Based in Los Angeles, California, KLUR is a skincare brand that creates plant-based, cruelty-free, and sustainable products.
Manufactured in a designated FDA-registered/GMP-compliant laboratory located in the United States of America, all of KLUR’s products are botanically based and contain zero animal or insect-derived ingredients.
Using sustainable packagings such as recyclable pharmaceutical-grade amber-lead-free glass, reusable and 100% recyclable dispensing caps that are made of either aluminum or BPA-free plastic, cardboard shipping cartons that are made of 95% post-consumer waste and 5% post-industrial waste, and packing paper that is 100% recyclable and acid-free, KLUR encourages customers to reuse and recycle the product packaging.
Setting Mind interviews Lesley Thornton, the founder of KLUR.
Setting Mind: How did you get your start in the skincare industry?
Lesley Thornton: My life’s work has been dedicated to working within the cosmetics industry. I don’t think I ever been passionate about much else. I’ve been in the beauty business for just about 17 years. I got my start as a makeup artist for Estée Lauder and worked my way around corporate cosmetics for well over a decade before I became a licensed beauty therapist, focusing on skin-care education and the development of personal care products.
Why did you want to work with skincare products?
Since I could remember, I’ve always had a great appreciation for things that made people feel beautiful. Skincare in particular is incredibly transformative, playing a pivotal role in protection, prevention, self-care, wellness, and maintenance. I wanted to create products that did all the above but also build a brand that celebrates the people using them, allowing the individual to find confidence and to take pride and in their skin.
How did KLUR come about?
KLUR began in 2010 as my private facial studio. Initially, I intended to work as a full-time esthetician and skincare educator. However, things quickly changed and as the clientele grew, and so did the demand for KLUR products. I soon realized that it was a combination of clean, well-formulated products and the consistency of use that made the most significant impact on my client’s skin health. So over the span of 8 years, I moved from being a practicing esthetician to manufacturing KLUR products full-time.
What was the motivation for you to cultivate a brand that reflected the values of “clean, ethical, and inclusive beauty”?
I set out to create something that mattered, the brand I had always expected, but never experienced; and to me, that meant a clean, inclusive, well-considered brand. I founded KLUR with my values in mind and built everything else around them.
For people of color, ethical and inclusive are not buzzwords; these are values. Far too often in the beauty industry, most people of color are not a consideration. Inclusivity is more than just hiring minorities and paying a fair wage; it’s about consistent representation, a voice throughout the company and the brand itself. When these are the core values of a company it truly shows, and when its an afterthought people take notice.
For a beauty company in the digital age, there is no one ideal customer anymore. Anyone who uses personal care products can be influenced to buy from your brand. This means what we create, the ideals we support, and ethical nature of what we promote must be well-considered. Because even the smallest considerations can have a lasting impact on how our customers look, think, and feel.
What are the areas of concern most prominent in the beauty industry?
The beauty industry is massive, and every company will have its own set of unique concerns. As it pertains to personal care products the market has changed dramatically from where it was a decade ago. Technology has created a level playing field for all and when there is a high demand for a product, counterfeits or identical replicas swiftly hit the market. Unauthorized resellers buy products and resell for profit and unfortunately, there is no way for large seller platforms like Amazon or eBay to monitor the sale of expired, and or damaged goods. Therefore, consumers may not be getting the best quality product or even worse a product that isn’t authentic at all, which can be incredibly dangerous and can be damaging to a brand’s reputation.
What sets KLUR apart from the other skincare brands?
KLUR is different in many ways, but what makes the brand unique is our purpose and intention. KLUR was created in the belief that it is better to be contribute rather than compete. Instead of building a brand that separates people and products by gender, we are working toward creating a community based on commonalities in the human experience.
We also haven’t used traditional forms of marketing and have still managed to grow organically by word-of-mouth, via social media, and other digital platforms. You won’t see a KLUR t-shirt, billboard, or paid influencers. Furthermore, we’ve been able to establish a luxurious and inclusive brand without a ridiculous price point, excessive packaging or romantic storytelling.
How important is sustainability for KLUR and what kind of sustainable business strategies are you implementing?
Because KLUR is a relatively young company, we were able to responsibly integrate and implement all the core principles of sustainability throughout the brand. From the very beginning, we’ve been committed to operating with a minimal environmental footprint and have developed partnerships with other businesses that align in our belief in sustainability.
Not only do we take immense pride in the creation of our products but where we create them is equally significant. From concept to completion, our products are made in the United States of America using low-impact and low-energy processes. The motivation for operating KLUR in the USA is that we can administer a higher standard of quality control and traceability across our supply chain. Not only is it vital for our company to contribute to the domestic economy but it also serves to strengthen our local economy through jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, technology, and more.
Unfortunately, many cosmetic manufacturers deem it prestigious to produce overseas and harvest rare extracts found in remote parts of a particular country. While it may sound luxurious, the reality is that this practice is far from sustainable, causing immeasurable damage to the ecosystem and the biodiversity of these smaller communities.
We aren’t seeking rare earth ingredients, nor do we believe precious ingredients make better products. We formulate with long term sustainability in mind sourcing as much we can get from within the United States, mostly California, Texas and the Pacific Northwest. As a responsible corporate citizen, we are committed to building a sustainable, environmentally conscious company with no interest in exhausting many of the earth’s already limited resources.
With great consideration towards biodegradable and recyclable, a marriage of sustainable material selections, form, function, and the reduction of waste plays a critical role in how we have chosen every component of our product offering.
By promoting minimalist principles supported by scientific information, we hope the public will come to understand that function and usability defines true luxury, not excessive shiny packaging of which is disregarded and then trashed globally amassing more than 100 billion pieces of cosmetically related waste per year.
What is in store for the future?
My plan for the future is to expand at a natural pace and connect with people on a human level. To grow our brand with humility and integrity while delivering consistently high-quality products, that provides lasting value to all the people who used them.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
All images in this article are courtesy of KLUR.
To learn more about KLUR, click the link below.
