As consumers, how much do we really know about the products we use? Medicine cabinets are stocked with beautifully packaged products that add a touch of chic beauty. The products we use say something about who we are, or who we aspire to be, and if you’re lucky, they even make you feel good. We all have to ask ourselves: How do they make our planet feel?
Carta founder Heather D’Angelo wants everyone to know that her new fragrance, Moena, is sustainable and has no negative impact on the planet.
The new fragrance was created in partnership with Camino Verde, a grassroots reforestation organization in Peru. The organization is distilling an essential oil that has never been used before, Moena Alcanfor. D’Angelo was immediately drawn to the oil for many reasons.
The scent reminded her of her time in the Malaysian rainforest as a sophomore at Columbia University, where she studied tropical ecology. She also appreciates the mission behind Camino Verde: All profits from essential oil sales go toward purchasing native (undeveloped) and degraded land for reforestation.
“I feel like a lot of people just pay lip service to sustainability but don’t actually practice it,” D’Angelo says. “I went to Peru and experienced it firsthand, and it all made sense.”
“Sustainable” and “ethically sourced” seem to be buzzwords in the beauty world in recent months, but D’Angelo’s interest in both concepts dates back a long time.
Always interested in science but “terrible at math,” she followed her artistic muse and enrolled at Parsons School of Design for her first undergraduate degree, working at a gallery in her free time. Unfortunately, the gallery went bankrupt, leaving her with a lot of free time.
So she took continuing adult education classes, which led to an internship at the Museum of Natural History. The experience encouraged her to pursue her dream of science, and she eventually earned a second bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.
Meanwhile, her indie pop band, Au Revoir Simone, signed a contract and went on a world tour. It took her seven years to complete her second undergraduate degree, but those seven years were filled with eye-opening experiences.
Her many trips to Malaysia, where she extracted cores from the soil—which she described as hard work in the humid heat—exposed her to the aromatics in the soil.
Upon returning to New York, she met DS & Durga perfumer David Moltz and realized she could combine her two passions—art and science—to create a luxurious and sustainable product.
“That was my first visit to a fragrance lab, and I fell in love with it immediately,” says D’Angelo. “Seeing David at his workbench, with these little bottles, like a mad scientist and an artist at the same time, really touched me and informed my background.”
Her first fragrance, Moena, harkens back to her time digging in the soil. It has hints of ginger and tobacco leaves. She hopes the scent will make the wearer feel valued, connect with other wearers, and care about the products we use.