We are excited to introduce new certified personal care products from LEAF PEOPLE. As their name suggests, LEAF PEOPLE is all about botanically-focused skincare products, created by the company founder, Julie Levin, who has a strong background in medicinal herbalism. Julie and her team strive to bring the incredible benefits of plants to everyday skincare products while also giving back to the Earth. Learn more about LEAF PEOPLE and their newly certified products by reading our recent Q&A with Julie below.
What makes MADE SAFE the right certification for your products?
Our business model is about more than skin care and the bottom line. We prioritize looking at the whole picture of how LEAF PEOPLE affects both human and planetary health. Our deepest desire is to give back to the Earth the way it gives to us; we make choices that include honoring and respecting the planet. We admire and align with MADE SAFE because it monitors business practices to reduce harm to people and the Earth, and through their certification also make it easy for shoppers to find businesses that prioritize this important concept.
Why did you start your company?
Studying plant medicine around the world and living in botanically-rich environments are two of my largest influences and inspirations. I was raised in a forested area in rural Alaska where I learned how to utilize the plants and trees that surrounded me for consumption, medicine and survival. From decades of studying with a global network of incredible Master Herbalists, to my own deep exploration of the botanical world and years of solo meditation retreats, I became deeply connected to the plant kingdom. One key message that continuously returned during these years of training was my desire to make medicinal plants more accessible. I strive to create an avenue where a larger portion of our society can access the beauty, wonderment, and healing of plants through everyday products. This is why LEAF PEOPLE is so botanically focused and utilizes such an incredible variety of plants. It is also the reason for the name, LEAF PEOPLE. People and leaves, people and plants—we are connected, we need each other.
How are your products different from other, more conventional, products in the space?
As a consumer, it can be difficult to know the difference between commercial “natural” products and those that are high quality and made with integrity. Many natural brands on the market fabricate their products in large, machine-driven facilities with the bulk of their formulas focused on fillers or lower quality ingredients, utilizing only small amounts of therapeutic components. At LEAF PEOPLE, we hand-make potent products without any fillers or low-grade ingredients in order to pack the maximum benefit in every bottle we sell. We proudly avoid using conventionally or commercially grown ingredients, oils requiring solvent-assisted extraction, or any synthetically manufactured additives commonly found in other skincare brands. Comparatively, most other brands of this quality are higher priced. We think it’s important to make high-quality skin care as affordable as possible and remain transparent in all of our practices.
Another mission is giving back. We participate in the “circle of goodness,” as I like to call it, through charitable contributions. One of our most important is the Sandalwood Reforestation Project in Hawaii, which is dedicated to bringing the natural Sandalwood forests back to the Big Island. The indigenous Sandalwood has been completely decimated over the last few hundred years and we fund an amazing group of people who are propagating and planting these trees to bring this very important piece of the ecological system into balance. Additionally, as a student and practitioner of Buddhism for two decades, LEAF PEOPLE supports the Tara Mandala Buddhist Center, where I study and go on retreat. I am also the liaison to our sister monastery in Bhutan, where I organize necessities and support for that community. Finally, a portion of our charitable work goes to local organizations in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.
Is there anything we didn’t ask that you would like to share with us?
We believe that small decisions can have a great impact. Our goal is to help people make choices that are more beneficial for them, building awareness about botanicals and how they permeate into all aspects of life. From encouraging someone to choose herbal tea instead of soda, walking or biking to work instead of driving, reaching for a fresh snack instead of a processed one, or choosing to care for their skin with a botanically-based balm instead of a petroleum-based one, these little acts all lead to better health. Caring for yourself creates the desire to care for others, and caring for the planet creates the desire to care for all its inhabitants. Plants can be incredible teachers when you spend time with them, study what they need to thrive, and recognize the beautiful nature of their gifts through clean air, medicine and food. They are one of the ultimate expressions of compassion. The shifts that come from these seemingly small in-the-moment decisions can create the perfect environment for a more profound change in all of life. We hope that LEAF PEOPLE is a part of this.
For a current list of MADE SAFE® certified products from LEAF PEOPLE, visit this page.