Sustainable Skincare Pioneers: The Clean & Pure Story

Mark Chapman of Clean & Pure talks about their mission to create trustworthy, sustainable skincare products.

For today’s conversation, we’re excited to speak with Mark Chapman, the Chief Executive of Clean & Pure. Inspired by a need for trust and transparency in skincare, Mark and his wife Melanie have created a brand that prioritises natural, high-quality ingredients and sustainability.

Speaking with Balance the Grind, Mark shares the story behind Clean & Pure, details about their innovative Go Plastic Free range, and what makes their products unique. Plus, we get a glimpse into their lives outside of the business and their love for Western Australia.

Mark, can you tell us what sparked the idea for Clean & Pure? What inspired you to start this journey?

There are many reasons why we started but to distil them down to one word is “trust”. We had lost trust in the products we had been using and decided if we made them, we would know exactly what was in them. This proved to be popular with our family and friends and quickly grew from there. 

I’d love to hear all about your new Go Plastic Free range. What makes it so special and innovative?

Big corporations have little to no incentive to innovate as they already dominate the market, if change is going to occur it’s up to small companies like ours to lead the industry. Go Plastic Free lip balms are a high-quality cardboard lip balm tube, extremely tough and water resistant. They don’t wind up and down like plastic, you push from the base to expose the lip balm and can tap the base on the table if the balm needs to go back down. As we like to say “push for sustainability”.

What are the standout ingredients in your Go Plastic Free Lip Balms that make them truly unique?

All lip balms have 3 main ingredients: oils, butters, and waxes. While some manufactures choose to over complicate it with dozens of cosmetic grade ingredients, we chose to keep it simple. We use high quality food grade ingredients sourced from award winning farms and growers. Our lip balms are so natural they can be eaten.

You clearly have a deep understanding of quality ingredients. How does Clean & Pure set itself apart from other brands in this area?

We are a family owned and run business, not a faceless corporation trying to save ½ cent per unit. When we say we have great ingredients, we have the receipts to back it up. Our extra virgin olive oil is single variety sourced from a small farm in Southwest WA, this oil won “Australia’s best Manzanilla EVO” in November 2023. Our cocoa butter isn’t just natural, it’s organic non-RBD (non – Refine Bleached Deodorised) bringing a hint of subtle dark chocolate in each balm. Our beeswax is locally sourced from native West Australian forests, not cosmetic grade wax stripped of all goodness and made overseas. 

Your Go Plastic Free Lip Balms are more affordable compared to others on the market. How did you manage to make them so cost-effective without compromising on quality?

We direct source our ingredients from producers, nearly everything we use is also made locally cutting down logistics costs. We are also vertically integrated; from design, manufacturing and packaging ourselves. There are less markups from farm to retail meaning we can pass these savings onto our customers. Our direct international competitors retail between 40% – 65% more per gram than Clean & Pure lip balms. When you buy Clean & Pure, you’re not just supporting an Australian owned and made company, you’re getting a great product, reducing carbon miles, reducing pollution, and saving your hard-earned dollars.

You and your wife Melanie started this venture together. When you’re not busy shaking up the natural beauty industry, what do you both enjoy doing in your spare time?

Melanie is an avid gardener growing her own produce for the dinner table, tending to her chickens and she has her own handmade business with Madeit Australia, selling her handmade home decor products. Most days she can be found spending time on our local beaches with the kids and homeschooling our 4 children.

Mark loves the great outdoors, camping, fishing, free diving and finding remote parts of our great State to spend time away from phones and tech with the kids.

How does sustainability influence what you do at Clean & Pure? Why is it so important to you?

Every lip balm that has ever been made is still in existence sitting somewhere in land for the next 1,000+ years. We decided that this isn’t an acceptable practice, going plastic free is our small part to help reduce this problem. Being sustainable isn’t just about the environment, it’s about our town and people who live here. Providing jobs and growth to our region and not putting additional pressure on our environment, it’s just good sense.

What’s it like running Clean & Pure in Western Australia? What do you love most about being based there?

We couldn’t think of a better place to live or base our company, WA is still largely underdeveloped with a lot of natural beauty. We are based in a coastal town south of Perth in the Peel Region. Loads to do if you like getting outdoors and a great community feel to the town. It’s perfect for us and our values.

What advice would you offer to someone looking to switch to a more natural skincare routine?

We believe great skincare requires a holistic approach, treating the root problems. There are three main factors that affect your skin. 1) What you put on it 2) Stress you apply to your life 3) Good gut health/diet. You’re the only person who can assess and address points 2 and 3, we believe we have point 1 sorted for you. We believe if you get on top of all 3 you will be a long way towards solving most of your skin issues.