Shannon Goldberg, a veteran of the beauty industry saw an opportunity to launch a revolutionary business that could help the environment. “We created the world’s first zero waste beauty brand that is also certified carbon neutral and all of our components can be washed and refilled more than 10,000 times,” said Shannon, “It really is a first of its kind.”

In episode three of Amazon’s This is Small Business podcast, host Andrea Marquez talks with Shannon, the Founder and Chief Zero Waste Officer of Izzy Zero Waste Beauty. Izzy is the world’s first zero waste beauty line—their mascara ships in a reusable mailer, comes in stainless-steel tubes with no packaging, and can be refilled 10,000 times.

Izzy’s was founded during the pandemic, and despite the team never having met in the person, business is thriving. One reason for this is Shannon’s commitment to building an environment where mental health is discussed openly. “We all have challenges and problems in our daily lives. It’s learning to see yourself in each other and know that life is really a series of moments, ebbs and flows, ups and downs, peaks, and valleys,” Shannon said.

Hearing how Shannon prioritizes mental health had us thinking: How can companies better integrate mental health into their culture? We reached out to Sheila Lord, the founder of BMR Health and Wellbeing, a UK-based company helping companies build wellbeing programs for their employees. We spoke with Sheila to learn how companies can invest in their employees as part of a long-term, mental-health focused business model.

You can listen and subscribe to This is Small Business anywhere you get your podcasts.