Sonya Driver’s Eco Tan has won a Gold Award in the Clean + Conscious Awards 2021.
Sonya said, “I started Eco Tan for personal reasons after my gentle-spirited sister was diagnosed with a melanoma. We still wanted to get a tan without the risk of harmful UV rays, so I thought the next best thing was fake tanning. I asked a local beauty therapist about the ingredients in her spray tan. She told me hers was 99 per cent natural, but gut feeling told me to research it. When I did, I was in for quite a surprise! I used my anger at the false and misleading claims and took matters into my own hands and start my own brand.
“I bought samples of cacao, flower essence, grape seed extract – all things natural and organic – and started mixing batches out of my tiny kitchen. The first batch, or fifty batches, weren’t perfect. But I was determined to create a natural tanning option that was good for our skin and the planet. And I finally did it… In 2011, Eco Tan made Australian history by becoming the first and only tanning manufacturer to be certified organic by the Organic Food Chain under the Australian government.
“I pride myself on being an innovator and started looking for the next gap in the market. Our organic range then expanded to body care, sun care and skin care. In everything we do, we look at the whole scope of the product. Our products are biodegradable, made with responsibly sourced ingredients and we use only environmentally responsible packaging that can be recycled, reused, or repurposed,” she said.
Sonya’s future goals for Eco Tan include: to educate consumers to check labels, read ingredients, do your research, practice sun safety and #BewareOfBS, to make clean beauty products accessible to the mainstream market, and to “raise our philanthropic platform through the newly created The Miracle Made Foundation to help more people make change and make a difference”.
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