I’m sure you have noticed that brands large and small are using the words “Ethical”, “Sustainable”, “Green,” etc. in their marketing lately. But what does that really mean? What are their chops?
As a consumer, I find it very frustrating when a business uses buzz words but doesn’t really share the detail behind them.
We put a lot of time and energy into making sure that everything we do at Awake Organics is better than the month before.
We are continually evolving and improving.
So, I want to make sure that you know what we’re doing at Awake Organics – what makes us an Ethical, Green, Sustainable, and Cruelty-Free. Because I am passionate about building a business that is based on transparency, and is good for people AND the planet.
It’s really important to me! This is our difference:
1) We only source our ingredients, labels, and paper packaging from trusted suppliers based in the UK and Germany. Every one of our ingredients must fit in at least one of these five criteria: Soil Association Certified Organic, Fair-trade, Wild-crafted, Food Grade or Local (small producer without certification but grows using organic farming methods), or Biodegradable.
2) We use UK-grown Hemp Seed Oil across our natural skin care range because it is the most sustainable crop available – and it’s amazing for your skin. Hemp crops require almost no water, pesticides, herbicides and they actually replenish the soil. Our hemp oil is food grade, grown from seed, without the use of chemicals, on a small farm in West Sussex, UK. Here’s a video to show you around the farm.
3) Our packaging is made from recyclable glass, aluminium and card. Our card packaging is made seven miles from our studio, using recycled FSC materials and is printed with biodegradable vegetable inks.
4) We are a certified cruelty-free brand (Leaping Bunny approved). We do not test on animals or use ingredients known to be unhealthy for humans or the planet. We are certified by Leaping Bunny, the best assurance that a company has made a genuine commitment to ending animal testing.
5) We conserve water by leaving it out of the majority of our formulas. Most products don’t need it.
6) We review our environmental impact policy and ethos annually to ensure that we are leaving as little impact on the planet as possible. We are ahead of the curve, as we has a sustainable supply chain.
2021
This year we officially launched as a plastic free brand! Our commitment to the safeguarding the environment and leaving as little impact as possible continues. Where plastic is required for dispensing thick or liquid products (pump, droppers), we offer plastic free refills, enabling customers to choose and re-use. Our unique formulations lend themselves to less conventional but more eco-friendly packaging in the industry, and that is a key driver behind new product development at Awake Organics.
2019 – 2020
We launched our closed-loop return program, #ZeroWaste500Club, which enabled you to return your glass jars and earn discounts off future purchases. The pilot program was planned to run initially for 12 months with a minimum goal of recirculating 500 jars, and reducing CO2 emissions by 4.3 tonnes (otherwise generated to produce and transport new glass). Unfortunately, on March 16 2020 we chose to suspend the program due to heightened Covid-19 measures surrounding hygiene and person/product contact. However, the program was successful overall and we were able to refurbish 398 jars in the ten months that it ran. Our pilot was featured in Forbes Magazine and inspired several other businesses from the beauty and beverage industries to create a similar scheme.
2018
We refreshed our packaging to make it even more eco-friendly. In doing so we were able to reduce our waste by 30%. We also switched the business over to renewable energy and saved 5,644 kg of CO2. That’s the weight of one orca and the equivalent of planting 2,822 trees!
PS. We’re always happy to hear from you if you have any suggestions to help us do better! Get in touch anytime.
Melissa x
