A Q&A with Clean Beauty Founders

You may have heard about Crème Collective, making waves in the beauty industry. Their founder, Leilah Mundt, has a passion for clean beauty that is difficult to rival. “I have been obsessed with beauty products and rituals my whole life, so naturally, I made it my career,” said Leilah. 

By the time she had more than a decade of beauty brand marketing and sales under her belt, Leilah knew she had the opportunity and drive to push the industry towards sustainability and the creation of products that are better for everyone. She jumped into Crème Collective full time to seek out the hidden gems of the clean beauty world; “They are the best of the best, (thus the name ‘Crème’) vetted and curated by myself and my team.”

We asked the founders of Lavido, Lernberger Stafsing, Kari Gran, and Go-To, several brands that are a part of Crème Collective’s edit at Neighborhood Goods, some questions to discover why they are the crème de la crème of clean beauty.

What is your brand’s origin story and how did you come up with your name?

Ido Magal, Founder Lavido: 

“Lavido began by a request from my sister when I made her a diaper cream for my nephew. Soon I had strangers calling and asking for this product. I then expanded the line and began selling products at farmer's markets and the business grew from there. The name Lavido comes from a culmination of my siblings' names. My sister, Liron is a partner in the business and my brother, Avi owns one of the flagship stores in Israel.”

Patrick Lernberger and Mattias Stafsing, Co-founders of Lernberger Stafsing: 

“Working as hairstylist and makeup-artist for many of the worlds largest companies, we decided to take all our experience and make our own brand. We know exactly how we want a hairspray and a moisturizer to act and what it needs to give the best results. We are well-known in Sweden, that’s why we chose to name the brand after our own names, and we love that it gives the brand our personal touch.”

Zoë Foster Blake, Founder of Go-To: 

“I was a beauty director for many years, reviewing and testing products, all day, every day. I came out with a bestselling book of trips and tricks, and a solid understanding of which ingredients and products really worked and what consumers wanted, needed, and used. So, I made my dream products. The ones I, as a frequent traveler, product snob, and mum, knew would be reliable, useful, and effective, no matter where in the world I was, or what my skin was doing. My foolproof essentials. My go-to products! Hence the name.”

What does “clean beauty” mean to you?

Leilah Mundt, Founder Crème Collective: 

“It is a massive shift from the old way of formulating, producing and marketing beauty brands, to a new way in which people have demanded a more ethical approach in every way. It is about creating effective, concentrated, active products that have cut out all the fillers and crap, and it is about selling them in an honest way, without negatively marketing to people’s insecurities.”

Ido Magal, Founder Lavido:

“Clean beauty is the basis of our brand. We want to ensure every ingredient is not only safe to use on your skin, but the final product is safe and effective. This is why we dermatologically test our products. Being clean for us also goes beyond the ingredients and we make sure they are sourced from green agriculture. Our packaging is made out of recyclable materials and our plastics are changing over to sugarcane tubes.”

Kari Gran and Lisa Strain, Co-founders of Kari Gran: 

“I’m always asking people ‘Would you eat petroleum?’ Nope, didn’t think so. Clean not only applies to the ingredients we choose (organic, non-GMO, and wild harvested are at the top of the list) but also how we treat our planet by choosing to operate a business that is relentless in pursuing new ways to recycle, reuse, and be all-around good global citizens.”

Why should people care about the ingredients in their beauty products?

Kari Gran and Lisa Strain, Co-founders of Kari Gran: 

“Just think about it, what you put on your skin has the ability to be absorbed by your body. More and more people care about what they are eating, and the same wisdom holds true with what you put on your body. We like to stick with the good stuff.”

Patrick Lernberger and Mattias Stafsing, Co-founders of Lernberger Stafsing: 

“Everybody should care about what kind of ingredients they put on their skin and hair because it affects your body and our environment. It is a responsibility we have to ourselves not to put on anything that harms yourself or the planet. As producers we are responsible to support sustainable production and to make all beauty products result-oriented and high performance at the same time without using harmful chemicals.”

Zoë Foster Blake, Founder of Go-To: 

“It’s a personal choice. If you are someone who has skin that is sensitive, sensitised, or reactive, then vetting the ingredients you are putting on your skin makes sense. I designed Go-To products to be a safe solution for any skin type: skin care is overwhelming enough without worrying if your cleanser or face cream is going to piss your skin off.”

How do you hope to positively impact the world through your brand?

Ido Magal, Founder Lavido:

“Our goal is to leave a small carbon footprint from beginning to end: from ingredient and package sourcing to the final goods that end up in your hands. By sourcing ingredients that are grown clean and biodegradable packaging that's recyclable, helps support that goal. In addition, we support a local team in Israel that does trash cleanup in parks and rivers to ensure it's properly disposed of. It's important to us to hit all of the touchpoints that help keep our Earth a great place to live.”

Zoë Foster Blake, Founder of Go-To: 

“I started Go-To because I genuinely wanted more people to feel confident and competent looking after themselves. I was a beauty director, and I was confused by skin care. Self-care is self-love, not vanity, and healthy skin directly corresponds to self-esteem. 

We are pushing ourselves to be world-class, in terms of accountability and responsibility, to the environment. We’re carbon neutral, re-doing all of our packaging, and we have partnered with Reforest Now, giving $1 of every order to grow, regenerate, and conserve forests in Australia. We also want to be world-class as a collective and community, with regards to inclusivity and allyship. We believe it’s the right thing to do as human beings, but also we respect our customers enough to put in the work. People trust us with their money and their skin; we don’t take that lightly.”

If you could pair one of your brand’s products with a self-care beverage, what would it be?

Leilah Mundt, Founder Crème Collective: 

“I work with thousands of products, and they all go great with tequila blanco on the rocks!”

Ido Magal, Founder Lavido: 

“I would pair our Ultra Daily Facial Moisture Cream with a Calendula Tea. That way your body can enjoy the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits both internally and externally.”

Kari Gran and Lisa Strain, Co-founders of Kari Gran: 

“Is a Negroni a self-care beverage? Here, at this woman-owned business, it sure is.”

Patrick Lernberger and Mattias Stafsing, Co-founders of Lernberger Stafsing: 

“Using Lernberger Stafsing is like drinking a glass of pure Swedish water!”

Zoë Foster Blake, Founder of Go-To: 

“I consider self-care to be a subjective term: it’s whatever makes you feel like you’re looking after you, in that moment. So, maybe it’s the mood where I am in with the Covid lockdown right now, to which I’m gonna say Fancy Face with a Hot Toddy. Delicious, comforting and like a nice warm hug at the end of another day in 2020.”

If you want to learn more about these brands and others included in the Crème Collective edit, read our other feature where we share some of their products that deserve an Owen Wilson “WOW.”