When Mercedes Taylor, Youth To The People’s Product Innovation Manager, set out to formulate the Yerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial, she did it with our ethos in mind. We have one world to protect for ourselves and future generations—it’s why Youth To The People is dedicated to formulating products in California, packaging them all (even samples) in glass bottles and jars, and boxing them up with FSC-certified post-consumer recycled paper. But what about our products themselves? Enter sustainable sourcing.
To sustainably source ingredients, YTTP consciously formulates products with naturally-occurring and abundantly-growing ingredients and works with like-minded ingredient suppliers who are dedicated to renewing their resources. The tea leaves used in the Yerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial are sourced at a 1:1 ratio by One Tree Planted, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring a healthier climate and protecting biodiversity. For every plant that’s harvested, they plant another.
Another plant that gets its shine in the Energy Facial is bamboo, high in silica content. For the facial, the fast-growing plant (it can grow up to three feet per day) is ground into micro-fine particles in a green process.
“It needs moderately warm and moist climates to grow, allowing it to be cultivated almost anywhere,” Taylor says. Bamboo, along with diatomaceous earth, physically exfoliates your skin, sweeping away dead skin cells and breaking down any oil buildup. Diatomaceous earth is cultivated from regions where silts and clays are abundant. In fact, it’s the most abundant source of silica, making it an ideal ingredient for the facial, Taylor says.
For Taylor, safflower seed and naturally-occurring vitamin E were clear picks for the formula for their ability to soothe the skin. In fact, YTTP’s vitamin E is derived from a blend of sunflower and safflower seeds. Native to North America, safflower does best in hot, dry climates and is a sustainable crop for the southwestern states and Mexico. And as for vitamin E, Taylor says, “It’s processed from green chemistry practices to help maintain the integrity of oils and lipids.”
Caring for Earth means not depleting her of her resources and making sustainability a cornerstone of our actions beginning with how we consume ingredients, formulate our products, and share them with you, our community.
