Civil Engineering graduate Hana Zalzal launched her cosmetics company, CARGO, in 1996, hoping to inspire women of all ages to experiment, play, celebrate, and reinvent.

With a recent appearance on the Dr. Phil Show, her Toronto-based multimillion-dollar company is no stranger to Hollywood. Celebrities Courtney Cox, Evangeline Lily, Lindsay Lohan, and most recently Dr. Phil’s wife Robin McGraw, have created their own custom lip colour with CARGO. Zalzal’s cosmetics have also appeared in goody bags at the Oscars®, the Emmys®, and the Golden Globes® and are sold in five countries.

Most recently, CARGO worked with professors at U of T to develop an environmental lipstick tube and packaging called PlantLove™. This product is the first ever 100% biodegradable lipstick tube made entirely from corn. Even the packaging is eco-friendly. The box containing the lipstick is made with biodegradable flower paper and infused with wildflower seeds. The lipstick itself does not contain mineral oil or petroleums and is made of cymbidium orchids in a vegetable oil base with meadowfoam seed oil, mango seed oil, jojoba, and shea butter.

In addition to providing an engineering solution that could be the start of a new era of environmentally friendly cosmetics packaging, CARGO donates $2 to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for every PlantLove™ lipstick sold.

CARGO products are available at Sephora, in addition to numerous stores in the Greater Toronto Area. Check their website for store locations: http://www.cargocosmetics.com/wtb_canada.html

*Editor's Note - most of this text was printed in Volume 2, Issue 1 of The Civilian.

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