INSPIRE

by Joanna Jensen

The Childs Farm founder talks raising girls, business goals and her commitment to going green.

Tell us a bit about the brand.

I came up with the idea for Childs Farm because my daughters, Mimi and Bella, have sensitive skin and very fine, flyaway hair. Bella in particular had so many allergies and sensitivities as a baby, it was a challenge to find anything for her skin. I was brought up using natural remedies, so I was keen to find something similar but couldn’t, which prompted me to make my own. I was intending to do a degree in natural medicine, but once I started working on this, it became my full-time focus.

Joanna believes that you have to put the hours in to really make your business succeed

What tips do you have for those wanting to start a business?

Any successful business is dependent on super-human drive, commitment and ambition – not forgetting a thoroughly researched, brilliant idea! You need to understand the competition and offer something different. If you really want it, you’ll find the energy to do it but be prepared to give it everything.

In the skincare industry sustainability is a big issue, as a brand how do you react to this?

It’s a subject that’s really close to my heart, so naturally sits within Childs Farm core company values. We practice sustainability across all aspects of the company.

All our bottles and caps are widely recyclable and feature the recycling symbol (known as the Mobius loop). We also use 30 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic in our 250ml and 500ml bottles, giving it a second or third or fourth life instead of using brand new virgin material.

Our pumps are made from a mix of polypropylene, polyethylene, stainless steel and glass, and the recyclability of these varies by region. If you cannot recycle these in your area please remove the pump from the bottle and the bottle can still be recycled. We’re reviewing new options for our pumps, however, this is more challenging due to the recycling facilities currently available in the UK.

As well as our products, we’ve also made some really positive changes in our gift packaging. Our gift sets previously had a plastic window – these have now been removed so that the box is fully cardboard. Our cardboard sources are also FSC approved.

Made using all-natural ingredients, Childs Farm products are kind to baby’s skin and hair

We choose eco-conscious solutions where we can, for example our paper is securely shredded – and in 2019 we saved 38 trees just from our paper recycling! We also recycle glass, Tetra Paks and batteries at the local recycling centre; printer cartridges get sent back to the supplier for recycling and food waste gets composted for the office garden.

How do you balance it all?

Working full-time, running a business, being a parent and a girlfriend is pretty challenging.

As my girls are now 11 and 13 they need me more, and add to that the love of my life, Jonathan, who I met four years ago, and his two kids, it’s all go. Very recently I hired a new MD into the business to allow me to focus on the parts of the business I love the most, this means I will shortly be taking my first holiday in nine years without a laptop – which is real progress. The world is a garden in which many flowers grow; if we were all the same, it would be pretty dull. So accept what you can do and are capable of.

What’s next for Childs Farm?

In 2020, the plan is to continue developing the Childs Farm product line with our innovative technical and formulations team. Watch this space!