Amazonian SkinFood™ serves ecologically focused customers who envision a world that improves the lives of traditional people, animals, and our forests for future generations.
Amazonian Skinfood offers premium skincare with clean formulas made with the highest quality ingredients, that are sourced directly from the Amazon Rainforest as part of a collective movement that is creating a Sustainable Economy that will regenerate biodiversity, keep the forest standing and help the indigenous and traditional people living there.
We are able to do this through our partnerships with a responsible supply chain, organisations and a network that allows for genuine, sustainable trade of renewable forest products that is crucial in fighting deforestation in the Amazon, addressing the current climate change crisis, and helping combat traditional peoples’ poverty and inequality.
Founder’s story and what motivated them to start the business
Married couple and company co-founders Rose Correa (from Brazil) and Shane Lindner (from Connecticut) met in San Francisco in 2019 while volunteering on a social project. Roses’ sensitivities to harmful and ineffective skincare and her ancestral connection to the Amazon Rainforest are the foundation for what would become Amazonian SkinFood.
The opportunity for genuine, sustainable trade is crucial to fight deforestation in the Amazon and address the current climate crisis. The forest is losing ground to cattle farming, mining, and logging. Everyday, an incalculable amount of the Amazon Rainforest is exterminated. Its trees, animals, water, and soil are constantly suffering new damage in
the name of advancing economic “development” over its borders.
- We help by supporting fair trade in a sustainable supply chain: Our suppliers work closely with local communities and co-ops that provide training to ensure that ethical agroforestry forest management practices are in place. This leads to job opportunities that economically support the traditional peoples of the Amazon like Quilombolas, River Side and Indigenous Communities. We also formulate prioritising wild-harvest ingredients so that more families can be involved.
- 10% of our profits go back to projects in the Amazon Rainforest
The struggle of indigenous people belongs to all of us and we want to contribute in every way we can. 10% of our profits are destined to support the Ni Shunpin and their various projects like Keneya school, Ni Yuxibu sanctuary, and other basic needs from the Huni Kuin Community of Altamira Village like water, food sovereignty, solar energy.
During our last trip to Brazil, we met the Ni Shunpin project of the Indigenous Leader Ixã Huni Kuin, from Altamira Village-Acre where almost 170 people live. We were able to listen to his vision and his call to build alliances with people of all colors, from all directions. We immediately connected to his idea of creating a sacred and protected place where knowledge could be practised for the next generations yet to come.
We felt helping one specific village would be the most beneficial use of our resources right now. As we grow we are expanding our reach and helping many other beautiful initiatives in the Amazon.
“Being involved in creating a culture of forest life preservation, strengthening ancestral traditions and the socio-economic autonomy of its people is our biggest motivation.’ Says Rose Correa.
Rose Correa, Amazonian SkinFood™ Co-Founder.
We hope to use our products as a bridge between the nawas (non-indigenous) and a living and standing forest.
Last month, in a collective effort, we helped to finish building the Keneya School in the Village, and now we are raising funds to continue the activities in the school, like workshops, herbs processing, tables, art materials, etc.
“When the ancestral knowledge of the indigenous people is lost the whole world will lose the ability of living in more harmonious life with nature and its abundance.” Shane Lindner, Co-Founder of Amazonian Skinfood.
- We are a proud member of the Origens Brasil®, a network formed by indigenous peoples, traditional populations, support institutions, and companies, which works to conserve the Amazon, generating value for the standing forest and for the people who live off it. We are talking about the preservation of 52.3 million hectares of standing forest within protected areas. As part of this work, we have a new product coming out next year that uses Copaiba in its formula. A QR code on the product will show consumers the exact village and family that harvested the copaiba resin oil. We want to tell more of how our ingredients are produced and show the families involved in the process.
The challenges the beauty industry is facing
Picture Caption: Rose presenting exotic and sustainable cosmetics ingredients from the Amazon Rainforest in Brussels, April 2022.
In these challenging times of pandemic and climate crises, the need for innovative solutions has never been greater. We need real alternatives that save our planet and ensure we can live in dignity. The environmental challenges are already impacting communities and endangering the sustainability of the livelihoods of producers. Yes, we are all affected, but the indigenous communities that are the least responsible for the climate problem suffer the most.
Our mission is to create a responsible supply chain and sustainable economy in the Amazon Rainforest. One that moves away from the destruction and rampant extraction of forest resources caused by cattle farming, mining, and logging to one that uses renewable resources and non-timber forest products that produce economic value while keeping the forest standing. If we can show the beauty industry that we can be successful while also helping the people and the planet, then everybody wins.
The opportunities Amazonian SkinFood™ is facing
We hope more companies will follow suit and adopt the practices in the Amazon Rainforest and all forests of the World. The responsibility also lies with the consumer to make conscious commerce decisions. We vote with our dollars, and if we want real change to occur we need to stop supporting the businesses that destroy the planet and exploit people just to further line their pockets and maximise profits for an elite few.
Amazonian Skinfood is honored to have been one of the 33 selected businesses to be part of the Amazon Global Start-Ups Hub accelerator program 22/23.
Promoted by Amazon Investor Coalition, Fundação CERTI, and Partnerships for Forests, this program supports purpose-driven businesses that are making a positive impact in the Amazon Rainforest.
We are excited about the opportunity to connect with investors, philanthropists, and mentors and to be part of a global accelerator program that can help strengthen our brand and give us visibility internationally.
Advice to others about business
As a brand committed to sustainability and ethical sourcing, we must exercise due diligence and transparency on our ingredients, their sourcing, and their environmental impact on people and the planet.
Beauty brands must have eco-conscious practices in every supply chain step, from ingredient sourcing to recyclable packaging. The beauty industry must ensure everything is balanced and work harmoniously with nature instead of against it. I also believe that we all need to be flexible and always look to improve and evolve our standards. What’s considered ethical and sustainable today may not be in the future, so listening and being willing to change will be vital as we move towards a more sustainable future.
Beauty powered by the wisdom of the Amazon Rainforest – YouTube
MS, University of Latvia
I am deeply convinced that each patient needs a unique, individual approach. Therefore, I use different psychotherapy methods in my work. During my studies, I discovered an in-depth interest in people as a whole and the belief in the inseparability of mind and body, and the importance of emotional health in physical health. In my spare time, I enjoy reading (a big fan of thrillers) and going on hikes.
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