Building a Purpose Driven Organization
What does it mean to truly lead a for-profit organization with purpose? CEO and founder of Ethique, Brianne West, knows just that. In this episode we hear from Brianne’s experience building a global personal care brand that is challenging the paradigm of business as usual. This was an inspiring episode that displayed what is possible for organizations when you believe in the possibility of generative business.
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Imperfect Show Notes
While these notes are not perfect (computer transcription is still a work in progress), they give you the gist of the conversation. Enjoy!
My conversation with Brianne West:
Morgan Bailey 0:02
Hello, and welcome to the profit meets impact Podcast where we explore the intersection of doing well and doing good in the world. I'm your host Morgan Bailey and I'm excited to bring you the wisdom of entrepreneurs and thought leaders that are using business to create sustainable and meaningful change across the globe. I have a request before we begin today, if you enjoy this podcast, please go to iTunes or wherever you find your podcasts and leave a five star rating and review. This is extremely helpful in getting this podcast in the ears of more listeners and spreading the wisdom of the leaders who are challenging the paradigm of business as we know it for the betterment of people and the planet while also making profits. Speaking of paradigm shifting business, today, we're going to hear from Brandon West, CEO and founder of a boutique, a regenerative personal care brand. And she's received a wealth of accolades for this, but really, she's not driven by success, but her passion for real positive impact on the environment. Her brand, a teak makes a wide range of personal care products from shampoo bars, skin products, lip balm concentrates, and this is no small enterprise, as if they're shipping products across the globe, have received wide acclaim and demand for their products. Perhaps more importantly, a teak has prevented over 20 million plastic containers from being manufactured and disposed. What really landed for me in this interview was how Bran lead with purpose and values from day one. Oftentimes getting pushback from advisor who said she should wait, wait until her business was more stable. Now, her belief in what was possible led her to challenge a standard paradigm of business with one such example of how she partnered with a company. And they were able to pioneer fully plastic free shipping, a feat many said just wasn't possible. Now, Bran is a wealth of wisdom on how to practically lead with purpose and values. And which to her own admission is no easy feat, but ultimately is an extremely rewarding and successful endeavor. I learned a ton from this conversation with brands. So without further ado, let's hear from her brand. So excited to have this conversation with you. Welcome to the show.
Brianne West 2:12
Thank you very much for having me. Absolutely.
Morgan Bailey 2:15
So well, first off you you're from New Zealand, which was a little bit obvious by your accent, and you've created this amazing band or brand. A teak. So tell me, I'd love to hear just a little about the origins. I know you've created multiple businesses and what what was the origin philosophy that you brought into creating this amazing brand.
Brianne West 2:37
I think it was a combination of things. I, I believe that business business is the vehicle to create positive change the fastest because if you wait for government, you'll be waiting forever. And nonprofits are unfortunately once they do great work. They're beholden to grants, so they're a little bit slower. So I believe if business operated in the way I believe it should do, we would create mess, positive change and just make the world a better place. So it was sort of that basis, I had started another couple of companies and none of them really had purpose beyond just being something to do and I guess making money. And so I got bored very quickly. So it came about as a passion for science, the environment and for showing the world the business with purpose was something that was absolutely doable, even though I was told multiple times at the time that it wasn't. So really, I just started mixing stuff up in my kitchen. And because I was studying at University at the time, so I had access to a lot of scientists and people who would help give me a bit of advice and went from there, really. But I certainly didn't have the big global aspirations that I have now. And I certainly didn't think it would be as successful
Morgan Bailey 3:41
as it is. Absolutely. I mean, it's taken off. I mean, you did your first crowdfunding campaign in 2015. Was it?
Brianne West 3:48
Yes. Yeah. So we did equity crowdfunding. And yeah, that three years in. We raised $200,000, in about 10 days, which was a shock.
Morgan Bailey 3:59
It's amazing. Now, I want to back up a little bit because, you know, I'm curious to hear about like, from you, what was what was the experience like, that you've had in life that really kind of led you down to wanting to, to do something on purpose?
Brianne West 4:17
It's always a hard question to answer because I've always felt this way. So there is no defining moment in my life where I've realized or come to the realization that that is what I want to do. And I guess the closest thing that comes to as my parents always taught me, one I could do anything I wanted to if I went out and set my mind to it, that would be hard work, but I could go and give it a go. I always wanted to be an astronaut, for example. So they weren't quite right with that one but nevermind. But they also taught me that you what you should do should benefit others. And they are both very charitable. They're both very kind giving people and I guess that just came through throughout my entire childhood, right? So it's always something that's just been there. But the moment I realized that this was something I wanted to do was, I think I would have been in my early 20s, when I realized that I had been hiding all these passions I have for Science in the environment. Because as terrible as it sounds, I felt that they were really stupid and nerdy, and it was something I suppressed in myself. So make sure I had friends through school. And that was really stupid looking back, but that was what I did. So it was, I guess, early 20s, when I began to realize that care, and that was going to be who I was going to be, and I wanted to do something that would change the world. And I guess that was the realization was start a business involving these passions and make the world a better place.
Morgan Bailey 5:42
I mean, that must have been framed, to claim
Brianne West 5:45
100% Oh, absolutely. I was wasn't miserable before? Well, yeah, probably was actually. But afterwards, you know, you are. It's just being who you are, I suppose.
Morgan Bailey 5:55
Yeah. Well, you know, I resonate with you on so many levels. I mean, I've worked in academia, science nonprofits. And, and I, you know, I've really come to be be a firm believer that it's really the business community that has to leverage this change. And we have to leverage the purpose. And we have to go beyond this idea that that purpose is somehow separate, right? That we can, we can have our personal lives outside where we have all these passions, but when we come in to work, we have to, like close that part of ourself off. Like note, we're just focused on bottom line. And because I think in some ways we've we've been fed a little bit of a lie that we have to separate that from ourselves that making money and having a career is different from these other things are really important to us.
Brianne West 6:39
100%, you're told that money is the first thing you need to go out. And do. And look, obviously, everybody has to make a living. Unfortunately, that's the world we live in, you do have to be financially sustainable. But it doesn't always come at a cost or avoiding what you love. Unfortunately, sometimes it does. And I don't want to make it sound like everyone could go just go out there and follow their passions, but the the narrative that you it's money first, and then you can perhaps go and do what you feel your call to do. It's not necessarily true.
Morgan Bailey 7:12
Yeah, I think absolutely. I mean, I think there's, and it's my, it's my belief, I'm still trying to validate this, that I think no matter what we're doing, there's there's an ethical, unconscious way to do that, that aligns with our values. Complex. We live in a complex world right now. And then complex business decisions, like it's not easy. But it's my hope that there is some way and I frankly, I'm like, I don't know how we're going to survive if we don't figure that out.
Brianne West 7:40
No, you're absolutely right. But I think there was a tremendous motion. And there was a change, and it's not a trend. And it does start with smaller businesses. But there are some big businesses getting involved as well. And they're putting genuinely good initiatives in place. Unfortunately, a lot of its greenwashing. Let's be honest, I saw an advert I'm sorry, I'm gonna use the name. But So Barbara was planting a million trees in the next five years. What is that going to achieve? Honestly, look, a million trees is great. But that is without question, greenwashing. And that is happening a lot, but some businesses really are making really good steps. So I have I have hoped that we all sorted out.
Morgan Bailey 8:20
Yeah, you know, I think a lot of organizations are really struggling with what change really means. And I would say some, some are soul searching, and and others are simply looking for the label.
Unknown Speaker 8:34
Yeah, that's very true. That's a very good point.
Morgan Bailey 8:37
So talk to me. Alright, so you started this business making soap? Right? I think this is what like in your kitchen with your mom? Was it?
Brianne West 8:46
Yeah, he, I guess it No, it was just me on my own for a while I roped her and to be asked what he'd manufacture and we grow a bit. Poor mom. So
Morgan Bailey 8:57
see, yeah. But you must have a really good relationship with your mother to be able to pull that in. So that's impressive.
Brianne West 9:06
Yeah, we had our conversations upfront. At the end of the day, our personal relationship was number one, and if it ever gets in the way we stopped working together immediately. And it didn't because we had that upfront conversation but also because we have always been very close. Very close family in general.
Morgan Bailey 9:23
What I'm here Yeah, and what I love on hearing about this is you're like from a very It sounds like you just have the mindset of doing business transparently. And unconsciously, I mean, even having that agreement and talking through that with your with your mother about like, this is how we're going to work together. This is our boundaries and maybe how it won't work.
Brianne West 9:42
Yeah, yeah. How many things can you resolve just by talking them through right and how many conflicts and unnecessary stress we put ourselves through simply because we didn't talk about something? I'm not I'm not saying I'm an any. I'm actually very conflict avoidant stresses me out but you can use lever we get into that point, if you just talk about something or put something in place initially.
Morgan Bailey 10:03
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's a lot of the work I do with organizations is just getting people to figure out how to talk about things, how to share things, and understand that a level of conflict is healthy because it drives innovation. But it can be really uncomfortable for people.
Brianne West 10:16
Yeah, yeah, it can be. It's really can be really stressful.
Morgan Bailey 10:20
So early on, I say, you shouldn't you're making the soap, right. And I know that like, you know, as I mentioned to you before, that, before we hit record that, you know, I make soap. And one thing to know about soap is, you know, there's a lot of ingredients that are harmful. There, a lot of ingredients are more beneficial, and things such as palm oil, and it sounds like early on, you started to make a decision around even down to the ingredients of how you wanted, how you wanted your soap product to represent your values.
Brianne West 10:49
Yeah, well, so take products with the bars, but they're not really soap. So they're what you call, well, the shampoo bars so they called Cindy it's which standards and detergents which immediately people go oh, that sounds dangerous. But obviously chemicals are not bad. Everything on Earth is made out of is is a chemical right. But I first and foremost ingredients that I chose, they have to tick three boxes one, of course cruelty free, then it goes without saying it sort of the bare minimum. Now two is environmentally friendly, both in the sourcing, and in the end of life disposal. So obviously without question, it has to be biodegradable, but a lot of companies don't think necessarily about where the ingredients come from. And then thirdly, of course, there has to be no concerns about health. And by that I don't mean scare mongering on the internet, I mean, actual concerns with a scientific basis. And that is the sort of the three rules we've always clung to. But as we have grown, and as we have learned more obviously, more ingredients have fallen into those three categories that we don't use or do use. And Palmer will be one of them. Family subjects,
Morgan Bailey 11:57
it is it is I avoid it and all of my soap. So it's yeah, it's complicated, because even the sustainably sourced palm oil has. Yeah, there's a lot of challenges there with that.
Brianne West 12:10
Sustainable Palm Oil. There is without question, a very solid argument that a boycott would actually do far more harm harm than good. But in my opinion, right now, as it stands, Sustainable Palm Oil is not that sustainable. And also, we always say sustainable. We're overlooking a lot of the human rights abuses that go on in the palm oil industry. And obviously it goes in it goes on within lots of other industries as well. But palm oil is seems to be particularly bad.
Morgan Bailey 12:35
Yeah, absolutely. What I'm curious about, alright, so I mean, you have a science background. So it really helps you understand the chemical properties and things like that. But in in building your business, right, and particularly doing so in a sustainable, conscious way. There's a lot of nuances to all this with supply chain and things of that nature. How have you? How does that how has that evolved for you, and helping continuing to make good business decisions that are aligned with your values?
Brianne West 13:07
The number one thing that comes up when we make a decision is does it align with our values, and we don't have a lot of them. Now, with the overarching thing, of course, being that it has to be good for people and planet. Or, actually, you know what, that's that's nuanced in itself, right? Nothing we make really is going to be good for the planet, there is something less bad. Now we have started using the term regenerative in our communications, because what we want to take to do and to be is be better for the planet, and to give more back than it ever takes. And that is, of course, a long work in progress. And I'd like to think that we are certainly doing a lot of things that are much better than what we take away from the planet. But it's it's not been difficult to stick to our values when we make decisions. And the example I always use here is we were given a big opportunity with a US retailer 1000s of stores around the country, multimillion dollar deal, and this was probably back in think it'd be to designate into this 19. So we were still much younger business trying to break into the US market. So it was a big deal. But they were adamant that we had to wrap up our bars and poly bags, and they had no way around it. And I understand that there was no machinery at the time, but we turned it down. And as a company that was no qualms or didn't get upset, no one, no one thought that was a bad decision, because it was the right decision for the brand. And it was the right decision for the planet. So when you have values as deeply embedded as we do, and they throughout the board, not that big board, but through the board through the whole team. Those decisions are easier because people are on board immediately. The right decision. The right decision is clear.
Morgan Bailey 14:46
So how do you and so you know, because working with a lot of organizations, they have values, the values are written on the wall, and a lot of them sound very nice and aspirational. And one of the questions I've always grappled with and I like to ask people is like, like actually proud medically in practice, like, what does it look like to put the values in place? Does it happen in a conversation? Do you pull out the values? What does that look like?
Brianne West 15:09
We don't have them read them on the wall. We don't have them on our company intranet, we we don't have a nice collection of words that we say are our values. And whether that's good or bad, I don't know, what we do have is an enduring belief within the organization, that we are here to make the world a better place through the power of ethical business, and everybody within the team and hopefully, our customers understand that that's what we're here for. Because that is not limited to a certain number of values. You know, we can't we've we've tried, we tried to narrow it down. So we could write it on a wall, like so many businesses, and people say that you should do. And it's, it's really difficult, we actually went through a branding process, I don't know a few weeks ago, and it was just that was just a marketing team. But the number of values that came through that what a teak was, for them was really genuinely or inspiring. So it was things like transparent and honest and authentic. And it was also things like caring, and kind. And I believe that all stems from that initial idea of changing the world for the better through the power of ethical business, because it's all intrinsically within that sentence. So that's how we do it. And again, it's doable, because we're in your team at 25. At the moment, if we're 16, a team of 1000, we're probably very, very different. But that's how we do it. And that power of purpose comes from, obviously, as a CEO, it is my job to inspire, and to ensure that that culture is throughout the business. But I'm certainly not doing it on my own. It's throughout the whole team that we all believe us.
Morgan Bailey 16:48
Yeah, it sounds like just have a group of individuals who are so grounded in a common purpose. Yeah, it's, it's more of a feeling than anything else. And that feeling helps guide you and make decisions and everyone sounds like you know, they're very aligned on that. 100%. Yeah. And I'm guessing, because when I, when I listen to podcast, I went through all the documents, I was doing the research. And my thought was like, I want to work here, this place looks amazing. So I imagine you must get people drawn to your organization because of this.
Brianne West 17:18
It's very cool. And it seems to confuse people. I wonder downside, that hiring people takes a lot longer and people get upset. But on average, even for something we hired for a marketing assistant role not so long ago. Now we're in Christchurch, and Uttara. And it's a town of about 400,000 people, we had 780 applicants for that role. And that is an overwhelming number of people, CVS and cover letters to read. But it just goes to show. And we do pay above market salaries. And at the end of the day, money is very important. And the problem I have with most businesses is they don't pay anywhere near a living wage. I think that's a disgrace. But putting that aside, the other bit is at the end of the day, people want to work for a company or an organization that does good things and makes them feel better about themselves and good about what they're doing. And that can't be underestimated.
Morgan Bailey 18:14
No, absolutely not. I mean, in terms of workplace satisfaction, just job satisfaction, long term sustainability of the organization. It's really kind of the bedrock because it is the people who make up the organization. And yeah, if you have people committed to the organization and loyalty to the organization, they're gonna they're gonna do what it takes to make it work for that common goal. Yeah, absolutely true. Well, that's inspiring. And so you, you launched in 2015, you raise $200,000. And then you had a big moment, right, with the Huffington Post piece where things just kind of blew up. I'm just kind of curious. Like, I mean, I'm just imagine being in your shoes and being like, you had it you had another article, a Forbes article that was posted a few weeks before and you're like, alright, this is it. It's happening. And then I think you mentioned only a few people read it, and you're like, Okay, maybe it's not, and then the Huffington Post, piece it and then it just kind of just, it just blew up overnight. But what was that experience? Like that must have been a roller coaster ride.
Brianne West 19:24
Looking back, I was thinking of it as a positive experience. But if I think really deeply, I don't think it was. We had 1000s and 1000s of orders. And to put it in context. We were just a couple of years old at that point. This was in 2016. So we had done our first raise, and we had lots of sales and brands on the board. That was great. But it was still a very small business. We're making about 100 bars a day. And I think we had just moved into our first factory and I say, factory in the loosest possible to the Forbes article came out, nothing happens. It's disappointing. But you know, a couple of weeks later, this Huffington Post article came out and it was just overwhelming this deluge of emails and orders and so much interest, particularly from the US. And it was very exciting. But it very quickly dawned upon us that there's just no way we could deal with any of this, we just did not have the resources, we didn't have the money at the end of the day. That's what a lot of people forget. You know, startups need money to make product. And we simply didn't have it. We didn't have the capacity to make any of those orders. So we cancelled 98% of them, we got those people to try and stay in touch with us. And obviously, we've retained a lot of them. And we do, we do hear from people who said I slipped through, so you have to post, which is very cool. But it was, I don't think a day went by for at least four or five weeks where at least somebody in the office wasn't crying, probably me mostly. But it was really nice, because we had so many friends and even friends or friends that we didn't know ourselves come in and help. We had one lady men have phones for us for four or five days, just out of the goodness of her heart. We had one lady who just emailed everyone back and said, Hey, thank you so much for your interest. We are absolutely overwhelmed. We will come back to you. You know, it was there was a really nice show of support from the surrounding community that actually hasn't died down. And then of course, Britney Spears shared it on Facebook and edit to this. But that was that was a good day. That was a very cool day.
Morgan Bailey 21:12
Oh, that's yeah, that that's why the life of an entrepreneur. Yeah, I Hi, I have this, because I'm just listening to what you're saying. And I'm hearing you, you talk about how you got this deluge of of orders and your community like stepped in to help. And and would you attribute that to you, the community just believed in what you were doing?
Brianne West 21:34
Yeah, absolutely. They not only believed in what we were doing, but they wanted to see it succeed. And you saw that with how successful both of our equity crowdfunding raises were, not only did they want us to solve the problem, because you're solving a problem we'll worry about but also, they wanted to see a local, local company succeed and crush it, she's just gone through some really horrific earthquakes. So it doesn't seem 2011 We had two very big earthquakes. And the second of which obviously killed over 100 people and leveled our CBD. And as a result from that really horrendous incidence. Christchurch is now quite an entrepreneurial place. There's a lot of small businesses and a lot of support for small businesses, lots of innovation going on here. And I think that really helped with that community feel that we want to see Christchurch companies survive and thrive.
Morgan Bailey 22:26
Absolutely, and and the reason I call that out me, I think it's so important because when organizations are when organizations are really purpose driven, and they're connected with their communities, it is it is a safety net, to be able to weather storms. It is and I think that you know, because a lot organizations right now they're having you as we talked about, they're kind of having these summer having soul searching conversations on purpose, and some are having lukewarm conversations on it. But when it's really when you really truly have a clear purpose like you're you're you're attracting talent, your community, is there support you and people want you to succeed. Yeah, they do. Yeah. So. So you went through this this period where there was obviously you're got this massive amount of orders, you're, you're starting to grow, you go through another crowdfunding campaign. And and you start growing and you're growing up to nice, I think you said about 25. So what is the what is the process been like for you to again, to to continue to, like make those business decisions that like to keep that that vision alive? Like what is that? Is it like a day to day thing? Like you wake up in the morning, and you're like, alright, this is what I'm doing? Like, you know, it sounds like for you, it's really easy to, to stay aligned to that. But like, how does that how does that constantly stay alive in business?
Brianne West 23:55
It's, that's another good question. I get asked a lot. And I don't have a great answer for you. Because it just is the take is me largely it is my personality is my values. And as a result, we have attracted people who share them, by and large, and not necessarily share all of them, but are really passionate about perhaps one or two or whatever, right there. We're all on the same page in general. So we don't ever have discussions, we will be tossing up a decision. And we'll be saying, Oh, but this is bad for you know, this doesn't rely on this will this will hurt these people and long term and but it's really good for the company. We don't have those decisions, because they're just they're not decisions we debate. They are already a given. If it is going to be a problem, and we know about it. And I'm not saying we are perfect because it's impossible to be perfect. And there are lots of things that we don't know. But when we do know that we are going to cause harm by making a decision. We don't make that decision. We say no. And it's just something that occurs naturally. And I think that is because of the rigid adherence rinse and believe that we all have within the organization, it's a solid foundation on which to grow. And people are really, there's obviously there's many times that I haven't considered something and that my team never ever shy and saying, oh, but what about this? Or you haven't thought about this, or what you said this last time, and now we're doing this, you know, Team hold all of that all of us accountable. It's, yeah, it's hard to answer because it just is.
Morgan Bailey 25:26
Yeah, I mean, and maybe that's just the answer. It just is. Yeah, you know, yeah, it reminds me, I recently was watching a Star Wars show called the Mandalorian. And, and there's this the group of Mandalorians. In there, they, they kind of debate decisions until someone says like, this is the way and everyone's like, Yep, this is the way and the story. So it's kind of it kind of sounds like that. You're equivalent to that. Well, no, guys. This is the way and I was like, Yeah, this is the way.
Brianne West 25:53
Yeah, that's about right.
Morgan Bailey 25:56
Now, you're, you've had to, to make some business decisions. Like when you're, you know, I think one of the things I heard, you know, you decided you want to do plastic free shipping. Right? It sounds like you've done it, you've done very lot of aspirational thing. So you're like, I want to do this and it sounds like other people, I'm like, well, that hasn't been done or that can't happen. Right? How has it been like to challenge that?
Brianne West 26:24
i It's funny, because I said earlier that I don't like conflict. But the one area that I will be incredibly irritating and stubborn is these sorts of things. And it is these values. And I am very bullish about them. So whenever someone says no, I don't like that as an answer. I always like people to go and try and work on it. And if it's not, it's still no, fine. But don't just tell me no, in the moment, because that is a red rag to a bull. Really, that is everything is achievable. It is just whether it's financially feasible and doable within a certain timeframe, right. Now we had a lot more nose, we have a smaller because it wasn't worth organizations, time to figure out how to do a plastic free assembly line or how to do a press plastic, free shipping. And totally understand that. So we look for partners that understood why we wanted to do it. Because when you get that why and that purpose, then you're much more likely to try and do it with you and alongside you and then implement it with your other customers. So a good example would be a US distributor years there. They were huge when we approach them. But they took a real liking to us and our company because they understood the underlying why and the underlying messaging. So they built over time, it took them a long time. But they built a plastic free line and the warehouse and now they are shifting over to a completely free plastic free shipping warehouse. And that is huge, because they send out hundreds of 1000s of parcels a day. But the only reason we managed to convince them and stop getting so many noes is because we would leave with the why we want to why we want to do this and why this is a problem that needs solving. But I mean, chipping aside, I constantly get no this isn't possible. But because we are in our northern level, when people realize that we are successful, we have achieved what we set out to happens a lot less it is frustrating as a small organization trying to change things because you do constantly get pushed back. But just be bullish about it. And I mean, that's all I ever was. But I'd also go out and solve problems myself. I wouldn't expect them to do things. It's someone says I can't source this, I'd go out and source it for them. You take the the hard bit away and show them those first steps and then they'll often get enthusiastic for an idea.
Morgan Bailey 28:38
That's amazing. I'm curious like that. Where did the bullishness come from? How do you develop that?
Brianne West 28:43
I didn't have been called bolshie as a kid since well, since I was a kid I was called bossy. And I would argue that was just leadership. Again, I think it comes from the hole you can do whatever you set out to but you have to work hard to achieve it perhaps that comes from that. And it also comes from this incredible sense of we are screwing up the planet, and we are causing the most horrendous harm to communities around the world. That is absolutely not on. So let's change it. And people I guess what I find frustrating and probably where the attitude comes from. And I'm not Yeah, I actually I can't be really unreasonable about some things but it comes from the fact if you if you know that something you're doing is causing harm, but you're gonna do it anyway to make money that makes you I'm not gonna say it makes you a bad person because that wouldn't be fair, but it certainly makes your decision making interesting in my eyes.
Morgan Bailey 29:37
Yeah, interesting. That's that's a nice way of putting it.
Brianne West 29:41
It will it is because there's always again, you said nuance earlier and fast fashion is a good example. We all know that fast fashion is tremendously harmful to people and planet, right. We know that. But also in a lot of situations. It's all people can afford. Yeah. And you cannot fault them for clothing, the family and the Children in clothes that are ultimately harmful, you cannot guilt them about that. And that's why it is very important to realize that the consumer is not to blame, the situation we find ourselves in the organization should be held to account. But that's a bit of a tangent.
Morgan Bailey 30:14
Well, yeah, and I think that's, that's a major business paradigm shift that, I don't know, if the US market is ready to face, let alone the global market.
Brianne West 30:27
It depends on the company, consumers are well over being feared the lie that they are at fault. Sure, and particularly hear that from the UK actually. But there's a lot of businesses taking steps to clean up their supply chains and their products and stuff might not be the biggest ones. And
Morgan Bailey 30:49
one thing, so I'm gonna like painting, like the picture like the DNA of of your organization, and I'm obviously the purposing is really critical. It sounds like being able to one, you're attracting the right talent. It's aligned with your values, you're you're creating partnerships with people who are also aligned on that. I mean, I think the story of the packing facility that is now shifting to completely plastic free, I mean, that's a massive win. And that's it's a little bit mind blowing to me and Anna, just, what an example of what's possible, right? Like, what, when you start to articulate the potential, and once people get on board with that, and once you start to see that participate in that what that potential is, right, because you just, you just planted a seed, and it grew, it grew beyond you and your organization.
Brianne West 31:41
That's the key, right? That's the way to change the world is by inspiring other businesses. And that's what we say about changing the world through physical business, because I don't just mean a take, it's great that to take is we've so far in the world of 20 million bottles, it's great that we do or we do with our you know, our community partners and so on, that's wonderful. The way we will have the biggest impact is by inspiring other businesses to do the same. And you do that in two ways is one, you educate the consumer to demand better from their other brands. And we often get called a gateway product for that. But the other is by showing businesses that it is totally possible to be successful, financially, and kind and fair and ethical. Because then they like, oh, okay, it is doable. I want to do better, because most people want to do good, right. And they often do it, and they implement change within their businesses.
Morgan Bailey 32:30
And that's why we're having this conversation. That's the very ethos that I created this on, because I thought there's is a way and I know people are doing it on how you can make a profit and make a positive impact. And the real thing is, is we need to be able to, we need to be able to spare that possibility because it is challenging that business paradigm that people have that yeah, you can go volunteer outside or maybe volunteer a little bit with your work. But you know, business business. And I think what we're saying now is well, no business isn't business as usual. business can be how we design it, if we're willing to have the foresight to do so.
Brianne West 33:04
Absolutely right. They're not mutually exclusive.
Morgan Bailey 33:07
Now, you you also have a an arm, where you're supporting nonprofits as well, you have a collection of nonprofits that you support. We Yeah, talk to me a little bit about that.
Brianne West 33:21
And that was also something from day one, which everybody told me was a stupid idea. And to be fair, startups on is actually known to have a lot of money. So it was not terrible advice. But I've always said that. And this came about actually as part of our B Corp certification as to the quantum the amount. But I've always said that it will donate either 2% of sales or 20% of profit at the symptom section. And that was important to me, because we will create impact with our products. And some of it will be negative. And vice choosing the right organizations to support and supporting community groups and schools and so on. We are trying to give back and help of others that are trying to resolve those problems or not even necessarily problems we had anything to deal with, but they were trying to solve other problems. And that's what that was all about was just a way of giving back. Really, the average company will donate about 1% of sales. So significantly, though, sorry, 1% of profit, so significantly less. And the 1% for the planet is great collective organizations who want to donate a little bit more. But it was always, it was always important to me that it was a bigger part of a TEKS base purpose and foundation really. So we have overtime worked with about 700 organizations. But that's it sounds great, but it's not really because the way to have really impactful donation or philanthropy is to focus on one issue, maybe two, but really narrow that focus down and I've only really don't say the last 12 months speaking to some really clever people who've spent their entire lives Working for for nonprofits and the showed if you whatever you want to focus on narrowed down and I tell you that's hard because most people care about more than one issue. And we decided we wanted to focus on conservation of the ocean. And I tell you that took some some negotiations internally, because there's so many things you're keen about. But at the end of the day, what we're going to focus on for right now is ocean conservation. And that's what we've narrowed this focus on. We haven't. We have a lot of long term partnerships, but they're smaller, we've kept them just because they do good things. They're not necessarily aligned with the the newer teak foundation, but they there, go this summer, we just wanted to keep supporting, they're aligned with other values. But the Tech Foundation is much, much bigger partnerships, and longer lasting that will, you know, we're going to follow along for accountability and understand the impact that that is really having, because there's a lot more money now we're talking about, you know.
Morgan Bailey 35:57
And so the tea foundation is focused on the oceans. It is it is. And that's I mean, that's it. So in a previous life, I was an environmental engineer focused on coastal water quality. I'm also a surfer grew up in San Diego near the beach. So that is that that warms my heart to hear that focus, because I think that is such a Yeah, it's such an important part of our planet, that that has been treated very poorly, for quite some time. It is it's yeah,
Brianne West 36:30
we seem to think it's because the ocean is so vast, that people don't seem to worry about it. But if we treated our land, like we did the ocean, people would pay more attention, I'm sure just because the ocean is obviously so much less visible. So many people are frightened of it. Which is interesting. I didn't realize how many people were really worried really scared about the open ocean quite high. And I wonder if it's got something to do with it?
Morgan Bailey 36:55
Well, yeah, or it's good. But you know, the old adage, the solution to pollution is dilution. And there was this massive body of water to dilute. And I don't think we had any idea the amount of impact we could make. I mean, if you would have told people 100 years ago that oh, yeah, we will change the composition of the atmosphere. Yeah, they probably would have been like, that's just not possible. We're seeing that now. The you know, the the massive garbage garbage patch in the Pacific. And I mean, even even, you know, over the past 20 years of you know, frequenting the beach, I'm seeing more plastic wash up and microplastics watch up on the shore in California, which wasn't a thing when I was younger, and it's really disheartening to see that. Yeah, and, and these are, and I think it's really important to to raise a public awareness around that, because I see so many individuals who love the love the coasts love things like that, but also to be able to safeguard that to be able to invest in remediate that, I think is really I mean, it's, I think it's our moral duty.
Brianne West 38:02
It is, you're absolutely right. We, it's interesting, I did a philosophy paper recently on our moral obligation to the environment and was more complicated than I anticipated. But at the end of the day, it boils down to the fact that we are the only species that not only does damage the environment to the level that we do, but we're the only ones that know about it and can do something about it. We have an obligation, therefore, to look at it.
Morgan Bailey 38:27
Absolutely. I hope more of us start to realize that sooner rather than later. Because yeah, we are at a critical juncture.
Brianne West 38:38
Where are we? Now what
Morgan Bailey 38:40
do you think it is? It is, this is a really perilous time for us. What, when you look forward for with a teak? What what do you see as the possibility for the organization and the impact?
Brianne West 38:59
Great question. So talking for the business from a business perspective, I want to take to be a global trusted billion dollar brand. And it seems from two things one is I want to take itself to be a successful company because what it does in terms of selling waste products with low waste and products made out of fear kind of materials, and hires people with a living wage, that's all good stuff that we want to have more of. But also the more success that it gains, the more it inspires other businesses to do it, or to do something similar. So there's there's a few reasons that I want to take to grow. But the other thing I guess, is, I want the the foundation and the nonprofit arm to grow because what we are doing is potentially slightly different than some foundations as we're not just giving money to charities, which is a great thing to do, of course, but we are investing in women around the world who have got great ideas a little bit like you know, idea disposal years ago, but women who are creating solutions to climate change or mitigating climate change, I should say, or solutions to ocean pollution, we're going to support this and give the network's. So the more tea grows, the more reach we have, the more money we have to give those sorts of people who are making a difference. And that's a really exciting area, I reckon the bigger a team will get the more people we can help create even better solutions.
Morgan Bailey 40:34
Yeah, like I can. And I love that model. And I think reinvesting back in individuals who then can create an even broader impact, I think is Yeah, I think it's just a really powerful way of doing it. Yeah. And I'm sure it must be extremely fulfilling for you to be able to, to nurture and grow a community of people have world changers.
Brianne West 40:56
Yeah, I mean, that's pretty cool. I've had, I've been lucky enough to have been an Obama fellows a few years ago, it feels like a long time ago, I was lucky enough to go and hang out with 200 Obama leaders in Malaysia and spend time learning what it is they were doing from business to nonprofits and government work and everything in between. And people, you don't hear about what these people are doing. But some of them are just what they're all doing amazing work. But some of them are just gobsmacking. So that is the kind of thing that fills you would hope because there's so much negativity and apathy in the world at the moment because it will feel so overwhelming and insurmountable. But when you realize it isn't, you know, a lot of a lot of people are working really hard to solve the problems we face. And we are in bed, often better off than people realize, worse off in some situations, but better off and to build more of those networks and more organizations and also connect them to one another. That's enormous ly effective to
Morgan Bailey 41:57
absolutely no. And I think that's a really critical role that you're taking there. early on. And when I was in my nonprofit career, and I thought I had all the great ideas. And then I went out and tried things. They were not the best ideas. And I was like, there's so many other people with great ideas. I was like, you know, I shifted my entire life to saying, Well, how can I enable other people with the good ideas to be able to achieve? You know, what's possible? And so I think that's a I just, I really appreciate that. That because there's so many amazing people out there with amazing ideas. And unfortunately, we don't hear enough about that. But there are, there's a growing generation of individuals who just really care, and who are going to fight to do to do what's right by our society and our planet.
Brianne West 42:47
Yep, there is millions of people out there doing amazing things. And then when we can celebrate them and show other people and we'll people will do it too.
Morgan Bailey 42:55
Absolutely. And you're leading the charge. And that's why it's such a it's such an inspirational thing to have this conversation with you.
Brianne West 43:03
i I'm within a big group of people. There's a lot of people who've done some much more amazing things then than I ever will. And they just don't necessarily garner the attention, which is part of what we want to do. Yeah, lift up those people and celebrate them.
Morgan Bailey 43:23
Well, you're still an inspiration in my book, you can downplay it, but I'm gonna hold on to that one.
Brianne West 43:29
Yeah, just want to show there is our other amazing, amazing people out there.
Morgan Bailey 43:34
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, you know, as we come to a close here, I just want to like what, what's what's giving you hope and inspiration? Right now? What's what's really driving you forward?
Brianne West 43:46
I suppose it's these notebooks. But it's also I do avoid the news, which I know avoidance is hardly a great strategy. But to me, it's almost inherently negative. And I know that gets clicks and that gets views. So I understand why they do that. They don't think it's necessarily good for people's mental health. But all the good stuff I read elsewhere. All the changes, you know, tick tock, oddly enough, is an area of I find, and then a lot on tick tock. It was bizarre as I do, you know, there's a lot of anti racism education on there, I just find it incredibly helpful. And it's stuff I don't have access to elsewhere, as easily. Anyway, there's a lot of good news about climate, the good news about ocean, those sorts of things give me hope, working with our nonprofit partners. I mean, my team gives me hope, because by and large, the younger than me, which makes me feel old, but they're all so passionate about creating change that you know, when they leave or take, hopefully, none of them do, but you know, when and if they do, they're gonna go and do amazing things too. And that's, that gives me How about
Morgan Bailey 44:53
Well, I really appreciate this conversation. I'm laughing a little bit about the Tick Tock thing because I've been avoiding So I've been avoided, you know, my partner, she's like, oh, yeah, you know, they, um, you know, there's all you know, she's like, I'm like, how do you spend all this time on Instagram, she, there's so much stuff to learn and whatnot. And I'm like, really, I just see people's posts. And she's like, you just have not figured out your feed, there's so much good content there. And I'm really is rapidly right there.
Brianne West 45:22
Their algorithm is very smart. And once you stop interacting with, you know, dancing videos, because I mean, they're fun to watch for about 15 minutes, but I'm gonna get over them very quickly. But when you start to realize the depth of content creators out there who are very clever, who have got beautiful ways of communicating and getting information across, again, is hard to access in other ways, then tick tock is actually really valuable. And everybody marks me when I say that. Not okay. I read a lot. But sometimes you don't want to read a play, you want to be spoon fed information. That's true.
Morgan Bailey 45:51
That's true. Well, thank you, you've inspired me, I think I might take the step and download the app and figure out how to customize the feed. So it's a so it's educational for me, but I've just really appreciate your time. I'm really, really excited to see what's, you know, the future for Ateeq and, and all of the impact and all the leaders that you're working with, and just really I appreciating your approach to business and acting as a model that others can follow.
Brianne West 46:19
You it's, it's an amazing journey, and it's very, that's very fulfilling, very rewarding, for sure.
Morgan Bailey 46:29
Well, I look forward to following up and seeing how things are going and just really grateful for you having this conversation with
Brianne West 46:35
me. Thank you very much. Really, really appreciate it.
Morgan Bailey 46:39
Thanks for listening to another episode of the Prophet meets impact podcast. If you enjoy this experience. Please subscribe wherever you find your podcasts and leave a positive review. You can also find out more about the podcast at www.profitmeetsimpact.com
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