Green People

Green People is an independent British organic skincare company founded in 1997 by Charlotte Vøhtz and headquartered in West Grinstead, West Sussex [2]. It produces certified-organic skin, hair, body, sun and baby care, and describes itself as a pioneer of organic beauty, having helped write the first standards for the sector. The company remains an independently owned family enterprise and is active across the UK and several European markets.

The brand grew out of a personal problem rather than a commercial one. According to the company, its founder began searching for genuinely natural products after her young daughter, Alexandra, developed eczema and skin allergies, and discovered that many products marketed as "natural" contained almost no natural ingredients at all [2].

The company traces its origins to 1994, when Charlotte Vøhtz set out to find kinder skincare for Alexandra. By 1995 she had begun formulating organic creams and salves at home, an effort the brand frames as motivated "out of love, not for profit". Green People itself launched in 1997 with an initial line that included a salve for irritated skin, a gentle cleanser and several haircare products. While all sources record 1997 as the founding year, the brand's own timeline dates the inspiration and early development to the preceding three years.

From the outset the company set itself rules it still cites today: to preserve the environment, to avoid ingredients it considers unsafe, and never to test on animals. Vøhtz has remained the public face of the brand, and Green People continues to present itself as an independent family business.

Securing early retailers proved difficult, as the concept of organic skincare was unfamiliar to most stockists at the time; the company's first was a local health food store. A formative chapter came at the turn of the millennium, when Vøhtz joined a Soil Association committee to help design what the brand describes as the world's first standards for organic health and beauty products [2]. In 2002, Green People says it became one of the first companies to carry certified-organic beauty products [7].

The range broadened steadily. A children's line, originally Happy Kids and later Organic Children, was added in 2004, followed by Organic Babies, ranges for younger and male customers, and in time Vøhtz's own Age Defy+ line, the Nordic Roots range, and an allPaws pet-care range. In 2006 the business moved into a purpose-built headquarters converted from a redundant farm building on land that forms part of the Knepp Castle rewilding project, an arrangement under which its rent helps fund the conservation work.

In 2021 the company introduced its first wellbeing range, Alexandra Kay, developed with Charlotte's daughter. Alexandra had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and died that year at the age of 28; Green People has since raised funds for related patient support in her memory [2]. The same year, in October, it opened its first physical shop in Horsham, West Sussex. The brand marked its 25th anniversary in 2022.

Green People's catalogue spans skincare, haircare, body care, sun care, make-up, wellbeing and ranges for babies, children and men. The company emphasises plant extracts and botanical actives as the working ingredients across its formulas. Among its more prominent products are the Age Defy+ range, described as the founder's signature line, and an organic children's sun cream that was named Best Sunscreen at the 2023 Organic and Sustainable Baby Awards [1].

The company holds organic certification under COSMOS and has stated that it is also certified by ECOCERT, the Soil Association and the Organic Food Federation [7]. It is registered with The Vegan Society and reports that its products are cruelty-free and verified by PETA, and says it has operated under the same animal-testing rules since 1997 [4].

The brand positions itself as setting organic standards rather than following natural-beauty marketing, and frames its approach as much around exclusion as inclusion. "It's not just about the goodness that we put into our products, it's about the harmful things that we leave out too," Vøhtz has said [6]. Its stated audience is people with sensitive or allergy-prone skin and eco-conscious families seeking certified-organic alternatives.

Sustainability claims feature heavily in how Green People describes itself. The company says it has pledged to donate 10 percent of net profits to charity since its founding, and lists long-standing partnerships including the Marine Conservation Society and Ehlers-Danlos Support UK [7]. It has also revised its packaging over time, replacing some plastic tubes with sugar-cane alternatives and corn-starch packing chips, and in 2020 launching One Balm, which it describes as its first product in a biodegradable pot.

Green People is an actively trading, independently owned company. It sells through its own e-commerce site, independent health food stores, selected pharmacies and the online supermarket Ocado, and operates the Horsham flagship store [6]