Hi! I’m Milena, the person behind Just the Goods -- it's a pleasure to meet you!

Just the Goods is a handmade natural skin care project serving the world from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Honoured to be one of very few Canadian skin care producers granted Champion status membership with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics thanks to an unwavering commitment to safe ingredient choices and transparent labeling practices, Just the Goods is also certified cruelty-free by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics' Leaping Bunny program. This rare intersection of demonstrated values makes Just the Goods' safe and affordable personal care products a clear choice for those concerned with the impact of toxic chemical-based mass production on our bodies and the earth.

I started making natural skin care items for me and my friends at the end of 2007. The feedback I received was very positive and I was encouraged to make my products more widely available, so I opened an Etsy shop in May 2009 and started posting items for sale in October. I participated in my first local craft show in November, and I hosted an open-house in December. Community response was incredible in both cases, and since then a great deal of enthusiasm for Just the Goods has spread by word of mouth around Winnipeg, and beyond. In September 2013 — thanks to fabulous interest and support from people all around the world who feel that my products connect with their concerns and needs in just the right way — I decided to make Just the Goods my full-time occupation.

My previous career saw me practicing as a contemporary art curator, writer, and researcher with a focus on socially and politically motivated art, audience engagement, and integrated cultural policy. It might seem like developing, producing, and distributing handmade skin care products is a considerable departure from this, but I find all kinds of positive overlaps based on a system of values dedicated to making alternative options and ideas more widely accessible. In other words, my curatorial work sought to encourage thoughtfulness about society, and Just the Goods aims to do the same. Just the Goods therefore offers a real alternative to reliance on petroleum and other unhealthy chemicals, wasteful packaging, and corporate ownership. Just the Goods is also concerned with supporting positive body image through self-care and equality for all genders.

An increasing number of Just the Goods products are EWG VERIFIED. Just the Goods is a member of Breast Cancer Fund's Safe Cosmetics Business Network and is an official partner of Humane Society International,

If you have a question about anything stated above, or if there is anything else you’d like to know, please feel free to get in touch with me at any time: contact at justthegoods dot net.