By Melissa Meehan
A loud and proud range of hand and body skincare products is encouraging young Australians to just be themselves, without the need for any labels.
Unlabelled is a social enterprise developed by award-winning skincare professionals, Anthony McDonough and Chris Glebatsas, who turned their backs on successful corporate careers to focus on helping future generations instead.
The South Yarra dads were inspired by their 18-year-old daughter Grace.
She completed her final two years of high school during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and while Anthony and Chris say they are lucky to have a strong relationship with her, some kids aren’t so lucky.
“These kids were isolated and alone and away from their friends and school,” Chris said.
“So what we had heard from Grace is that some, who had no mental health issues prior to the pandemic, had developed eating disorders and depression… and that was only the tip of the iceberg.”
Dumbfounded by the issues so close to home, after experiencing bullying themselves as teens, the couple put their heads together to come up with a way to help – and Unlabelled was born.
They chose body and hand wash because it was something that everyone uses every day.
The next step was to decide how to brand it, and again Grace came to the rescue.
“We were talking to Grace when we were walking The Tan together and we were asking her about her generation and she was like, we just don’t want to be labelled,” Chris said.
“She said they want to be able to kiss a boy or girl and not be labelled for it and we thought that was perfect, and it goes beyond sexuality too – teens are labelled for their race, religion and body type too.”
A recent study by headspace found that social exclusion was one of the biggest challenges faced by young people in Australia.
So Anthony and Chris decided to ensure their products didn’t exclude anyone.
“We say your identity is you – it’s unique and you can be whoever you choose without a label,” Anthony sad.
Unlabelled celebrates diversity and helps tackle youth suicide, donating 100% of its profits to Black Dog Institute, QLife, Headspace and Kids Helpline.
Their focus is on dealing with identity, body image, anti-bullying, depression and LGBTQIA+ issues that can lead to youth suicide.
Anthony, an organic chemist, wanted Unlabelled hand wash, body wash and body bars to have a luxurious feel that invigorate the senses, using Tasmanian Sea Kelp Extract (Marine Collagen).
Their products are natural, vegan, cruelty-free and proudly Australian made, and the bottles are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste plastic.
The new packaging will be hard to miss in the aisles, with playful positive messages; like, “be yourself, everyone else is taken”, “be the goth who likes colour” or “be the punk who likes Beethoven”.
“We were looking for a way to help kids who are locally impacted,” Anthony said.
“We didn’t want some high and mighty vision to end world poverty, we wanted to make a change in our own backyard.”
100% of profits go to charity and the products can be purchased at Chemist Warehouse.
