experiment. Now we work with two incredible New Zealand packaging providers who exceed my requirements.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eProducing solid bars:\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eProducing solid bars is limiting for obvious reasons and as we’re essentially creating products from scratch that don’t exist, formulation is hard.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 80%;\"\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“I was on my own for many years figuring out how to invent solid face creams and self-tanners. Now, whilst I do most of the initial concepting and formulation still, I have a team of very clever chemists and engineers who figure out how to scale a product that is difficult to make. They have had to invent and build new machinery and processes to keep up with the demand, which was particularly challenging during our periods of biggest growth.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 15%;\" valign=\"center\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Challenges-Product.png?v=1589411345630\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003ePlastic-free shipping:\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eLogistics is extremely challenging as the use of plastic is deeply intertwined into most warehousing systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 15%;\" valign=\"center\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.cloud\/images\/25790520\/Our-Story-Challenges-Plastic-Free.png?v=1589411458956\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dib\" style=\"width: 150px;\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 5%;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"width: 80%; vertical-align: middle;\"\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Working with logistics facilities and retailers who don’t get it is extremely frustrating. We have had retailers shrink wrap bars or stick plastic labels on them. We’ve had logistics facilities promise to ship plastic free only to fill boxes with bubble wrap and polystyrene. What has worked for us, has been getting our partners to understand why we require our products to be plastic free in every way. Because when they get it, they then look to change the way they do business and expand their environmental actions beyond just our products.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eOur bars are proudly shipped plastic free by New Zealand Post from our warehouse in New Zealand. In 2020, we launched a new plastic-free warehouse in the USA which ships completely plastic free and will also significantly reduce the carbon footprint of our bars (\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/plastic-free\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eread more about it here)\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e"],"text_color":["","","","",""],"title":["We’re here to put a bar in every shower and revolutionise the cosmetics industry","","2015; Raising capital through PledgeMe","2016; Ethique in the media and making offshore moves","Challenges in creating the world’s most regenerative lifestyle and beauty brand:"]},
		"comparison_block": {},
		"image_with_text": {"description_html":["\u003cp\u003eClose after our first equity crowdfunding campaign and when we began to look into overseas markets, the issue of trademarks came into play. What was a cute name when Brianne first started the company turned into a potential nightmare for entering international markets.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd so, the brainstorming began and \u003cstrong\u003eEthique was born\u003c\/strong\u003e (officially this time).\u003c\/p\u003e","\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eWe went to the USA first and are now the highest rated, fastest selling shampoo \u0026amp; conditioner brand on Amazon, which of course the largest online market in the world. We started on Amazon, but we didn’t finish there!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eEthique is now stocked in over \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/stockists\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003e6,800 stores\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e in twenty five countries across the world, from Japan and Australia, to the USA, Hong Kong and even Vanuatu.\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e","\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eWe turned to crowdfunding not only once but twice. We did it again two years later in 2017 and raised half a million in less than 90 minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“It was incredible. I was speaking at an event at the time and had people in the audience calling out the total to me as it climbed, so it felt like the whole audience of 2,000 people were really behind us. We now have over 350 shareholders and my dream for them is for Ethique to be able to pay off their mortgages.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eIn 2012, the first Ethique solid shampoo bar, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/products\/damage-control\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMintasy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, was made as an alternative to the 80 billion plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles thrown out globally every year. Since then, so much has changed, but sustainability is still at the heart of everything we do. Our ingredients remain: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/cruelty-free-vegan\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecruelty free and vegan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/palm-oil-free\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003epalm oil free\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/direct-trade\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eethically and fairly sourced\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, we still pay staff a living wage, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/partnerships\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003edonate 2% of sales\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e and are \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ethiqueworld.com\/pages\/plastic-free\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eplastic-free\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"\u003eWe don\u0026rsquo;t just make shampoo bars now either. We\u0026rsquo;ve ventured into skincare and products for your home and pets, with plenty more exciting products in the pipeline. All with the goal of preventing plastic bottles from being made and disposed of in landfills around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e"],"image":[[{"filename":"About-Ethique---Sobert-vs-Ethique.png","mime_type":"image\/png","media_type":"image","alt":"","id":1611046237454,"key":"48902144042\/1611046237454\/About-Ethique---Sobert-vs-Ethique.png","scope":"48902144042","handle":"1611046237454","src":"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1611046237454\/About-Ethique---Sobert-vs-Ethique.png?v=0","original_src":"https:\/\/original.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1611046237454\/About-Ethique---Sobert-vs-Ethique.png?v=0","cloudinary_src":"https:\/\/images.accentuate.io\/?image=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.accentuate.io%2F48902144042%2F1611046237454%2FAbout-Ethique---Sobert-vs-Ethique.png%3Fv%3D0\u0026c_options=","width":841,"height":203,"aspect_ratio":4.142857142857143}],[{"filename":"Our-Story-Article-Daily-Mail.png","mime_type":"image\/png","media_type":"image","alt":"","id":1611046290352,"key":"48902144042\/1611046290352\/Our-Story-Article-Daily-Mail.png","scope":"48902144042","handle":"1611046290352","src":"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1611046290352\/Our-Story-Article-Daily-Mail.png?v=0","original_src":"https:\/\/original.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1611046290352\/Our-Story-Article-Daily-Mail.png?v=0","cloudinary_src":"https:\/\/images.accentuate.io\/?image=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.accentuate.io%2F48902144042%2F1611046290352%2FOur-Story-Article-Daily-Mail.png%3Fv%3D0\u0026c_options=","width":600,"height":431,"aspect_ratio":1.392111368909513}],[{"filename":"Our-Story-Article-Ideal-Log.png","mime_type":"image\/png","media_type":"image","alt":"","id":1611046314298,"key":"48902144042\/1611046314298\/Our-Story-Article-Ideal-Log.png","scope":"48902144042","handle":"1611046314298","src":"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1611046314298\/Our-Story-Article-Ideal-Log.png?v=0","original_src":"https:\/\/original.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1611046314298\/Our-Story-Article-Ideal-Log.png?v=0","cloudinary_src":"https:\/\/images.accentuate.io\/?image=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.accentuate.io%2F48902144042%2F1611046314298%2FOur-Story-Article-Ideal-Log.png%3Fv%3D0\u0026c_options=","width":600,"height":431,"aspect_ratio":1.392111368909513}],[{"filename":"Ethique-Where-Are-We-Now.jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_type":"image","alt":"","id":1660167092790,"key":"48902144042\/1660167092790\/Ethique-Where-Are-We-Now.jpg","scope":"48902144042","handle":"1660167092790","src":"https:\/\/cdn.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1660167092790\/Ethique-Where-Are-We-Now.jpg?v=1660167092790","original_src":"https:\/\/original.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1660167092790\/Ethique-Where-Are-We-Now.jpg?v=1660167092790","cloudinary_src":"https:\/\/cld.accentuate.io\/48902144042\/1660167092790\/Ethique-Where-Are-We-Now.jpg?v=1660167092790\u0026options=","width":800,"height":800,"aspect_ratio":1}]],"image_position":["right","left","right","left"],"order":["5","7","8","10"],"title":["Sorbet to Ethique","And so in 2016, Ethique went international!","2017; Raising Capital through PledgeMe: round 2","Where are we now?"]},
		"paragraph": {},
		"nosto_block": {}
	}
}