As Fresh celebrates its 30th anniversary, the American beauty powerhouse charts a new green future. The photography is by Daryl Tan and the art direction is by Izwan Abdullah.
In 1991, Fresh founders Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg created a humble little shop in Boston that bucked every beauty trend the year retained from the previous era. Its name “Fresh” was the antithesis of what the previous era stood for and it was a simple one-stop shop for anyone who did not want to aggravate their skin with alcohol-laden products from the likes of brands like Sea Breeze. Neither did they want to have to go to a library to figure out what they were putting on their skin.
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Their “Fresh” promise was even simpler. Whatever produced had to be as safe as it was effective. It also had to be an absolute joy to apply. The added imperative was that each ingredient had to have a story behind it. Fresh was the first brand to introduce a sugar-based exfoliant on the market (Roytberg’s grandmother used sugar on scrapes and burns) as it did wonders with products containing the softening properties of Crème Ancienne (an age-old formula that the duo has revived and is still hand made in a Czech Republic monastery) and the pore purifying powers of Umbrian clay (an anecdote from a friend on its properties).
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What does it mean for a skincare brand to be truly sustainable today, especially with its 30th anniversary? Does it have to have a low carbon footprint? Is it a reference to its packaging that should be made from recyclable materials? What about fossil fuels? In Fresh’s terms, everything they are aiming to do with Forever Fresh, its commitment to sustainability focused on addressing these concerns.
The goal is simple — to do good by their customers, they firstly have to do good by the people who are creating their ingredients.
In partnership with the Union for Ethical BioTrade — the LVMH Research and Innovation Center — and local organisations where it sources ingredients, the first two milestones for Fresh is for them to work with UEBT to identify how they can source their skincare hero ingredients (all four are pictured here) better while establishing partnerships with organisations to support the communities where it sources them from.
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The final goal by 2025 is a $1,000,000 donation to these organisations and virtually net-zero carbon commission. In between, UEBT assessments will be done to ensure the improvement plans for all of their skincare hero ingredients while Fresh itself will be endeavouring to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or made from recycled materials itself.
Better for the skin and even better for the environment, this is exactly what makes Fresh a grooming no-brainer for over 30 years and the future ahead.
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How deep does the Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Oil-Infused Serum go? It delivers soothing hydration to the deepest layers of one’s skin for up to 24 hours and up to 50 times more effectively. Simply shake before use.
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Warding off three kinds of pollution (digital, indoor and outdoor), the antioxidant properties of the Fresh Kombucha Facial Treatment Essence minimises the look of pores and fine lines for luminous skin.
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Fresh was the first brand to harness amino acids in soy to create the Soy Face Cleanser — a gentle pH-balanced, non-stripping gel texture that effectively removes impurities — and even makeup.
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Sustainable sourced, the Super Lotus ingredient in the lightweight Lotus Youth Preserve Dream Face Cream destresses and detoxifies skin overnight, so one will wake up to the skin of his dreams.
This story about the Fresh 30th anniversary first appeared in our June/July 2021 issue! For the other Grooming Awards 2021 specials, click here.
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