Brand To Believe In: OWAY

Beauty : Love

30 October 2019

Shifting to more ethical and intelligent ways of working is the zeitgeist of fashion and beauty in 2019. Slowly but surely, more brands are placing an emphasis on environmental consciousness and, as ardent supporters of sustainable efforts, we’re celebrating the brands doing just that. Each week, we’ll be meeting the brands fashioning beautiful goods with the greater good in mind.

Fair wages. Respect for community and animals. Organic Ingredients. These are the building blocks for which family-run haircare brand OWAY are built on.

A play on ‘the organic way’, OWAY is a family-run company rich in heritage – “the brand has a very historical process and was originally established in 1948,” Trade Marketing and Communication Manager Alexandra Ciccotosto tells us.

Operating primarily out of their 50,000 square meters biodynamic farm in the hills of Bologna, the past 70-odd years have seen the brand produce green chemistry in their products that span hair masks, shampoos and conditioners to moisturisers. “They grow plants in order to provide sufficient ingredients for every product. Some of the ingredients come from our farm and others are sourced from the farmers we are in partnership with,” Alexandra divulges. “Bergamot and lemons, for example, are grown in the south of Italy. This is the reason why the company is an ‘agri’ company and not just a cosmetic brand.”

The historical process Alexandra talks of is their biodynamic method. This process respects the ecosystem through the use of synthetic fertilisers and the purest and cleanest type of cultivation that is free of pesticides herbicides and insecticides. “We have a new line called ‘life’, including hair products, beauty products and lifestyle products. Our vision for this line and the future is for consumers to be able to ‘find an organic way of life’," explains Alexandra.

And all of this didn't begin after the conversation around sustainability got started. "We decided to eliminate plastic bottles completely and replace them with glass and aluminum. This happened before the discussion on sustainability entered the mainstream," adds Alexandra.

Reflecting on their core values, sustainable salon Buller & Rice was quick to pick up the brand after setting up shop in East London. “We find this range to be the most streamlined with our own credentials. As a business, we try to minimise waste where possible and are 99% plastic-free," co-founder Antina Rice explains. "We also believe in minimising your spend by using high-performance products that last longer. After working with sustainable brands, OWAY presented itself with being the first professional hair care line that was packaged in glass, using only recycled plastic where necessary. They are also the first haircare line to have biodynamic properties.” Among Anita's hero products are: the Sculpting Mist for it's great for brushing out waves, the Sea Salt Spray to create the perfect tousled look, and the Nurturing Drops as it offers nourishment and repair all whilst defrizzing and giving a gorgeous sheen.

With such a strong passion for environmental wellbeing and all things organic, the brand is continuing to strive towards more conscious decision making with their environmental initiatives. Practicality, at the core of their approach, enables the result to always be completely ecological, and along with this, the brand’s vision to create lifestyle solutions that are practical to suit the every day is what makes them a Brand To Believe In.