Women in Beauty: Q&A with Charlotte Vøhtz, Green People Founder

As part of our Women in Beauty series, we caught up with Charlotte Vøhtz, Green People founder and organic beauty pioneer.

Charlotte started Green People over 20 years ago in a hope to find a natural alternative to treat skin conditions. In 1999, she worked with the Soil Association to set the first industry standards for organic beauty and has since continued to create products that truly make a difference to people’s skin.

What was it that inspired you to create Green People, what was that gap in the market?

My daughter Sandra, then 2 years old, was my inspiration to start Green People, she had very sensitive skin and was plagued with eczema.

In 1994 I began searching for natural products that didn’t contain harsh chemicals. Idiscovered that, despite various marketing claims, there weren’t any truly natural and organic beauty products on the market. This led me on an exciting journey of researching and formulating truly organic, natural products that would help Sandra and everyone else suffering with skin sensitivities.

What helps you relax and unwind from work?

Walking my dog Saffie, reading up on new health and beauty discoveries, spending time with my family including my lovely grandchildren and of course a glass of good red wine!

What is your daily mantra?

Believe in yourself and never, ever give up!

What advice would you give your younger self?

Listen to your heart – if a decision doesn’t ‘feel right’ then don’t do it!

What’s next for Green People?

To encourage everyone to use natural and organic and have a Green People product in every home!

What gives you strength?

Always my family, I draw so much strength from their support.

What has been your biggest professional hurdle?

In the beginning, it wasn’t just the end customer that we needed to educate. One of my most challenging tasks was to convince retailers that truly natural and organic personal care products in time would need more shelf space in their shops. They didn’t realise that what goes on the skin is as important for good health as what you eat! I spent a long time trying to educate these health store owners by going from shop to shop with a box of products to persuade them to try selling them.

Sadly, I discovered that nobody knew that natural skin care products need less than 1% of natural ingredients to be called “natural”, as up to 60% of what goes on the skin is absorbed straight into the bloodstream. I took this as a challenge to spread the word about the benefits of adopting a natural and organic lifestyle and thankfully the challenge paid off. Today there is far more awareness of the benefits of organic beauty products.

I feel a great pride seeing people educating themselves about what goes into mainstream products and moving across to organic and natural alternatives.

What has been your biggest professional (or personal) achievement?

My biggest achievement is being the first company to certify organic beauty products with Soil Association. We were invited to sit on the committee to help the Soil Association set the standards, after two years of trying to tell them how important it was to have recognised certifications in the beauty industry, as there was for food.

What do you do for fun?

Spend time with my family, both in the UK and Denmark. Downtime for me includes cooking with my son Adam, a doctor and my daughter Sandra, an artist (and the inspiration behind Green People). Both are brilliant cooks and most importantly wine connoisseurs!

What is your Desert island product? (from your own brand!)

It is a difficult choice so can I have two? The combination of Age Defy+ Hydrate & Renew Face & Neck Serum followed by Age Defy+ Cell Enrich Facial Oil is a must have for all skin over 35!

Who is the woman you most admire?

Leslie Kenton and Kathryn Marsden were really ‘there’ for natural before anyone else. Both heavily promoted healthy eating/living many years ago.

If you ruled the world for one day, what universal law would you put in place?

To outlaw homelessness and make sure that everyone has food and a home to stay in.