ey to the Baresop concept and to provide a solution that made it easy for everyone to create change without compromising their everyday lifestyle.  I had just returned to Australia after living in South-east Asia, where l witnessed first-hand how much single-use plastic was immersed in our everyday lives, and have an outspoken daughter whose main wish in life is to be able to find a solution to cleaning the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. Wanting to own the narrative and do the bit we could to be part of the solution to this big problem, we went on a journey to shift our consumption habits.  Whilst it was easy to find solutions for the kitchen space, it was a challenge to find solutions for bathroom (personal-care) products. Research on how much waste we were creating from personal-care products – along with lived experience in difficulty finding an easy, convenient solution that was fully closed loop and was not ‘green washing’ – presented a responsibility to create the solution I wanted and bring the community along with me to generate positive change. Baresop founder Prisca Ongonga-Daehn. Source: Supplied IR: What have been some of the biggest highlights of your growth journey so far? POD: We’ve made very quick progress within a very short time, further solidifying our conviction that our purpose is valid. Here are a few examples. Patenting our unique active ingredients formulation  Building a loyal community that is engaged with why we exist Closing a successful SAFE note seed raise in 2022  Eliminated approximately half a tonne of carbon emissions Brought onboard a strong management team, including former executives at L’Oréal and Jurlique and the ex-founder of Baby Bunting Expansion into retail IR: What are your top priorities for the business in 2023?  POD: We want to expand our offering to service more people, which would move us closer to our mission of eliminating 1 billion single-use plastic bottles from landfill by 2035, which would equate to 50,000 tons of CO2 avoided and 600,000 litres of water conserved. Each litre of water we conserve, we plan to make accessible to communities that are running out of safe and clean water. Because without water there is no life. We also aim to increase our distribution, expand into the China market, and release innovative, waste-free personal-care products that challenge how people see the sustainability of the personal-care category.  IR: What are the biggest challenges you expect to face in 2023, and how do you plan to address them?  POD: With increasing demand for the Baresop concept across markets, our biggest challenge is ensuring that we have a sustainability-friendly supply chain as we establish large retail partners in other markets, like the US and China. Does this mean we need to set up manufacturing closer to these markets? What does that look like in terms of logistics and capital?   The other piece is how we keep pushing the boundaries and challenging ourselves to be a market leader in innovating waste-free personal-care products that are focused on the key user experience, empathetic to the modern lifestyle, and relevant to the present time.  Last but not least is purpose, how do we ensure that our solutions are affecting our planet and our shared humanity? IR: Sustainability is clearly at the heart of your business. Do you have any tips or advice for brands that are at the beginning of their sustainability journey about how to ensure it is more than just a buzzword?  POD: We realised early on that the only way we were going to know if or how we were creating change and truly making an impact was by having an external audit on our waste, such as shipping and supply-chain, and then offsetting those. Here are some tips: Set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable and time bound (SMART) This will help you track metrics that are impactful and meaningful. If you can, build your revenue and link it to your sustainability goals, this will help you avoid being another greenwashing sustainability brand. Have a third party regularly audit the waste you’re generating (carbon, plastic and other types) and offset it. IR: Longer term, what’s your overarching vision for Baresop? Where would you like to see the brand in the next three to five years?  POD: We want to realise our vision of eliminating 1 billion single-use plastic bottles from landfill by 2035. Positive impact is one of the key fibres of why we exist and came to be. From 2023, we plan to spend a lot more time working with local grassroot communities to create in-person impact for our shared humanity and our planet. Watch this space. This interview first appeared in the 2023 Australian Retail Outlook, powered by KPMG.