Small things to make a big difference
Although we may be a little fish in a big pond, we want to make sure that this pond thrives with life which is why we’re trying our very hardest to do our bit for the planet. So here’s a little list of just some of the initiatives we’ve taken so far...
Waterless Formulations
This one is no secret. We are proud to be a waterless skincare brand. With the demand of fresh water outgrowing supply, we feel that there is a much greater needs for this vital commodity than going into our cosmetics as a bulking agent, which is why you’ll never see “Aqua” or "Water" appearing in our list of ingredients, nor do our formulations require excessive use of water during use. You'll also notice that we don't use "hydrosols" or "flower waters", such as rose water. Why? Because 700-800 roses have to be picked to create just one litre of rose water, the petals of which are then just steeped in fresh water - the very thing we are trying to preserve - with the petals then being discarded.
Organic Ingredients
We’ve chosen to use organic ingredients wherever possible and are proud to be Certified Organic by the Soil Association. We aren’t claiming that organic ingredients are better for your skin, that's your choice to make, but what we do strongly believe is that they are better for the workers and better for the planet. By sourcing ingredients from organic farms, both the planet and the farmers avoid inhaling harmful pesticides and chemicals. Furthermore, according to Rosedale Institute’s studies, organic farming systems use 45% less energy and release 40% fewer carbon emissions. In fact, according to Rosedale Institute’s Farming System Trial, running since 1981, has shown that “if only 10,000 medium-sized farms in the U.S. converted to organic production, they would store as much carbon in the soil that it would be the equivalent to taking 1,174,400 cars off the road or reducing car miles driven by 14.62 billion miles”.
The Two T’s – Traceability and Transparency
We source and purchase all of our ingredients ourselves, we don’t rely on third parties to do this on our behalf. This way we know exactly where these ingredients come from, their production process and what happens to the by-products of these ingredients. This isn’t the only example of our endless pursuit for transparency. Most challenge testing is conducted using animal-derived culture. When we put our products through challenge testing, we only use vegan, plant-derived culture, so you can be rest assured that when we say we are a vegan-friendly brand, we mean it.
Carbon Neutral from Source, to Skin
We are delighted to have partnered with Ecodrive LLC to become a carbon neutral company by offsetting our emissions through tree planting. Not only will a Mangrove tree be planted for every order placed through our website, we are also working with Ecodrive to offset all of our carbon emissions related to our supply chain, from source to skin. Mangroves are one of the most effective and economic methods of offsetting carbon emissions, absorbing 680lbs over their lifetime. These Mangroves are planted in Madagascar by locals who provide quarterly updates on the trees we plant, helping to alleviate poverty and providing full traceability. The land on which the trees are planted is usually owned by local tribal communities or federally owned national forests and as well as benefiting the earth, our partnership will create employment for local villagers living in poverty. Amounting to one workday for every 100 trees planted, the community takes part in every step, from collecting the seeds to sewing them. When you receive your order, you'll also notice we use chips to protect your products. These chips are made of corn starch and are 100% biodegradable - they even dissolve in water! Please help us save our planet by disposing of our packaging responsibly.
Saying NO to Palm Oil
We never have and never will use palm oil in any of our products or palm oil-derived ingredients. It’s harder than you think. Although ingredients such as SLS and Glycerin are used in millions of beauty and personal care products without any palm oil declarations on their packaging, even in the INCI listings, there are very few variants of these ingredients available that completely avoid using palm oil in their production. We don’t use SLS, but we do use Glycerin, however, you can be rest assured that, through rigorous vetting of all of our suppliers, we only use Glycerin which is organic AND completely palm oil free - one of the many benefits of sourcing our ingredients ourselves. We aren’t hiding anything here!