Meet Kat Scarlett, a passionate nature lover turned eco-entrepreneur who’s on a mission to blend beauty and sustainability. After witnessing the harsh realities of climate change firsthand in Australia, Kat was inspired to create Glotanicals, a skincare brand dedicated to high-quality, low-waste products. Her journey didn’t stop there—last year, she launched the Glo Eco podcast to further advocate for environmental consciousness. Kat’s story is one of transformation, perseverance, and a deep commitment to making a positive impact on our planet, one skincare product at a time.
Can you share with us your personal journey and how it led you to start Glotanicals and Glo Eco?
I’ve been a nature lover my whole life but it wasn’t until I was faced with the devastating effects of climate change up close and personal in Australia that it became a big part of my life’s work. I of course knew about plastic pollution and climate change but hadn’t seen it in action until then. Seeing how the great barrier reef had shrunk and witnessing the biggest wildfires in the country’s history is something I will never forget and makes me emotional to think about to this day. From that moment on I knew I could no longer sit on the sidelines and had to get involved. So first I started learning about the climate crisis & plastic pollution and I also started volunteering with Greenpeace. All of this combined with my entrepreneurial mindset is what led me to start Glotanicals in 2019 and just last year I launched the Glo Eco podcast.
What inspired you to merge your passion for sustainability and skincare into a business like Glotanicals?
I became very passionate about sustainability & living a low waste lifestyle that was inspired by my activism work but at the same time I was still someone who loved fashion and beauty. I’ve been a lifelong skincare junkie and was excited to find new products that fit my now low waste lifestyle and was shocked and disappointed by what I found in the market. Everything was either a great product that wasn’t actually sustainable (hello greenwashing) or it was low waste but a subpar product that didn’t get the skincare results I was used to. There was nothing out there that fit my needs as a skincare lover and an environmentalist and I knew other women cared about this too. We were all tired of having to trade good skincare for sustainability and so I decided to do something about it and merged my two passions into creating Glotanicals.
What were some of the challenges or struggles you faced while building your brand and platform?
The challenge to starting any beauty business is competing in an extremely crowded marketplace however there are additional challenges when you’re also creating a truly sustainable product. At that time sustainability was certainly not the norm in beauty and I struggled to find manufacturers and suppliers who aligned with my mission and were willing to work with a small brand. I spent two years in R&D vetting suppliers, testing formulas, and sourcing low waste and refillable packaging options to land on the products we have today. Having that patience and commitment to both quality and sustainability certainly extended the timeframe for creating a product but it’s something I don’t regret spending my time on.
Can you share a pivotal moment or lesson that has had a significant impact on your entrepreneurial journey?
A big lesson I had to learn in the first few years of business was that you can’t be everywhere at once or do everything at the same time. For example, in the beginning I felt the need to try and be on every single platform and at every event and I spread myself too thin without actually getting results. In the beginning it’s much better to focus on growing one platform at a time and really hone in on who your customer is and how to reach them. Maybe your customer is on Facebook or TikTok or maybe even both but to grow on any platform you need to focus on one at a time and focus on where your customer is. So what if other brands are growing like crazy on TikTok. If it’s not a platform you can be consistent on or if your customers aren’t hanging out there it isn’t worth your time or investment to market there.
How do you stay motivated and inspired, especially during tough times or setbacks?
I have a small tight-knit community of female founders that keeps me motivated and inspired through all the ups and downs. There will inevitably be hard times and burnout periods in your business but having a community of supportive women who know what you’re going through is so essential. It’s the thing that has kept me going through all the ups and downs in business.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who are passionate about sustainability and want to make a positive impact like you have?
I would say to follow your intuition and what you are passionate about. Not to get too esoteric but I truly believe that we are given these ideas and desires for a reason and that is because we are meant to pursue them. At the end of the day you know what’s right. You know that there is a better and more planet positive way to run a business and your ideas are valid. So don’t hold yourself back and just go for it.
Could you share a memorable success story or achievement from your journey with Glotanicals and Glo Eco?
My biggest success with both Glotanicals and Glo Eco is the positive feedback I get from my customers and my listeners. Honestly nothing else matters. Any brand can pay for PR features at events and in magazines but real feedback from your customers? That is priceless and the true marker of success.
How do you balance running a business with maintaining a sustainable lifestyle personally?
I think one good thing about running a sustainability focused business is that I’m in that mindset all the time. The challenging part is also what everyone finds challenging about sustainability which is having limited time. But after being in this space for so long I feel like I know all the hacks that make it easier. For instance, I rarely have time to go to the farmers market on the weekend so instead I get a CSA box delivered with my weekly produce so I’m still shopping locally & sustainably.
What are your future plans and goals for Glotanicals and Glo Eco?
My plans are to continue to grow and help women become their most conscious & sustainable selves by helping them look good, do good, and feel good. We have some exciting launches coming up this year with Glotanicals and my platform with Glo Eco is growing so quickly! My goal through everything is to inspire and build a community of eco conscious modern women so that we can increase our collective impact for the betterment of our planet.
Lastly, what does being a woman in the sustainable business and environmental activism space mean to you, and how do you hope to inspire others through your work?
To me it means I am living my purpose and that’s what I would like to inspire all women to do. If environmentalism or nature speaks to you then follow that voice but maybe for you it’s something else that’s speaking to you. We all have different passions and roles to play in life so I would encourage everyone to find the thing they are most passionate about and sometimes that’s disguised as what pisses you off the most or pulls at your heartstrings. Does the thought of children going to bed hungry in our country make you angry? Do you cry at the thought of stray animals without a home? Do you dream about being a mom? What’s that ‘thing’ for you that you can’t stop thinking about? That’s where you will find your purpose.
