From organic ingredients to recycled and biodegradable packaging, we are working to be ever more environmentally sustainable. To assess and improve the sustainability of both our product and our business processes, we have adopted The Natural Step, a framework of four criteria based on scientific principles.

There are three major sustainability initiatives that we are working on or have completed:

1.  Switching to organic oil : Completed early 2008. This was a critical step because oils are our major ingredient. To create the highest quality soap possible we have switched to using organic extra virgin olive, organic palm, and organic coconut oils. Organic farming methods are generally more sustainable than conventional methods. Of particular concern was palm oil, much of which is grown in SE Asia in areas where tropical forests are being clear cut for palm plantations. In an example of how sourcing matters, we have been able to find a company that markets organic palm oil from plantations in Brazil that are growing on formerly degraded ranch land, rather than freshly cleared primary forest in Indonesia which is prime orangutan habitat.

2.  Creating green packaging: While some of our customers purchase their soap bare, many want packaging for protection. To accommodate these requests in the most sustainable way possible, we have created an array of eco-friendly packaging options. Our boxes are 100% post consumer recycled paperboard, our bags are biodegradable cellophane, and our labels are printed with soy inks on tree-free paper made from sugar cane waste, bamboo fiber, and cotton lint, adhered with water based adhesive.

3.  Using only essential oil scents: Even though it mean sometimes having to say "no" to a potential customer who wants us to make soap with their synthetic fragrance oil, we use only pure essential oils, steam-distilled from botanical materials, to scent our soaps. Also, all of our other additives are organic plant-based ingredients.

Please see the green details section for a more thorough explanation of these initiatives.