A Namibian-Swede, Landuleni Fäldt-Wahengo (14) has created a vegan and cruelty-free lip gloss that is for everyone who would like to use a product made from organic ingredients and fewer chemicals.
Fäldt-Wahengo said she is vegan because of the negative environmental impact the dairy and meat industry has on the environment and because of watching several documentaries and reading about how being vegan benefits one,s health.
Her current available flavours are cotton candy, cherry, candy, vanilla, mint and citrus and she hopes to expand the flavor base and include other fruity flavours. “I enrich my gloss with vitamin E and grapeseed oil and next time I go to Namibia I am hoping to explore using some of the natural oils we have back home, like the marula or ximenia for example. I use marula oils myself a lot for my skincare routine and my hair,” she says.
“I became a vegan beginning of this year as part of my New Year’s resolutions so it made sense for me to make vegan gloss, but also, I wanted to have a product that is for everyone, that everybody who likes it could use it, and therefore it also had to be vegan and cruelty-free,” Fäldt-Wahengo told Entertainment Now!
She made it cruelty-free because she believes that malice against animals is simply wrong. “Having animals suffer and die to test cosmetic products is not so logical and ethical to me; I just don’t think we should torture and take lives of living beings just to test cosmetics that can easily be handled another way. And making a vegan product is also about taking a stance on climate, trying to be aware of the impact the animal industry has on our environment, on our planet. That’s why my product is vegan,” she added.
Based in Copenhagen, Fäldt-Wahengo said the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “I have gotten loads of orders from all over. Of course thus far mainly from friends, neighbours and people in my school, but also customers from other countries Sweden, Iceland, Switzerland and France so far,” she said.
Fäldt-Wahengo adds: “I have gotten requests from boutiques and small shops that are into climate-safe and vegan products too, and I think that is very exciting and kind of shows that vegan products are very timely and gets interest and traction on the market. So, it’s been going pretty well even if it’s just been a bit more than a week since the launch and I am already busy ordering more supplies to be able to deliver on every order so far.”
Fäldt-Wahengo further said she was hopeful that she will be able to launch in Namibia when it is safe to travel again when she can come home to visit. “I do already ship to Namibia, but I am thinking that the next time I go, I would love to plan a pop-up or launching event – maybe with other Namibian young entrepreneurs to show what we can do.”
She elaborates: “I believe there are so many of us that have great entrepreneurial ideas and skills and to get the space, the opportunity and support to chase those ideas is important. You learn a lot through the process, you build your skills and that is good for your future.
My generation is the future leaders and investing in us early is just a smart thing to do. And that is to say that I hope that I can do something creative together with other young entrepreneurs in Namibia as soon as the opportunity is there.”
– psiririka@nepc.com.na