Hi, I'm Gabi Day and I'm a science nerd who lives with multiple chronic illnesses - Lyme Disease, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and POTS.
Back in one of my more severe flares (peep my hospital chic), I was looking for a way to give my immune system as much of a break as possible.
I started researching every personal care product I was using at the time and it didn't take long for me to realize that I could do way better and there's a lot of bad science out there in clean beauty.
I figured it wouldn't be that hard to find a solid brand that used only the safest ingredients. I was very wrong.
As a true hard-headed and self-motivated Enneagram 8, I decided to create that line my damn self.
I started by teaching myself cosmetic chemistry while stuck in bed undergoing aggressive treatment.
As I slowly gained my strength back I started testing and learning product formulations in the kitchen.
My zone of genius is using botanical ingredients with the safest and best synthetics to make clean products that pack a punch.
Since our 2017 launch, I've doubled down on a sustainable business model with our aluminum, glass, and kraft cardboard packaging PLUS a Refill Program in 2018.
I've also beefed up not only my cosmetic chemistry chops but also my study of yoga and Ayurveda (fun fact: I'm also an RYT-500 and Ayurvedic Health Coach).
Science is awesome. So is Ayurveda. It's possible to use BOTH.
After 3 years of unexplained infertility, 3 pregnancy losses, 6 IUIs, and 2 rounds of IVF, I got pregnant in August 2021.
Our single embryo transfer split into two, and in April 2022 my husband and I became parents to identical twin boys, Oscar & Nico.
While it's getting easier to find nontoxic-ish products for kids, many aren't as strict with their ingredients as I'd like, and almost all of them come in plastic packaging.
So it was a logical next step for Bright Body to start making products for babies and kiddos, and decided to give it a bigger purpose...
When SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, I knew I had to do something to fight back.
As a mom by choice, for choice (who happened to have a life-saving abortion), I decided to harness the power of my small businesses. We are proud to donate 1% of our sales to pro-choice causes.
We’ve all heard the phrase “the personal is political.” We believe that the business is political, too. We unapologetically lead our progressive values in everything we do.
We believe Black Lives Matter, science is real, women’s rights are human rights, abortion is healthcare, love is love, no human beings are illegal, and feminism is for everyone. We embrace the fact that this will repel certain people, and that is by design.
We believe in using our small business as a force for good, and we donate 1% of our sales to the Center for Reproductive Rights. Why? Reproductive justice is one of the issues that unites us all: we are all born, and we deserve to have whatever we need to live with (or without) children in safe and sustainable communities. Reproductive justice is EVERYTHING.
While the FDA allows brands to obfuscate their fragrance ingredients, and ingredients less than 1% of the formula can be left off labels, we have nothing to hide. We proudly share all our ingredients and our processes behind choosing (and not choosing) our raw materials.
Our view of transparency extends beyond just ingredients to the way we do business. We welcome questions about any part of our process and share as much as we can without revealing proprietary information such as suppliers and formulations.
We believe that imperfect sustainability is not a marketing tool, but the vehicle with which we make all decisions. We prioritize people – our team, our customers, our communities, and beyond – and planet over profit, because money means nothing if it comes at the expense of the Earth.
We focus on imperfect sustainability because perfectionism is (1) rooted in white supremacy and (2) leaves people stuck in inaction due to fear and shame of “not doing enough” or “doing the wrong thing.” We refuse to use shame as a tool to motivate sustainable changes in our team and among our current and prospective customer base.
The “nontoxic” and “clean” products industry is full of alarmism and fear mongering. Instead, we focus on empowering our customers with information and the “why” behind our nuanced judgment calls.
We always explore nuance over false binaries and fear.
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We are all human beings before we are workers. Your personal and family needs always come ahead of business.
We cross-train so that team members can jump in and cover tasks as other team members need time away from work. All team members support one another as the whole human beings we are.
This means that you don’t need to ask for permission to get time off – you simply need to communicate your needs and limitations with the team and find coverage of your role, whether it’s for planned time off or an emergency.
To make life before business a reality, we have simple, documented systems for all business processes that can be easily learned and followed.
The entire team is responsible for creating, following, maintaining, editing, and updating systems as needed to make our business processes as smooth as possible.
Simple systems make cross-training possible, and allow us for more ease and spaciousness in how we operate the business.
We value candid and kind communication, clear feedback, and strong boundaries with one another and with our customers.
We have clear guidelines for pickup appointments, working hours, consultations, return policies, and more, and we unapologetically enforce them without guilt.
Cross training, clear and kind communication, and simple systems mean that every employee is empowered with the tools to have autonomy and flexibility in their role. While traditional corporate environments are rife with micromanagement, we instill trust in our employees so they can take ownership of their duties and reclaim their empowered autonomy.
We take ownership of our successes and mistakes without shame or blame, focusing instead on what can be learned and how we can move forward.
An openness to learn, unlearn, relearn, and grow in the business is the #1 skill that we value in our team members. To truly succeed, all employees – even the CEO – are open to constantly learning and growing personally and professionally.