When stay-at-home orders were implemented in North Carolina in March, most local businesses had to close down and make major changes to their business model.

Carrboro’s Be Pure is just one of those businesses – but it took the change a step further, immediately getting to work on making hand sanitizer to combat the virus.

Be Pure, a sustainable personal care products shop located in Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro, launched an organic hand sanitizer spray as coronavirus spread quickly throughout the United States.

“We knew hand sanitizer was obviously hard to find and we wanted to make sure that we had our own source,” said April Kensington, who founded Be Pure in 2016.

She said the store made sure to meet CDC requirements for hand sanitizer — which meant it had to contain at least 70 percent isopropanol.

Be Pure is women-owned and operated, and most products are made in-house or locally. The store also sources other brands from women-owned businesses around the U.S. The plant-based hand sanitizer joins Be Pure’s catalogue of clean beauty and wellness products like makeup, hair care and skincare.

“We decided to start making our own plant-based hand sanitizer with essential oils and it had to have clean ingredients,” Kensington said.

Be Pure started selling the hand sanitizer spray in April and put it on the landing page of their website, as well as on social media. Kensington said demand for the hand sanitizer was very high when the store first started selling it, and people are still buying the product even as hand sanitizer becomes easier to find again.

Be Pure has a lab space in the store where the hand sanitizer and other products are made. Kensington said the process of sourcing materials takes time, but each week the store makes a new batch of hand sanitizer. She said the store plans to continue carrying the product because she likes the blend.

In addition to selling a lot of hand sanitizer, Kensington said the store has also sold a lot of hand soap and house cleaning sprays.

“In general we just wanted to make sure people had a way to feel safe,” Kensington said. “Amidst everything that has happened, I’m grateful for all the people who have worked together to keep each other safe.”

Be Pure is open now and will continue helping people get personal care items through curbside pickup, online orders and call-in orders.

Story by Britney Nguyen

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