EverCircle Founder Jessie Alice is reducing the wastage and environmental impact of beauty products. Photo: Supplied.
A Scarborough entrepreneur and environmentalist is transforming the beauty industry by creating eco-friendly products that remove the barriers to connecting with nature to spark meaningful change and connection within the community.
Jessie Alice was raised to make things stretch the extra mile.
As one of four children to a single mother, shopping in op shops, using left over materials for craft and getting unsold bread from the bakery at the end of the day was just a normal part of growing up.
“I didn’t even realise it was an environmental thing; it was just what we did,” Jessie said.
“My mum has a big part in all of this – just making things go the extra distance.”
Jessie was later convinced by a friend to try dumpster diving, and while she was initially reluctant, she quickly found a passion for food rescue.
“Seeing the sheer abundance and quality of waste opened my eyes to how broken our systems are,” she said. “But what really hooked me was the community aspect and the creative challenge of working with rescued materials.”
She founded Leftover Lovers, hosting community picnics with rescued food and running education programs.
Later working in the surf industry, Jessie came across another environmental challenge.
“I noticed many women avoided ocean activities due to hair and beauty concerns,” she said. “That’s when I realised there was an opportunity to solve beauty barriers while addressing environmental issues.”
Her first product idea came from a simple problem.
“I started experimenting with waste and product design just from my own need for a hair tie before I went into the surf,” Jessie said. “I went ‘oh, there’s an inner tube here’ and my partner at the time just cut an inner tube into a hair tie.”
She started EverCircle in 2019, initially just with one product, and has grown the business through finding innovative ways to overcome beauty barriers and reduce the impact of the industry.
“Traditional beauty products contribute to ocean pollution through plastic waste and harmful chemicals like sulfates and parabens that wash down our drains and into waterways,” Jessie said.
“But there’s also this ironic barrier where beauty routines actually prevent people from engaging with nature worrying about hair getting messy.”
Coffee Tastes Better brings people across the Illawarra together for important conversations with environmental benefits. Photo: Jess Beezem.
The business has already rescued more than 1500 kilograms of bike inner tube waste and scrap metal to create the products and Jessie hoped that through people connecting more with the environment, they would also care more about their footprint and impact.
“If you can’t see it you can’t get caught up in the story,” Jessie said.
“The products I design are about not just taking one product off the shelf but ideally multiple products off the shelf and that you reuse it to the end of its life.
“My shampoo bars alone – one shampoo bar compares to five bottles of liquid shampoo.”
While EverCircle is providing more opportunities for people to access more environmentally friendly products, Jessie said it was not about guilting or putting the pressure on the individual to change the world.
“It’s not up to the individual; we need policy change, we need better manufacturing, so that’s why I’m thinking this is a real opportunity to show manufacturing in Australia can take that on and be responsible for the whole lifecycle of a product,” she said.
It is also about starting conservations.
Jessie partnered with fellow Illawarra local Jess Beezem to host ‘Coffee Tastes Better’ events, where local community members meet for meaningful discussions and give back.
“People buy their own coffee, tea, or drink, and EverCircle donates $3 from every purchase to ORRCA Australia,” Jessie said.
“Every coffee creates a ripple effect of positive change in our community, while directly supporting marine conservation in our own backyard.
“I’m passionate about this because it brings together everything I believe in – community connection, environmental action, and creating tangible impact at a local level.”
Jessie isn’t going to stop trying to find a solution, with hopes EverCircle can make meaningful change across the world as it continues to grow and develop.
“Every product we make should facilitate that connection while demonstrating that circular alternatives don’t just match conventional products, they exceed them,” she said. “The goal is to make authentic circularity and regular engagement with nature the new normal, not the exception.”
To find out more visit the EverCircle website and to become involved with ‘Coffee Tastes Better’ contact the EverCircle Instagram.
