Biodegradable products...
This is my first blog so go easy on me!!
When I visited Vorovoro I was surprised that people were using products which weren’t biodegradable. I think there is a bit of confusion around natural and organic products and whether they are biodegradable or not, so I decided to email the major companies and see whether their products were suitable for use on Vorovoro (either in the sea or showers). This is what I came up with:
www.livingnature.com
They said “Yes, our products are biodegradable and will be safe to re-use after showers to use on the gardens. The use of our products will cause no harm to the environment”.
Free shipping on orders over £50. Also available in Selfridges & stores country wide. Living Nature is based in New Zealand and from what I can make out their products are available worldwide.
www.weleda.co.uk
“I can confirm that ALL Weleda body-care products are bio-degradable, to the extent that our body washes and hair care products are endorsed by Ecocert”. Free delivery on orders over £25.00.
www.lush.co.uk – all of their products are biodegradable although only 16 of their products are 100% natural. Their reply to my email:
“Thank you for your recent email and my apologies for my delay in replying to you. Although our products are bio-degradable, the majority of our products either contain some synthetic ingredients or synthetic perfume however we believe inn our customers being able to make an informed decision and so acknowledgement of this we make our Quantitative Ingredient lists available both in our Lush Times catalogue and in our Lush stores. Please find below a list of our products that are 100% natural:
Angels on bare Skin cleanser, Sweet Japanese Girl cleanser, Herbalism Cleanser,
BB Seaweed fresh face mask, Cosmetic Warrior fresh face mask, Love Lettuce fresh face mask, Snake Oil scalp bar, Caca Brun Henna, Caca Rouge Henna, Caca Marron Henna, Caca Noir Henna, Amazonian Massage bar, Each Peach massage bar, Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar, Therapy massage bar, Black magic massage bar.
The soapy water discarded from our products will discourage gardens pests but with out harming the environment. Our solid products need less packaging, for example our solid shampoo bar is the equivalent of a 500g bottle of shampoo. Each shampoo bar will last between 60-80 washes depending upon the length of your hair”.
www.burtsbees.com
As far as I can make out, only 1 of Burt’s Bees products is biodegradable – their ALL IN ONE WASH which can be used for anything! “The perfect all-in-one natural wash for any outdoor adventure. This natural, biodegradable formula gently cleanses your hair, face and body. It contains Sage and Rosemary oils to cleanse and Soy Protein to nourish, moisturize and condition your hair. Your skin gets special treatment, too, with Lime, Peppermint and Sugar Esters that soothe and soften your skin”.
note: see Kaz’s comment below – all Burts bees products are biodegradable.
http://www.catch22products.co.uk/Hygiene.htm
Biodegradable soap for clothes, hair, body & dishes. £2.99
Biodegradable soap & Laundry soap leaves £2.50
www.thebodyshop.co.uk
When I was in New Zealand before going to Vorovoro, I asked in the Body Shop whether their products were biodegradable and I was told that they are! Here is (part of) their reply to my email:
“There are no simple tests available which are capable of assessing the ultimate biodegradation level of multiple component products. However, we would like to reassure you that all of our products are as biodegradable as possible and will certainly break down within the water system eventually. We cannot tell you exactly how long this would take, as this is greatly dependent on the state of the waste water generally”. It’s a good job I didn’t buy the body shop products isn’t it!? sounds like they’re not biodegradable!
Dr Bronners make a liquid soap which is biodegradable and, like the Burt’s Bees all in one wash, it can be used for everything!
I am still waiting to hear from spiezia, naked bodycare and the natural beauty shop (who stock many products and are emailing each company individually for me to see which are suitable – they’re also very interested in TW and tuning into Paradise or Bust!)
These companies are all UK based, but some of them deliver worldwide.
I used Living Nature products on Vorovoro and can recommend them. Their shampoo didn’t lather much, but I have been told since that’s because I was using sea water to wash my hair not fresh water. Apparently it makes a difference!
Please check your products when you buy them to ensure they are biodegradable to help us keep Vorovoro as natural as possible.
Comments
vinaka kate – a great debut blog. will check the links – we should be building a good range of these kinds of products on island
YAY kate!! i’m so glad you put this up, as i wasn’t familiar with which UK products to include…i have posted blogs about cleaning products and am starting to do reviews company by company. actually, after i returned from my first visit to the island, i did the same thing. and burt’s bees products are ALL biodegradeable – an independent source from one of the natural stores here said you could practically eat their products! thanks for sharing!!
Thanks Kaz – I didn’t do a full check of Burt’s bees but just typed biodegradable into their search box and it only returned the all in one wash. I love their pomegranate shampoo and conditioner so it’s good to know it’s bio-d too!
From Naturalbeautyshop:
So far I can confirm the following Brand responses:
All brands mentioned can be brought online at TheNaturalBeautyShop.com and we are now delighted to offer free delivery with all orders for all of our customers.
DGJ Organic Haircare
“ We confirm that the Daniel Galvin Jnr products are fully biodegradable. They are manufactured using natural ingredients from renewable and sustainable sources. The packaging is recyclable. We also confirm that the products used with brackish water is acceptable.”
Balance Me Aromatherapy Skin Care
“I can confirm that the following products have fully natural formulations and as such are biodegradable: Rose Body Balm, Super Oil, Stretch Mark Oil, Foot and Body Polish, Stellar Balm, Rose Salve, Lemon and Spearmint Salve, Rose Salve.
However, at the moment although some of our packaging is made of recycled materials, we are not yet in a position where we can use biodegradable new packaging such as corn starch etc. We use alot of essential oils in our products and need robust packaging otherwise these can actually breakdown the packaging over a period of time. It is something that we are really interested in and keep looking at potential options available to us. And we will make the change as soon as we can.”
On request we can supply larger (spa) sizes of many of Balance Me’s products in large 5 L bottles so that they can be transferred into the smaller bottles as required. A great way of minimising waste! Please feel free to email me on info@thenaturalbeautyshop.co.uk for prices.
Green People
“The majority of ingredients used in Green People formulations are 100% compatible with nature and biodegrade very readily. These include ingredients such as plant oils, herbal infusions, floral waters and essential oils. The active and functional ingredients used in our products are all from natural sources and again biodegrade readily. Examples are emulsifiers obtained from olive oil and palm oil, and foaming agents from coconut oil and corn oil. As well as being readily biodegradable, these ingredients are also environmentally-friendly and are all approved under the Scandinavian Swan Mark scheme, one of the most rigorous environmental standards in the world. The preservative systems we use are also chosen because they have minimal environmental impact and are readily biodegradable.”
We stock Green People’s ‘Organic Base’ range which is a popular choice for extra sensitive skins.
Weleda
“Weleda’s Body Washes are made from eco-friendly, biodegradable cleansers made from sugar and coconut (endorsed by the BDIH scheme).”
We currently stock Weleda’s facial range but may in the future be introducing their body care products too.
I would assume that another range of products we stock from a brand called Natura Organics are biodegradable because they are all certified by Ecocert who have quite strict standards. However I have also emailed Natura to be 100% certain. Ecocert is an independent certification and monitoring organization for “Ecological and Organic Cosmetics” which regulate the use of the term “Bio” (organic). An Ecocert-certified formula guarantees: natural ingredients obtained primarily from organic agriculture, ecological manufacturing of the product, a clear and precise explanation on the label of the composition and quantity of natural and organic ingredients, recyclable and/or biodegradable packaging.
I am still awaiting responses from the other brands we stock but I will of course be in contact with anymore. If either yourself, or any of the members of tribewanted have any further queries that we could assist with, we would be happy to help. Please feel free to email us on info@thenaturalbeautyshop.co.uk. I hope this is some help to you.
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