Clark alum brings sustainable practices to beauty and skincare industries

Sustainable Beauty and Safe Products with Mia Davis ’01, M.A. ’03

Mia Davis ’01, M.A. ’03, remembers riding her bike to CVS as a kid to glance through the shampoos and conditioners available in the beauty aisles. Back then, she wondered why there were so many items and so much packaging — questions that remain relevant today.

Davis has been working in the beauty industry as a sustainability leader for more than 15 years. She’s currently the chief impact officer at Atmosphera, a climate-curated beauty brand that launched in the U.S. last month. Some of the biggest problems within the beauty industry are a lack of regulations around product safety and an overabundance of plastic packaging.

“We really need to rethink the way that we’re making this stuff, which is mostly plastic, and will be here on the planet long after we’re gone. When you ask customers if they would like more sustainable packaging, they say yes,” says Davis, who received an undergraduate degree in geography and a master’s in what was then international development, community, and environment. “It really comes down to where company values are and if they’re being made to do it because of policy or because of consumer demand and market regulation.”

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Davis speaks about enacting holistic sustainability practices and what it may take to make the beauty industry safer for people and the planet.

“My blame here squarely lies with a chemical industry that’s been really enjoying not having to test or disclose hazard data, sustainability information, worker rights information,” she says. “I don’t think that you, as a consumer, should have to have a Ph.D. in chemistry or be chasing down the supply chain to figure out if your shampoo is up to par. But I do think that the more educated we are, and the more questions we ask of companies, retailers, and policy-makers, that is how change happens.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.