What does reconciliation mean to me?

This year's theme for Reconciliation Week is Bridging Now to Next. 

Reconciliation isn’t a box to tick or a plan to write and plaster on your website. It’s a bridge connecting where we are with where we should be. Connecting Indigenous Australians with non-Indigenous Australians. And it should be infused in how you operate, not just your marketing materials. 

As an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman, I'm passionate about using my skincare business, Thirsty Turtl, to forge a future where Indigenous knowledge is preserved and respected, not exploited. Because what’s “next” can’t just be native ingredients slapped on labels (Kakadu Plum is EVERYWHERE and yet most of the benefit goes to non-Indigenous businesses).

When I started Thirsty Turtl with two non-Indigenous co-founders, we had to get honest about what reconciliation really looks like in business. It’s not about token partnerships or PR stunts. It’s about changing how we (and the industry) operate to ensure more of the benefit goes to Indigenous businesses and communities.

That’s why Jasmin, Ellen and I have spent time on Country with Indigenous growers. Not just sampling plants but talking about how this knowledge has been ignored, then "discovered", and now needs protecting.

Our goal isn’t to extract or repackage culture. It’s to respect it. Preserve it.

Here's what Bridging Now to Next means to us:

• It's about success for me as an Indigenous entrepreneur

• It's about elevating First Nations suppliers, who are <1% of the bush foods and botanicals sector currently
  

• It's about bridging a connection to Country for our customers so they know where our ingredients come from and the tens of thousands of years of traditional use that is relevant to skincare today. 

This Reconciliation Week we are gifting you a free cleanser. This features beautiful Australian white cypress from a First Nations supplier near Dubbo, NSW and is made in Australia using betaine and glycerin which are calming and moisturising for your skin. The White Cypress was used traditionally for inflammation, wound healing and ceremonially.

It's been an absolute journey for four years so far but our reconciliation story is just beginning. As we grow and bring on new products and more customers we have a chance to Bridge Now to Next by working together to preserve and elevate Indigenous knowledge and culture in the skincare sector.