When Jørgen and Hanne Rasmussen realized their jobs were taking time away from their burgeoning relationship, the decision was clear: quit the jobs and become self-employed. They founded their company, Unique Sustainable Luxury, to uncompromisingly adhere to the principles of ecology, sustainability, and fair trade. 

Now, the Rasmussen couple spends a lot of time in development, testing shampoo and conditioner recipes, rejecting some things, adding others, until they’re left with a new product that satisfies their high standards. Slowly, they built up their new family business in the Danish town of Fredericia, now producing 18 different Unique Sustainable Luxury products for hair and skin care.

With Unique products, it’s what they don’t put in that matters

“We do entirely without parabens, propylene glycol, synthetic colors or fragrances, nano-ingredients, genetically modified ingredients, formaldehyde and its derivatives, toxic chemicals, lanolin, sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium lauryl ether sulfates (SLS / SLES), Triethanolamine (TEA), EDTA or Urea,” founder Jørgen explains.
The Danes go even further with their chemical-free approach, only using ‘green’ surfactants based on renewable resources such as corn, potatoes, wheat, coconuts, and palm kernels. What you get from this is ECOCERT-certified products that are not only ideally suited to the skin — but also to the environment, damaging it as little as possible.
These compromises extend to the production process. “We do not process our plant ingredients excessively, which means, we don’t alter them by bleaching, deodorizing, refining, or zapping them with gamma radiation. It’s important to us that the plant retains its original properties,” Jørgen adds.

Vikings and whey for healthier hair and skin

Some of the inspiration for their products comes from a place close by: the ancient Vikings. The couple extensively researched the beautification rituals of Viking women, who used specific plants for their healing and invigorating properties. In the land of the Vikings, these products are local, which enhances their freshness and their effect.

Other companies might be satisfied by all of this, but not this enterprising couple. Because of their love for regionally produced products, they were thrilled to discover the amazing properties of organic whey, which is a major component of many of their products.
“Organic whey is rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and lipids, which all have a fantastic effect on skin and hair,” says Hanne. It’s important to note that Denmark is a very large producer of organic cheese — and for every kilo of organic cheese, there are 9 kilos of whey as a byproduct.
Jørgen and Hanne developed a method to substitute organic whey for water, which made their products more effective and milder on the skin. But that wasn’t the only convincing aspect. “From a sustainability perspective, whey is fantastic, because it is readily available in Denmark, so we don’t have to produce CO2 by transporting it,” she adds.

Sustainable products, all the way

To make the switch from commercial cosmetics to natural products, Hanne recommends ECOCERT products above all others.
“ECOCERT products are important because they guarantee the organic origins of a product. The eco-cosmetics sector is a jungle, and it’s very hard to find out what is truly ecologically responsible and what is ‘fake organic,’” she explains.

Though eco-cosmetics are now widespread, if you ask Jørgen and Hanne, their work is hardly done. “It’s important for us to think like a cosmetics company instead of focusing too much on the our ecological philosophy, which is kind of a trend in the industry now,” Jørgen explains. “Talking about it is not enough. We have to do more, and look at it from a holistic perspective, including the transportation of ingredients, the production process, packaging, and so on.”
For this reason, Unique’s products ship in reusable packaging, packaging that won the company the ‘Best of Cosmoprof Green Prize’ award. Aside from that, the company gets all of its energy from windmills, and in addition produce their own ECOCERT-certified cleaning products.

“I think people like the idea that it’s still possible to find old-fashioned, high quality, locally produced products,” Hanne says of her success. Sure, Unique’s products are not the cheapest on the market, but nevertheless the quality is very high. “We could produce cheaper products, but we remain true to our beliefs, and we won’t compromise on our truly unique, high-quality product lines,” she concludes.

From their own product line, Hanne recommends the following: “I love our new Organic Hair Foam. Since I’ve got a lot of curls, the foam works particularly well with my hair. Another favorite of mine is our new hair oil, that makes my hair beautifully soft and shiny, without being too oily.” she adds. Both products are new and make their debut in fall 2016.