Green People is a forward-thinking company which specialises in organic body care products. With an extensive range of natural products – shampoos, face creams, sun lotions and body washes to name just a few – it is one of the biggest names in organic beauty in the UK.
However, it started from very simple roots: the seeking of a mother to help her young daughter.
Back in 1994, 2-year-old Sandra was suffering from eczema and severe allergies and just couldn’t stop scratching herself. With much determination, her mother, Charlotte Vøhtz, decided to get to the bottom of the problem.
She discovered that many of Sandra’s skin allergies were being triggered by chemical-based household and personal care products. When these were removed – and with the help of a herbal cleansing tonic and a balanced Omega 3 & 6 intake – Sandra’s skin began to clear up.
Charlotte says: “From that moment, I realised that we all are children of the chemical age and that man-made chemicals found everywhere, combined with changing dietary habits, profoundly affect us all.”
She was so impressed by the difference that her natural methods and home-made natural skin care products had made that she thought she should share her discoveries with others. This was the start of Green People.
“With a nursing background, knowledge of herbal medicine, and more than 11 years of experience within the pharmaceutical industry, I decided to take action,” she says.
What followed was a period of several years of intensive product development which saw the very first Green People products taking shape. By August 1997, they were hitting the shelves of independent health food stores.
The herbal cleansing tonic which had done so much for Sandra was one of the first products launched by Green People. Known as the Hawthorn and Artichoke Formula, it still forms part of the small natural dietary range many years on.
However, it was Charlotte’s discovery of the many synthetic chemicals being used in personal care products that had the most profound impact on the newly formed company. The natural skin care, hair care and body care products she created soon became enormously popular amongst those looking to live an organic lifestyle.
From the very beginning, Charlotte vowed never to use chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS), Parabens or synthetic fragrances or colourants in her products.
Instead she sourced natural, organic alternatives which are kind on the skin and also extremely effective. From the very start, organic essential oils were key to Charlotte’s design, replacing synthetic fragrances with beautiful natural scents and endowing the products with their own powerful properties. Thanks to the high percentage of organic ingredients and lack of synthetic chemicals present in the products, The Soil Association, Organic Food Federation and EcoCert were able to certify the products as organic.