SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY IS fast becoming the norm, but the movement got one of its biggest boosts with the founding of EO Products. The now ubiquitous Marin-made product line was born of husband-and-wife team Brad Black and Susan Griffin- Black (though no longer a couple, the two remain a successful business team), both enjoying fashion careers when they were introduced in the early 1990s. Their entrepreneurial drive and Susan’s penchant for essential oils — the inspiration behind the brand name — soon had them crafting soaps and lotions in their S.F. Potrero Hill garage. “When we started out, there was a strongly defined natural market and a strongly defined beauty market, and the two didn’t mix,” says Brad. “The natural market cared about ingredients and purity, and not as much about fashion and beauty; the beauty industry didn’t worry about ingredients as long as the aesthetics were there.” In 1995 the couple began to blur the lines of that landscape, crafting small-batch essential oil blends for Bloomingdale’s, followed closely by an equally beneficial partnership with Whole Foods. This month, the company celebrates its 20th anniversary by releasing EO Ageless Skin Care, a high-quality, five-product collection containing simple, nature-inspired formulas to combat signs of aging. PHILOSOPHY The company uses pure essential oils and plant-based, environmentally friendly ingredients, packaged in 100 percent PCR (Post Consumer Resin, aka recycled), BPA-free materials. The family-owned company continues to operate out of Marin County as a certified organic manufacturer. THE SCOOP EO and its larger-sized, lower-priced EveryOne products are available at more that 6,000 stores across the country and in 11 other countries around the world. All products are free of parabens, synthetics and gluten and are made without animal testing. BEYOND MARIN As a certified B Corporation, EO must meet stringent standards that ensure it is prioritizing the environment and consumers over profit; it was also the first body care company to make certified non-GMO products. In 2012, Susan and Brad opened EO Exchange, the brand’s first retail store in Mill Valley, and soon set up a sister space in the San Francisco Ferry Building. WHAT THEY SAY “Our business succeeds when it’s humanized, and lifestyle is our driving factor — that’s why we chose Marin,” says Brad. “We wanted to operate our business around how we want to live, not the other way around.” eoproducts.com
