Have you ever watched a set of waves as they roll into shore? Waves are actually energy moving through water and transforming its shape. As that energy travels, the right winds can give it even more momentum, eventually creating huge waves that crash into shore, transforming the landscape.Affecting positive change is a lot like those waves. It starts small — often with just one person’s idea — and grows as more people join the movement. With enough support, that single person’s idea can slice through all the noise and create real, lasting change.Our mission as a biotech beauty brand is to transform the industry by innovating sustainable ingredients that are good for your skin and the planet. This World Oceans Month, we’re sharing our commitment with you, our beloved community, in hopes of bringing more energy to this important cause and changing our planet for the better.Ingredient Innovation
We changed the game when we launched our sugarcane-based squalane and shared it with the entire industry, eliminating the demand for shark-derived squalene. For generations, beauty products were fortified with squalene—an exceptional moisturizer naturally found in human skin—at the cost of millions of sharks, harvested for their squalene-rich livers. Scientists at our parent company, Amyris, discovered how to engineer a similar substance—squalane—from fermenting sustainable sugarcane and yeast. This new, ethically-sourced, vegan squalane is a molecular match for the moisture found in our skin. Our squalane is purer, more stable, effective, and sustainable than shark squalene. Even better: We can make as much as the world needs while saving 2 million sharks from slaughter every year. It would take three adult sharks to provide the equivalent amount of squalene needed for ten bottles of 100% Squalane Oil. Biossance eliminates reliance on sharks and can produce the world’s yearly supply of squalane using only 1 sq km of land without requiring irrigation, addressing the world’s needs without depleting the planet.
We proved that it's possible to create the best moisturizing ingredient available while saving millions of sharks every year, helping support crucial marine ecosystems by protecting these incredible apex predators.But that’s just one piece of the puzzle.Our Partnership with Oceana
Science can heal our planet. But without policy change to accompany it, we're just treading water.Even though we're saving millions of sharks, they’re still threatened by shark finning, unsustainable fishing practices, ocean plastics, and climate change. We knew we needed to do more. So we partnered with Oceana, the world's largest policy-oriented marine conservation non-profit, to affect positive change on a global policy level. Our mission of clean beauty through biotechnology beautifully compliments Oceana’s policy-driven approach to keeping our oceans healthy, safe, and abundant.
With your help, we’ve been able to donate more than $300,000 to Oceana. We are proud to support Oceana in winning major victories for our oceans, including a historic ban on shark fin trade in the US. You can support their work by donating to Oceana directly, making a round-up donation during checkout on our website, or purchasing a limited-edition Jumbo 100% Squalane Oil. Five percent of sales go to Oceana so they can continue their good work.
Sustainable from Lab to Bottle
It’s easy to say you’re sustainable, but it’s another thing to do the work. Sustainability is in our DNA, starting with our eco-conscious lab practices. All Biossance formulations are developed in a My Green Lab Platinum Certified facility, reducing our environmental impact with every product we create. My Green Lab is a non-profit dedicated to transforming the life sciences, industrial sciences, and healthcare industries by creating a culture of sustainability through science. Certification is the gold standard for laboratory sustainability best practices worldwide and provides scientists and laboratory support teams with actionable ways to make meaningful change.
Not only do we create sustainable ingredients in an eco-friendly environment, we also prioritize recyclability and recycled materials in our packaging. This year, we’re incorporating more recycled ocean plastics into our packaging — one great example is in the tube of our award-winning Enzyme Sugar Body Scrub.
In addition, the waste products from our squalane manufacturing products are used to create sugarcane plastic for our products, which leaves no environmental footprint. We also transform sugarcane waste into sugarcane paper outer packaging, which is fully recyclable. There are no plastic windows or metallic inks in our outer packaging to ensure recyclability, and our outer cartons are tree-free. We’re thrilled to have saved 5,000+ trees by using our sugarcane boxes.
We complete the sustainability cycle by using carbon-neutral shipping on every single Biossance order. We prevent 22 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year by planting trees and reforestation efforts as part of our carbon-neutral shipping practices.
