Jayn Sterland

Weleda

Profile

Joining Weleda UK in 2008 as Marketing Director, Jayn Sterland was appointed Managing Director in 2016 and for the past 15 years has not only ploughed her energy into Weleda, but has helped drive the beauty industry towards more sustainable business practices. After rejecting an ‘unsustainable’ career in fashion, Jayn has helped take the Weleda brand to new heights as UK managing director and global spokesperson. As an energetic activist for social and environmental responsibility, Jayn regularly shares Weleda’s century of knowledge through panel discussions, interviews, public speaking at events or writing as a columnist.

Jayn reached No.1 in last year’s ‘Who’s Who in Natural Beauty’, having been voted into the top spot for the sixth time. This industry Top 25 recognises the natural beauty sector’s most influential voices, and those driving change and growth – an inspirational list of those individuals shaping the British natural and organic cosmetics industry, from brand founders to formulators, educators, campaigners and pioneers.

In 2020 Jayn was appointed to the Advisory Board of the British Beauty Council, and in 2021 became Chair of the Council’s Sustainable Beauty Coalition which was established to accelerate the sustainability efforts of the UK’s beauty industry, to encourage collaboration and bolder collective efforts, and to champion the green economy.
In 2022 Jayn joined the board of the global B Corp Beauty Coalition – a collaboration of B Corp certified beauty brands and businesses, whose mission is to improve the social and environmental impacts of business practices in the beauty industry internationally.

Her determination hasn’t gone unnoticed. Last year Jayn was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her tireless efforts driving change for a more planet-positive future. The award was presented to her at Natural & Organic Products Europe (NOPEX) at London’s ExCel.

With her two-year tenure as Chair of the SBC coming to a close, Jayn has been appointed ESG Pillar President for the British Beauty Council, supporting the Council on Environmental, Social and Governance issues including the beauty industry’s impact on the planet (Environment), on people (Social) via their relationships with employees, suppliers and customers, and the impact of leadership (Governance). Her role will be to develop the Council’s ESG focus, to build a sustainable and equitable future for British beauty brands, service providers, retailers and salons. The aim is to push for industry-wide adoption of environmental regulations, bring an end to greenwashing claims, ensure inclusivity and diversity across all sectors, and shine a spotlight on the part that beauty plays in wellness.First founded in Switzerland in 1921, Weleda is widely recognised as the original green beauty brand. It began as a small pharmaceutical laboratory making holistic health products from only natural ingredients, growing its own herbs organically. Weleda’s unique vision was written into the very Articles of Association for the business: ‘The Company shall have a material positive impact on society and the environment, taken as a whole through its business and operations’, and remains true today.

Weleda works with over 1,000 natural substances and in the UK alone retails over 70 pharmaceutical products and 120 natural cosmetics. Over the decades Weleda has become the largest global manufacturer of holistic health and beauty products, with 27 companies in 20 countries, 8 manufacturing sites, and 7 productive medicinal gardens around the world. With approximately 2,500 employees, the range is available in over 50 countries. The company remains privately owned by the original non-profit organisations that founded Weleda in 1921.

• B Corp Certified business

• UEBT certified sustainable cosmetic supply chains

• NATRUE certified natural and organic cosmetics

• Demeter certified biodynamic herb gardens