Health & beauty: World Organic's journey began six generations ago in north England when Getrude Anderson began to dispense herbal remedies to the town of Preston from her doorstep. The family business was handed down over generations, and oceans.
World Organic founder, Megan Douglas learned to make herbal remedies out of the back of her grandmother's health food shop in the '70s and worked at the family's health supplies business, Red Seal which was started by her grandfather in the 1920s.
Starting out as a fashion designer in London, Douglas spent time in India on her way back home, discovering Ayurvedic practices and reawakening her passion for herbal remedies.
Back in New Zealand, she completed a degree in herbal medicine and naturopathy and found that although many of her clients were desperate for organic skincare, there was a sizeable hole in the market.
In 2011, Douglas launched the Organic Skin Co. and River Veda, the two brands of World Organic. At the Sustainable City Showcase, World Organic will be revealing its newest editions to the Organic Skin Co. line, makeup products including a certified organic liquid foundation and face bronzer, mineral eye shadows, vegan-certified lip glosses and cream blushes. All the products will be on display at the Showcase, giving you a rare chance to see and sample all of World Organic's products, which aren't stocked through retailers.
World Organic uses a unique method of extracting oils which greatly increases potency. Oils are normally extracted using an alcohol or glycol which often fails to extract the lipid-soluble parts of the oil, which are nutritious for the skin, says Ms. Douglas. "And you also get the solvent in the skincare product."
Many of the herbal extracts are sourced from organic, small-scale community farm projects in India in a bid to support farmers to move away from agricultural practices that use pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides. Ms. Douglas visits the farms once a year. "We have relationships with our partners because we want to know about what's happening, the authenticity of the product and where it's coming from."
The products are not tested on animals and contain no genetically modified ingredients.
