Female Founders, with a passion for sustainable beauty and fashion, Collaborate for World Earth Day 2023

In celebration of World Earth Day, three female founders from the world of beauty and fashion have collaborated to introduce a new and exclusive beauty product that will raise awareness and generate a donation for women’s charitable organisation Fashion Impact Fund.  

‘Gigi Red’ is a new addition to the Seeds of Colour range founded by Anna Valle.  Clean, organic, vegan and cruelty-free, the Seeds of Colour brand is a plant-based range of balms, born from Anna’s desire to seed change in the beauty industry.  Winner of the prestigious 2022 Cosmopolitan UK Summer Beauty Awards in the make-up category the magazine’s team commended the product’s natural pigment as the perfect all-over colour hit, noting how nourishing it feels on the eyes, cheeks and lips.  Endorsement indeed for a high-performing, multi-tasking product. 

This new, vibrant red shade is formulated with nutrient-rich botanical pigments and will be sold exclusively on Counter Culture Store with every product generating a donation to support Fashion Impact Fund.  

The Fashion Impact Fund supports female-led fashion initiatives which advocate for gender equality, fair wages and safe and ethical working conditions for women working within the fashion industry. According to Fashion Revolution and Remake, approximately 80% of the 75 million garment workers in the fashion industry are women between the ages of 18 and 35, and the majority earn less than $3 per day.  The charity actively champions the Sustainable Development Goals, as adopted by the United Nations Member States in 2015, and is committed to shaping a just transition for the future of fashion, collectively transforming communities for people and the planet.  

The charity is especially close to the heart of Lucy Norris, founder of pre-loved fashion business, Secondhand Styling UK, who’s passion for sustainable fashion was inspired by her time working with Fashion Impact Fund’s founder Kerry Bannigan.  Secondhand Styling UK, a retail and e-commerce destination offering a circular service whereby people can swap, shop and style their ready-to-love-again fashion with other members of the community, allows its members to earn sustainable beauty rewards from Counter Culture Store when they swap and shop.  Lucy has used her pre-loved fashion community to help select the shade and name for this new Seeds of Colour exclusive.  

“I’m delighted to have this opportunity to work alongside two eco-conscious beauty brands to help educate and inform consumers on sustainability whilst developing a timeless lip colour that will never go out of fashion. We have enough clothes on this planet to clothe the next six generations. It’s less about new designs, and more about a new mindset” – Lucy Norris.

Passionate about championing female founders as well as sustainability, Wendy Martin, co-founder of Counter Culture Store, a sustainable and ethical beauty, health and wellness platform, is only too well aware of the challenges facing female founders;

“Reports by Crunchbase show that female-founded businesses raised just 2% of venture capital investment in 2021.  This is a major obstacle for female founders, a detriment to the global economy, and with gender equality central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, it should be a major concern for us all.  I’m delighted to be working with Anna and Lucy to highlight, in our own small way, the amazing work of Fashion Impact Fund as they seek to accelerate women’s economic empowerment, within an industry that has much work to do to address its sustainable and ethical practices”.  

Charity Donation

15% of every product sold will be donated to Fashion Impact Fund. In addition Counter Culture Store and Seeds of Colour will maintain their existing environmental givebacks

• Counter Culture Store – Protects 5 mature rainforest trees with every sale 
• Seeds of Colour – Plants one new tree to restore coastal ecosystems

About the Fashion Impact Fund

The Fashion Impact Fund provides grants to female founders advancing equitable workforce development in the fashion industry to accelerate women’s economic empowerment and leadership. The charitable organization supports women-led fashion initiatives advocating for gender equality through education, media, and skills programs; contributing critical system change for women in the fashion industry to earn fair wages, operate in safe and ethical working conditions and achieve effective leadership.

For more information check out the Fashion Impact Fund’s website and socials:

About Counter Culture

Counter Culture is the Health & Wellness e-com retailer that is passionate about working with and supporting sustainable and ethical brands, believing that ‘conscious consumption’ is the way forward. Counter Culture makes it easier for consumers to shop sustainable and ethical health & beauty products from hundreds of established brands. As well as 15% of every limited-edition Seeds of Colour balm donated to Fashion Impact Fund, Counter Culture and Seeds of Colour will maintain their existing environmental kickbacks;

• Counter Culture protects 5 mature rainforest trees for every sale
• Seeds of Colour plants one new mangrove tree to restore coastal ecosystems.

About SecondHandStyling UK

An e-commerce platform and retail destination, Secondhand Styling UK is run by Lucy Norris, whose passion for sustainable fashion was inspired by her time working with Fashion Impact Fund’s founder Kerry Bannigan.

SecondhandStyling UK offers a circular service which allows its members to earn sustainable beauty rewards from Counter Culture when they swap and shop.  Lucy leant on her pre-loved fashion community to help select the shade and name for this new Seeds of Colour exclusive.