ABOUT US
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
It happens every time I see the ocean. I’m drawn to its beauty and energy, the endless waves invite me to dive in, and the invigorating waters leave me feeling relaxed and refreshed. For many of us, summer in Aotearoa is centered on this experience. The beach is where we reset and make memories. So available to us, we could easily take it for granted. Sometimes we forget the ocean is a precious life force. It feeds, cleanses and heals, overwhelming with its power and soothing with its gentle rhythm.
My love for the ocean inspired me to create Ascent, a brand built around hand and body washes that encapsulate elements of this incredible natural resource, while also helping to protect it. Ascent’s mission is to elevate your senses and reduce your impact on the environment, through our ingredients, fragrances, and packaging.
I hope you enjoy our products as much as I do. Patrick, Founder of Ascent.
OCEAN FOAM HAND AND BODY WASH
Fragrances inspired by the west and east coasts. Both sides of New Zealand offer incredibly unique and beautiful beaches, ranging from the untamed waters of the Far North to the brooding seas of the Deep south. We all have our favourite and whether it’s on the East or West coast, our fragrances capture their spirit.
Ocean minerals
Our Ocean Foam Hand and Body Wash is enhanced with the same beneficial minerals and elements found in the ocean. Many of these ingredients are easily absorbed by the skin and have been shown to improve elasticity and to heal and protect the skin barrier. Key ingredients include Dead Sea salt, which is rich in magnesium, potassium, calcium chlorides, chromium, selenium, zinc and vanadium, and New Zealand red seaweed extracts with antioxidant, metal chelator (anti-pollutant), antiviral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
SUSTAINABILITY
I believe it is critical we think of sustainability as encompassing environment, social, and economic needs. It is not just an environmental issue. Waste is the single biggest contributor to carbon emissions in the beauty and personal care industry. Our ultimate goal is to become 100% carbon neutral.
Our message is in our bottles.
All our bottles are made of glass, which is key to our circular model of reduce, reuse and refill. After proper cleansing, a glass bottle can be reused for the same product over and over again. Additionally, glass has an almost zero rate of chemical interaction meaning it keeps aroma and strength intact, and it’s nonporous and impermeable, ensuring your product doesn’t spoil.
Our glass refill bottles can be easily returned by FREE courier for washing and refilling, when you make your next order.
Don’t pay for water.
Just 10ml of our Ocean Foam Hand and Body Wash concentrate makes 100mls of foaming hand and body wash. Our 200ml bottle will make 2.2L of Ocean Foam Hand or Body Wash.
All you need to do is add water and shake for 15 seconds.
The plastic problem.
The pervasiveness of plastic has become a global concern. An estimated 242 million metric tons of it is generated every year.
The average New Zealand household uses 941 plastic containers or bottles a year and 1.76 billion plastic containers are disposed of annually in New Zealand. While plastic packaging is widely accepted by our recycling schemes, we know that approximately 40% of recyclable plastic, and 58% of packaging, still ends up in a landfill. Even if plastic is recycled, the same piece of plastic can only be recycled roughly 2 to 3 times before it’s quality decreases to the point where it can no longer be used.
Why recycling doesn’t work.
The recycling rate for plastic bottles is almost 30%. While the recycling rate for all plastic is 9%, because post-consumer machines don’t handle non-sturdy plastic such as bags.
Humans have consumed 9.2 billion tons of plastic. Out of it, at least 6 billion will never meet a recycling bin, because there’s no infrastructure to deal with it. Worldwide, at least 8.8m tons of plastic waste enters the marine environment each year, the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck filled with plastic into the ocean every single minute. If current trends continue, scientists have estimated this total could leap to 53m tons annually by 2030, which is roughly half of the weight of all fish caught from the oceans globally each year.
Reduce, Reuse and Refill.
We must depart from the existing linear model of ‘take, make, waste’ and embrace a truly circular model. The beauty and personal care industry has become focused on recycling. But we simply cannot recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. We need corporate accountability and transparency, especially in the form of redesigned packaging for reusable systems. Finding legitimate ways to reduce the production of plastic.
We are passionate about leading a movement towards a circular model of ‘reduce, reuse and refill.’ Ascent will set a new benchmark in what it means to be truly sustainable by designing all our products to be used in a truly circular model, where refilling, returning empties and regenerating the earth are simply responsible business.
Plastic reduction is where our focus needs to be; not just on recycling.
