Every March we celebrate Women’s History Month to honor the generations of trailblazing women and girls who have built our Nation and continue to pave the way for a future that is free of gender bias. Throughout history, women have strived and sacrificed for equity and equality in communities across the country and this month is a time to celebrate the strong and resilient women who are leading the way.
To better celebrate Women’s History Month, we wanted to highlight some of our amazing women-owned and led Dedicated Impact Partners and share their achievements in business, what makes them different, and the positive social impact that they’re creating everyday!
Sakara Life
The Founders
Sakara Life was founded by Whitney Tingle and Danielle DuBoise with the goal of transforming lives by empowering people to be in control of their health and vitality. Whitney and Danielle were committed to bringing Sakara to life and starting with only $700, began making meals from their own homes and delivering them on bicycles. By staying dedicated to their mission of building a global wellness movement, Sakara has now grown to be a team of over 200 employees that are working together to provide science-backed, plant-based food all over the U.S.
The Difference
Sakara’s life-changing nutrition is backed by science to give your body what it needs to thrive. Their chef-crafted meals are made with superfood rich, plant-based, organic and sustainable ingredients that are all conveniently delivered ready-made to your doorstep. Sakara’s proprietary nutrition philosophy guides everything they create and is built on the notion that life is all about balance.
At Sakara, there is no such thing as a “no list” of food that you can’t eat because they believe that if something gives you joy, you should have it. Rather than focusing on deprivation, Sakara nutrition focuses on eating an abundance of nutrients, which puts you in control of your health to make decisions based on your own body intelligence, not just what a diet tells you to eat.
Sakara also cares deeply about Mother Earth and is committed to making the right choices for the health of their clients and the environment. From the beginning, they've taken a critical eye to their food waste, packaging, and sourcing practices and looked for ways to be kind to the Earth.
The Impact
In addition to innovating organic meal options, Sakara is also committed to giving back. Through their eCommerce site, Sakara gives back $1 on select items to support Wellness in the Schools, a nonprofit organization that promotes healthy eating, environmental awareness and fitness for children in New York City public schools. Sakara also utilizes special giving campaigns throughout the year to donate extra towards specific causes and integrates impact-focused messaging throughout their marketing strategy to ensure their customers are always aware of their giving efforts.
For GivingTuesday, Sakara committed to donating $5 on every purchase made to support Wellness in the Schools and Every Mother Counts. This campaign empowered their customers to purchase the products they love while supporting great charitable causes.
about-face
The Founder
about-face was founded by Ashley Frangipane, better known as Halsey. Halsey is an American pop artist and songwriter. She began songwriting at the age of 17 and in 2016 she won the Rising Star award by Billboard Women in Music, an award given to women in the music industry who have not only made a significant contribution, but have also inspired others. In addition to being musically gifted and talented, Halsey is also a self-taught makeup artist. Inspired by and for a diverse and artistic community, Halsey set out to create makeup made with integrity and intention, for all stages of life.
The Difference
about-face was built on the truth that no one is just one thing. At about-face, they believe that humans are weird, complex, and entirely beautiful because of it, and that everyone has their own personal method to becoming their greater selves.
The “norms” of the beauty industry create rules that people feel pressured to follow, and about-face wants to encourage people to challenge those standards and allow things to be imperfect and fun. Halsey feels the most free when she’s able to create looks without following any rules, and she wants to empower others to do the same. about-face makeup products are multi-dimensional, high-performance, and are made for everyone, everywhere. Even better, all about-face products are vegan, clean, and cruelty-free.
The Impact
about-face is also committed to giving back and making a positive impact for charitable causes like the Loveland Foundation, the Trevor Project, and Every Mother Counts. Through their eCommerce site, about-face empowers their customers to add-on a donation to support these charitable organizations with their purchase.
To make an impact for mental health awareness, about-face committed to donating 100% of all sales for a flash giving event in support of the Loveland Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls.
Margaux
The Founders
Margaux was founded by Sarah Pierson and Alexa Buckley with the goal of making thoughtfully designed, versatile, and comfortable shoes that stand the test of time. Sarah and Alexa met at Harvard where they both attended college, and later became roommates. It was here that from their own experiences, they discovered a need for a shoe that combined form and function and ensured that a woman could feel dressed up and beautiful while still being comfortable. After college, they teamed up to build a brand that changed the way women like them shop for shoes, giving them access to an unparalleled size range and extended width options.
The Difference
When founding Margaux, Alexa drew inspiration from her mother who embodies the picture of effortless style. As they began designing the perfect wear-everywhere shoe, Alexa and Sarah realized that they needed to rethink footwear sizing altogether. It can be difficult for women to find that perfect fit when it comes to footwear, especially for ready-to-wear shoes. Margaux set out to provide women with an unparalleled size range and extended width options to provide comfort and function for all women.
Since the beginning, Margaux committed to helping every woman find her perfect fit— regardless of size. Their commitment to size-inclusivity starts with their extended size range that’s available in all styles— from U.S. sizes 2.5 to 14 and width options from narrow, medium, and wide. Not only are their shoes made to be comfortable, but every pair of Margaux shoes offers exceptional quality at a compelling price point. Crafted in Spain, Margaux shoes are made with luxury materials, but offered to consumers at a fraction of the price of other luxury shoe brands.
The Impact
Margaux is also committed to giving back and supporting charitable causes through their eCommerce site. Through purchases made from their site, Margaux has supported organizations like No Kid Hungry, ROAR NY, Direct Relief, Doctors Without Borders, and The Lower East Side Girls Club. On Mother’s Day, Margaux raised awareness for mothers everywhere who are going above and beyond to be there for their families. Through this campaign, Margaux offered 20% off everything on their site and empowered their customers to donate a portion or all of their discount to support No Kid Hungry.
Esker Beauty
The Founder
Esker Beauty was founded by Shannon Davenport with a goal of making clean, safe products that nourish the body and elevate the way we care for it. As Shannon discovered the benefits of plant-based beauty and bodycare, she enrolled at the New York Institute of Aromatherapy where she received her certification in aromatherapy.
Shannon soon realized that the beauty industry didn't take the clean movement seriously and set out to create products using clean essential oils that are powerful, effective, and are safe and nourishing for the skin. Esker's three custom-crafted body oil formulas aim to celebrate the diversity and power of essential oils, and to function as a necessary step in any body care ritual.
The Difference
There is a lot of conflicting information that permeates the beauty industry, from deciphering between what’s clean, what isn’t, and how products are made. It can be difficult for consumers to understand what products are actually good for them, and Esker set out to change that. By leveraging high quality, natural essential oil formulations that are beneficial to the skin, Esker aims to transform simple body care routines into meditative rituals that heal, restore, and hydrate skin.
Esker is committed to clarifying the information around essential oils and believes the best way to educate around their benefits is by making products that are clean, filler-free, and effective. Esker also believes in being transparent so that consumers can make informed decisions about how to care for their body in a way that’s best for them. It is for this reason that Esker committed to using products and processes that are never harmful to our bodies, to our planet, or to the people who help craft their products.
The Impact
In addition to providing transparency and accountability in the beauty and skincare industry, Esker is also committed to giving back. Through purchases made from their eCommerce site, Esker donates 1% to support The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization that is working to protect the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. For GivingTuesday, Esker committed to donating 3% on every purchase to support The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and provided educational information to their customers on social media surrounding the cause.
KraveBeauty
The Founder
KraveBeauty was founded by Liah Yoo, a beauty influencer known for sharing skincare tips with the knowledge and experience she gained while working at Korea's largest beauty company and has since helped hundreds of other women find clearer and healthier skin by sharing her skincare journey.
Liah sought skincare advice from all of the brand experts and still struggled to achieve her ideal skincare regime. After rigorous searching, she realized that skincare shouldn’t be this complicated— the overload of new trends and “miracle” products turned something that should be simple into something stressful. This is when Liah decided that it was time to #PressReset.
The Difference
Since its founding, KraveBeauty knew that it never wanted to be a “million step skincare” brand or overwhelm their customers with product launches. At KraveBeauty, they want to help people discover the power of their own skin and provide the tools needed to make it the best it can be. Breaking the norms of the beauty industry, KraveBeauty exists to help people rethink their relationship with skincare and make people, not products, a focus.
It’s for this reason that KraveBeauty creates products that work with your skin, not against it. All KraveBeauty products are formulated to work with your skin’s natural ecosystem, while being designed to work on all skin types. They believe that skincare should be as intuitive as as eating what you crave and that people (not the industry) know how to best nourish their skin.
KraveBeauty is here for when your skintuition says you need a balanced skincare diet to keep your skin healthy. And as part of the product philosophy, all KraveBeauty products are free of fragrance, colorants, dyes, and they’re PETA-certified cruelty-free and vegan.
The Impact
To truly make an impact in the beauty industry, KraveBeauty set out to make waves in sustainability and inclusivity by investing in resources that are creating a more sustainable and equitable world. From their products, to community outreach, to social advocacy, KraveBeauty is on a mission to change the norm beyond skincare. The skincare industry has created an endless cycle of waste and KraveBeauty is committed to making a change, from using thoughtful sourcing and efficient production to waste-reducing packaging and transportation.
KraveBeauty is also committed to giving back and supporting charitable causes like the Women’s Earth Alliance, a division of Earth Island Institute, an organization dedicated to supporting grassroots women leaders to mitigate climate change and protect their communities, livelihoods, and health.
At ShoppingGives, we’re awestruck to be in great company with amazing brands and people, and love being able to celebrate our merchant partners’ achievements and what makes them different. To all of our inspiring partners, Happy Women’s History Month!