Ethique founder lands spot in US Foreign Policy 'global thinker' list

Ethique founder Brianne West was named one of US Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2016.

A young Kiwi woman has landed a spot in a prestigious top 100 "global thinker" list for her entrepreneurial beauty company.

Brianne West, who founded the world's first 100 per cent solid beauty bar company Ethique, was yesterday named one of US Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2016.

The 29-year-old's business makes products like shampoo and conditioner into bars contained in biodegradable, compostable packaging. West's goal is to minimise rubbish. She said more than eight million plastic personal care products are disposed of each day in the United States - a total of about three billion in 2015.

West is the only New Zealander to feature in this year's prestigious list which includes billionaire philanthropists Melinda Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan; as well as global leaders such as the President of Taiwan, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Foreign Policy editor Seyward Darby nominated Brianne for this year's 100 Leading Global Thinkers list. She stated that Brianne should be honoured "for making beauty eco-friendly".

West attended the annual presentation ceremony in Washington, D.C. She said Ethique's environmentally sustainable business model aims to lead by example.

"We have to stop transferring responsibility for saving our environment onto consumers - businesses need to lead the way and become responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products.

"I'm so incredibly humbled to receive this sort of global recognition for our achievements to date."

Ethique's ingredients must be naturally derived and come from ethical, sustainable sources. Direct from fair trade producers is preferred.

West is also against animal testing.

"A mission of mine is to be a part of the movement that ends the truly hideous practice of testing cosmetic products on animals.

"If you genuinely want to help our planet's animals, we must also protect the environment. So far we've prevented the manufacture and disposal of more than 130,000 plastic bottles.

"I want to create change on an industry level where people move away from the idea of liquid products which require plastic packaging and use lots of water."

West founded Ethique in 2012 while completing her second year of a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Canterbury.