Who We Are

The Vegan Potionry is a Vegan, cruelty-free and low waste project committed to creating nutritious skin foods made in small batches using clean, natural and high quality ingredients while supporting anti-imperialist, ethical and fair trade supply chains.

Hi there, this is Ari!

Your products are hand-made by me in my potionry and I hope you love them as much as I do. 

 

A little bit about my story: I have been struggling with skin sensitivities for as long as I can remember. As I grew older, my skin troubles worsened. In 2014 I went vegan and decided to venture into the world of herbal skin care and make my own vegan and cruelty free personal care products to find a relief for my skin sensitivities as the mainstream products didn’t seem to work. I fell in love with creating comforting and nutritional skin food with high quality and ethically sourced ingredients. My friends and family started purchasing my products, but I never launched my passion project into a business until now. In 2020, I graduated and received two bachelors degrees and was set to work towards applying for law schools, but when the pandemic hit, I lost my job, my family members were hit financially and I realized that I wasn’t able to continue my education just yet. I decided to invest in myself. I got a diploma in herbal skin care and was certified to formulate skin care products. I want to share with you the skin secrets that have changed my life. This humbling experience is what I’ve learned from embracing the beautiful healers found in nature.  

 

  • Quality and Labor 

    Every single ingredient and supplier I use is deeply researched and made with the highest quality ingredients on the market while supporting anti-imperialist, ethical and fair trade supply chains. All ingredients are bought from fair trade, vegan and cruelty free sources.

     

  • Environmental Values

    As an ethical vegan and environmentalist, I’m committed to developing a 100% zero waste brand. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m getting closer every day. It’s safe to say that The Vegan Potionry is a low waste brand without plastic packaging involved. Aside from assuring quality ingredients, my suppliers are chosen by lowest waste and environmental impact as well. All mailers and shrink wraps used are bio-degradable. 

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Our Mission

We believe quality products mean not only the best ingredients but also healthy and truth worthy ingredients. That's why we never use harmful ingredients in our products.

  • Sulfates, Formaldehydes, Heavy Metals, Mica , Palm oil, Per-fluorinated chemicals, Mineral oils, Oxybenzone, PFAs and PFCs, Talc, Animal Oils, Fats, and Musks, Sulfates, Phthalates, Polyethylene glycol, Toluene, Ethanolamines, Carmine, Animal-Derived Stem Cells, EthanolaminesStyrene-Based Copolymers, Octinoxate, Homosalate, Hydroquinone

  • Vegan

    As an ethical vegan of 7 years, I will never purchase or create with ingredients or supply chains that are a product or by product of the exploitation of our fellow earthlings. You can rest assured that the products you receive from me are 100% vegan and have been created supporting vegan sources. 

  • Cruelty-free

    Animals do not belong to us to be used and abused or tested on. The Vegan Potionry will never test on animals. This means that the ingredients in my products are also cruelty free. Every ingredient in my products is deeply researched and bought from cruelty free and ethical sources.

  • Commitment to Fair Trade

    What is Fairtrade?

     

    It is not a stretch to say that the majority of the products the average American consumes have been produced by unfair labor practices and exploitation of workers and even children.

     

    Many western corporations who do not purchase fair trade purchase raw ingredients that often employ enslaved labor or child labor during production in developing countries to cut cost. 

     

    But a fair trade alternative is possible. 

     

    Fairtrade preserves fair prices, living wages and community benefits for farmers, workers and their families in developing countries.

     

    Many of the oils necessary for natural and herbal skin care formulation is grown in western Africa. It is my opinion as the founder and owner of The Vegan Potionry that it is essential for the integrity of any brand that wants to source raw materials particularly and with fair labor and community empowerment in mind. Therefore, all of my raw ingredients and oils have been sourced from certified fair trade sources which are focused on community ownership of production and the compensation of above market price and living wages. I know that this often means higher costs of raw materials and smaller profit margins, but if I am to make profits off the backs of my exploited brothers and sisters in the global south, I rather not be in business at all. 

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    Examples:

     

    No Mineral Mica 

    The Vegan Potionry does not use mineral mica in any products. Mica mining is one of those industries without transparent supply chains who often employ child labor and unfair labor practices. Due to the difficulty in sourcing ethical mica, The Vegan Potionry uses environmentally friendly synthetic mica, which are created in laboratories and are more ethical and safer, due to FDA regulations, lack of possibilities for contamination with heavy metals. Synthetic mica requires no mining and has no potential for child labor.  Generally synthetic Mica is much more expensive than Natural Mica

    No Palm Oil 

     

    The $40 billion palm oil industry is notorious for wiping out rainforests, displacing indigenous people, spewing carbon into the atmosphere and driving the orangutan and other animals toward extinction. The production of palm oil requires large areas of land to be cleared to allow for the growth of African oil palm trees, and this destroys parts of the rainforest and renders the natural habitat of several species of animals inhabitable.  Several species of animals are currently facing extinction due to the overproduction of palm oil and resulting destruction of the habitat. The most famous of these is the orangutan. this species of ape is dwindling in numbers, and most experts agree that the production of palm oil has most certainly played a big part in this. 

     

    Therefore, The Vegan Potionry will never use palm oil.

  • Commitment to Anti-imperialism

    If you’ve ever heard of the term “banana republics” or ‘banana wars”, you already know what I’m talking about. 

     

    Today, It is hard to imagine entire states, populations, and means of governance corrupted, killed, enslaved and exploited for the benefits of a corporation’s export market. However, colonialism and imperialism by powerful nations and multi national corporations still exist today perpetuating misery and exploitation amongst the people of the world in the global south. 

     

    My mission is to create a brand not only with fair trade and ethical sources, but also financially support efforts and systems that fight against the cruel common labor practices and uplift worker co operatives, and worker owned profit sharing entities with financial support and educational outreach to the public.

  • Commitments to our Environment and the Zero Waste Movement

    As an ethical vegan and environmentalist, I’m committed to developing a 100% zero waste brand. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m getting closer every day. It’s safe to say that The Vegan Potionry is a low waste brand without plastic packaging involved. Aside from assuring quality ingredients, my suppliers are chosen by lowest waste and environmental impact as well. All mailers and shrink wraps used are bio-degradable.