An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Be yourself, be engaged with your target audiences, express your uniqueness and stand for something.
In an era where conscious consumerism is on the rise, the beauty industry is undergoing a significant transformation towards cruelty-free and ethical practices. This series aims to highlight and celebrate the brands and individuals who are at the forefront of this movement, showcasing their commitment to ethical sourcing, animal welfare, and sustainable production in the world of cosmetics. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Charla Jones.
As eu2be founder and CEO, Charla Jones has created a collection of award-winning skincare products designed to honor all bodies and skin types and transform how we care for our skin. She is on a quest to illuminate the essential nature of beauty and wellness in our lives.
Creativity and hard work form a thread that runs through all that Charla does. Likewise, the brand’s proprietary rare blends of natural carrier oils are themselves substantial and hardworking.
Building on her lifelong passion for the arts and cultural experiences, the Boston-based entrepreneur serves on the boards of three forward-looking arts organizations: the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, the Boston public art curator Now + There, and New York Live Arts, home to the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.
From her world-traveling aunt Eugenia — for whom eu2be is named — to her maternal grandmother, who hosted the likes of B.B. King at her Midwestern speakeasy, Charla draws inspiration from highly creative, hardworking and entrepreneurial women. And she credits her caretakers for the idea that one’s labor creates value and beauty in the world.
Before founding eu2be, her entrepreneurial career spanned endeavors ranging from small businesses to blue-chip Fortune 500 brands, and in 1998 she built an independent creative marketing agency from the ground up. Establishing offices and building teams in Boston and Paris, she worked hands-on with tech-company clients to devise their business strategies, product launch plans and marketing communications programs.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
We learn about self-care from those who care for us. For me, it was my stylish, world-traveling aunt Eugenia, for whom eu2be is named, and my nana, whose Midwestern speakeasy hosted blues and jazz greats like BB King.
Persistently judged by their skin, these inspiring women were less focused on “the arithmetic of beauty” and more on their birthright to define and care for their beauty by seizing it in everyday life.
From very early on, I learned that our bodies are implicated in our emotional lives, not just our physical ones; that caring for our skin is a conducive regimen for caring for our beauty, inner life, and the person we are to become.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Well, you be the judge, is it exciting or the nature of small business that when Oprah magazine came calling, we couldn’t move forward with being one of Oprah’s favorite things in 2021 or when called again in 2022 because of supply chain issues. We didn’t have product packaging. It was literally on a slow boat from Asia. Can you imagine?
What they say is true, timing is everything. When it appears that timing isn’t on your side, you have to persevere and keep swimming.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
1. I think from the end (a result I’m seeking to achieve). Thinking from the end result is why eu2be products are so beloved and highly effective.
2. I deeply appreciate what I don’t know, never assuming that what I know is all there is to know. In creating our formulas, I consulted with a Cellular & Molecular Biologist. I teamed with a “super” cosmetic chemist to create truly elegant formulas to deliver the experience I want our customers to have in their skin.
3. I’ve benefited tremendously from my creativity. I own and conceptualize our formulas. I create 99% of our photography (and copywriting) assets, which are refined by our talented creative director.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I have followed the skincare, beauty, and wellness industry for decades. Years ago, when I moved to Boston from the Bay Area, I had over 20 boxes of skincare products alone. Not kidding. So, when I say that I am over the moon by the amazing impact Golden Amends is having on peoples’ skin and lives, it’s a statement qualified by more than the preverbal “10,000 hours”. It’s an extraordinary product. Outside of Keepsake (Body Cream), I think it’s going to be one of very our best inventions.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What inspired you to embrace cruelty-free and ethical practices in the cosmetics industry, and how has this commitment shaped your brand’s philosophy?
Ethics and responsibility. If you’re not embodying them, then you’re not living them.
How do you ensure that your products meet both ethical standards and consumer expectations for quality and performance?
By being hands-on with respect to where and how our product ingredients are sourced and working with a manufacturer who shares our value for fair wages and treatment of workers and yes, animals too.
Can you share a challenge you faced while transitioning to or maintaining cruelty-free practices and how you overcame it?
Yes, expense or cost.
I use my platform to discuss the enormous, unseen cost of cheap goods and fast fashion and the price we and our planet are dearly paying for them.
We have to change the paradigm of how we assess cost and value for everyday things that affect how and where we live.
In your opinion, what are the biggest misconceptions about cruelty-free and ethical cosmetics, and how do you address these in your marketing and education efforts?
Firstly, the FDA does not explicitly require animal testing on skincare products. Some countries do, but skincare brands manufactured here in the US mostly fall into compliance with “no cruelty” testing or harm to animal standards for product ingredients and the final product.
Brands can acquire a third-party accreditation (bunny symbol) to demonstrate their “Cruelty-Free” values. This assures that there’s been no testing on their part or on the part of any businesses in their supply chain.
In selecting our ingredients and suppliers, we vetted for this, along with prioritizing ingredients derived from sources with regenerative or traditional farming practice and No GMO. My point is, you have to know the country of origin, you can even visit the farms, and you have to verify that your suppliers share your values.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Things You Need to Create a Succesful Cruelty-Free Brand”?
1 . It’s going to take more than idea and passion. You have to do research, a lot of it to determine if or how to bring something of real value to the market.
2 . Deep dive to understand your competition and the distribution landscape. The market is full of brands that check boxes: cruelty-free, organic, etc. And sad but true, many of them are all made with the same handful of ingredients. How do you cut through the noise?
3 . Capital, lots of it. You’ll need more than you think and it’ll take more time that you expect to really get things going… Unless you have the funds to buy your way into the market.
4 . Choose carefully and be engaged with your manufacturers and suppliers.
5 . Be yourself, be engaged with your target audiences, express your uniqueness and stand for something.
Looking ahead, how do you see the future of the beauty industry in terms of sustainability and ethical practices, and what role do you hope your brand will play in this evolution?
I believe sustainability is essential to all of us, it’s a necessity. The environmental cost of beauty and packaging is staggering. That’s cruelty to the planet.
Brands are very responsive to what our consumers want. More and more consumers are interested in less plastic in packaging and an eco-centered unwrapping experience.
Our reimagined product packaging is infinitely recyclable and appealing to all consumers.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The revolution will be moisturized! Naturally existing essential fatty acids in biomimetic carrier oils are supremely more important to skin health than essential oils.
Placing your body at the center of your skincare regimen is revolutionary.
Skin is so much more than a static covering for our bodies — it’s our first line of defense in our immunity and it figures into our endocrine system.
It has a complex life of its own, with many active layers that impact the quality of our health and our lives. Whole body skincare aids the conditions for good overall health and wellbeing, especially as we get older.
Our hormones change — and this goes for all bodies — our skin becomes more fragile, more vulnerable, signaling the need to prioritize its care. So you see, our bodies need more than marketing tropes of trendy miracle ingredients. They need to feel cared for which is why I devised a rare blend of powerful biomimetic carrier oils — prized through generations of skincare traditions, practices and wisdoms to design our transformative skincare products.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Our website:
https://eu2be.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/eu2be/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/eu2be
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nourishing-skin-care-products-by-eu2be/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com .
Beauty Without Cruelty: Charla Jones Of eu2be On The Future of Ethical Cosmetics was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.