Alumna Elizabeth Lowe tell us about her idea for an healthier and eco-friendly alternative to toothpaste.
College alumna, Elizabeth Lowe (Pharmacology, 2010) founded Naked Company, an e-commerce store that specializes in everyday cosmetics without nasty ingredients.
After her studies, Elizabeth has been working for several years in the pharmaceutical R&D sector. She became interested in the composition of everyday cosmetics and became particularly concerned about the ingredients and excessive packaging of toothpaste.
Elizabeth said:
“Toothpaste tends to be one of those products we toss into the shopping cart on the way to the checkout without further thought. Understandably, this is a hygiene product used by most of us on a daily basis.
Out of curiosity, I started researching the ingredients of toothpaste. As well as active ingredients to prevent dental caries, commercially available toothpastes contain a vast array of chemicals that attribute to its physical properties, including foaming and stabilizing agents. Some of these have been classified as potentially cancer causing by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
I felt that although the EU cosmetic regulation requires manufacturers to publish their ingredients, there is a lack of intelligible information in the public domain on the additives in dentifrices. Based on this, I decided to launch Naked Company. The heart of our ethos is to “Take the Nasties Out” and to reduce packaging waste. So far, we have launched a healthier and eco-friendly alternative to toothpaste, Dental Crush toothpaste tablets.
The response has been great. We launched our website in September this year and are now stocking our products in stores in Ireland. It has been a steep learning curve. I am happy to say that another Lucy alumna, Ellie Brown was able to provide guidance having launched her own startup, Kinda Co.
I am excited to see what the new year brings.
Read more about Elizabeth’s products at www.naked-company.com.