Gaia Tonanzi knows about hair. After developing products for some of the biggest haircare companies in the UK, she was the first employee of Curlsmith, and has won multiple awards for her work within the industry. This week she launched her own brand, Tootilab!
Prevented Ocean Plastic™ knows about plastic. Since 2019, our small but formidable team has been offering an ongoing supply of high-quality, fully traceable recycled material at industry scale while supporting local communities in the regions we source from and driving long-term environmental solutions. We’ve won a few awards in the process too!
To find out how these different worlds collide, Prevented Ocean Plastic™ spoke to the Tootilab founder (and business strategist and product developer and marketeer and social media manager and one-woman whirlwind) about curls, creams, and making better plastic choices.
- Hi Gaia! How long has the idea for Tootilab been brewing? And why is now the right time to launch the brand?
“I’ve often toyed with the idea of having my own brand, but for years I didn’t think I was ready. I kept making excuses- I didn’t know enough about haircare, I didn’t know enough about the industry, I was too young. It took getting a job in corporate – and seeing that even though they were one of the top UK brands in haircare, they had an incredibly limited knowledge of the market they were trying to serve – to push me over the edge.
Now is an amazing time for the curly hair market. The world is finally realising that over 60% of its population has some sort of hair texture, so pretending that straight hair is the standard doesn’t cut it anymore. Brands are rushing to approach this underserved market, but most of them lack the understanding of the consumer base, which Is very different from traditional haircare. There’s a unique space for a brand who understands both the consumer and the technical challenges of developing high performance products – cutting through the myths and misconceptions that are littering social media. That’s what Tootilab aims to do.“
- What else sets Tootilab apart?
“We take the effort out of curl care. The problem of straight hair being the focus for the past several decades is that most people don’t actually know how to take care of curls. Heck, most hairdressers don’t know how to do it – in the UK it hasn’t been part of training until very recently (and still isn’t in the US or in the rest of Europe). So when you first decide to embrace your natural texture, you have to go on a personal journey, scouring the internet and social media for information. But the problem is – there’s so much noise. Influencers contradict each other, TikTok brings out a new wacky hack every other week, and brands keep launching product after product without clearly explaining what they’re for. Can you believe that most curly hair brands have 10+ styling products in their lines? How are people supposed to navigate that, if they don’t even know what they’re looking for? Our education-first approach helps people understand their curls, and craft a routine that provides results from the first wash. Our product line is streamlined and colour coded, for easy navigation. We don’t use fancy marketing names; we go straight to the point and tell you what the product is and what it does. All our formulas exclusively contain functional and active ingredients that are proven to deliver results. They’ve been tested by professional stylists on all curl types, so we know that they’re going to work whether you have waves, curls or tight coils.“
- Why did you choose to work with Prevented Ocean Plastic™?
“We have chosen Prevented Ocean Plastic™ bottles (and hopefully moving to caps very soon as well) for our whole first product range. The first two products to launch are the All Weather Styling Gel – a medium hold styling gel that helps define all curl types and helps protect from frizz even in adverse weather – and the Soft Leave-in Cream – a moisturising leave-in conditioner that smooths down curls and makes them softer and more bouncy.
As a business, we strongly believe in transparency. We strive to make every decision thinking about our impact on the planet and how it can be reduced, but we try to go beyond the headlines and really understand the implication of every option. That’s why we decided against going for the industry ‘plastic free’ trend – because when you actually look at the Life Cycle Analysis (there are many studies out there, Medoola and Imperial College are two examples), plastic alternatives like aluminium and glass have a much higher impact on the environment overall. They also force you to use pumps as closures, which are currently made from virgin materials and hard to recycle. Prevented Ocean Plastic™ was the best option for our needs. Not only does it address a very real problem we face today – the excess of plastic material that ends up as waste – but it also has the lowest LCA impact of any other variant we chose for our bottles.“
- What does working with Prevented Ocean Plastic™ mean to you?
“It means being able to provide our customers with the best packaging for their needs, without compromising the environment. It means maintaining a high level of brand customisation due to the low level of impurities compared to similar materials in the industry. It means reducing our impact on the world while supporting communities in their efforts to reduce the amount of plastic pollution that reaches our oceans.
It means our customers don’t have to worry, because you know the bottle you are purchasing is not increasing the plastic content on our planet – but it’s helping to reduce it. I honestly don’t see why more brands aren’t doing it already.”
- Haircare hasn’t always been a sustainability-focused space. Do you think that is changing now? Why is sustainability important to Tootilab?
“It’s definitely changing, largely driven by consumer demand. For Tootilab, sustainability is part of our core values. It’s not just a box to tick for marketing purposes, it’s something we really believe in. My co-founder has been working in the carbon accounting industry for years, and has seen first-hand the impact sustainability projects can have. Individual consumers have a limited scope to solving the current plastic crisis, but we believe as a company it is our duty to try. I believe the years to come will be transformational for our industry!“
- What are Tootilab’s ambitions for the future?
“Our mission is to become the leading professional brand in the curly hair space, to make texture part of mainstream hair education so people with all curl types, from any race, gender or age, can embrace their natural hair pattern with confidence. We have very ambitious plans – so watch this space!“
About PREVENTED OCEAN PLASTIC™:
Prevented Ocean Plastic™ is high quality, certified recycled plastic that has been collected from coastal areas at risk of ocean plastic pollution. Used by supermarkets and brands around the world, it meets regulatory health and safety standards, is traceable back to source and can be identified on-pack through its distinctive triangular logo. Prevented Ocean Plastic™ was an official nominee for the 2023 Earthshot Prize, and counts Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Booths Supermarket as key partners, along with major manufacturing partners such as Groupe Guillin, Spectra Packaging, and Berry Global for offerings across multiple product categories, including fish, poultry, soft fruits, pet food, personal care, and home cleaning.
