Ingredients and "Natural":
Are your products actually All Natural?
Simply put - No! The term "Natural" is very convoluted and misleading at best when talking about ingredients. We began our cosmetic journey literally making soap from our kitchen and in that aspect, many would consider that a "natural" product BUT, even soap uses Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) and a chemical reaction to produce the end product of a bar of soap. Even the term "Sustainable" really does not have a good definition. So what do we actually stand for? Our Studio and Lab are built with over 50% recycled and upcycled materials. We purchase second-hand as much as possible including windows, flooring, and other construction materials. We produce our power from solar panels. We are not connected to the local power grid - at all - so we are 100% reliant on our own means of producing power. We store the power in LiFePo batteries but do need to run a gas-powered generator on days when there simply is not enough sunshine. We collect water from our roof, run it through purification filters and reuse it for our Studio. Our Studio is built from Strawbale and our Lab is a strawbale/traditional stick-wall hybrid meaning they are constructed using agricultural waste products. When it comes to ingredients, if we have a choice between a synthetic ingredient and a plant-based ingredient that performs the same - we will always choose the plant-based 1st. We choose to not use parabens in any of our products. We choose ingredients with high safety profiles that have undergone approval by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Board (CIR) which is a global non-profit comprised of Dermatologists, Research Scientists and Doctors from multiple countries who perform meta-analysis of ingredient studies. So we will leave it to you to make your own assessment of the terms "natural" and "sustainable" and whether or not we do our part for a cleaner and greener world.
Why do you choose to use Phenoxyethanol as a preservative?
By removing parabens as a choice of preservative, the number of preservatives to choose from becomes very limited. Two of the best-known Eco-Cert and Cosmos certified preservatives are Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate. The issue with those salts is that they are extremely limited for broad-spectrum protection. These salts tend to cause emulsions to "break" resulting in shorter shelf life of products and increased risk of bacterial and mold growth. As well they typically require a lower pH for efficacy resulting in more irritation of the final skincare product. Our goal is to provide good-performing skincare products that are safe and non-irritating for as many people as possible. A lot of thought, research, and trials have gone into our decision to choose Phenoxyethanol as one of the ingredients in our preservative selections.
Containers:
What do I do with my containers / How do I recycle them?
All of our products can be recycled through city / municipal mainstream recycling programs. As much as possible, we do not use mixed materials so recycling is simple. Caps of dropper bottles are made from Polypropylene with a recycling number of 5. Our tins are...well tin (metal) and our glass jars and bottles are of course glass. The screw lids of the jarred products are the only exception to mixed material and consist of Polypropylene with a metal casing and foam seal. The best recycling spot for these are with metal.
Why glass and tin. Isn't there bamboo or more environmentally friendly cardboard packaging options?
Although there are other packaging options available, our heart is to ensure we are giving our customers the best for their health. We've long looked at all sorts of packaging, including bamboo and biodegradable plastics and cardboard, but unfortunately, these options either consist of other materials that don't degrade down nicely or contain plastic bag or sprayed liners which would leech toxins into the products. In every way we ensure we look out for our customer's health as the highest priority.
Can I ship my empty containers back to you?
Yes, but we prefer if you use local recycling depots. The cost of freight and packaging for returning the container combined with the costs of sterilizing and relabelling/resealing the container outweighs the benefits of doing it. We have looked many times at this option and always come back to the same conclusion - use less packaging and use containers that recycle easily.
Health Canada & Safety
Are Your Products Registered with Health Canada?
YES! Our products are registered with Health Canada under the Cosmetics Act and the registration numbers are listed on each product page.
Are Your Products Safe?
Yes! We believe if you can't pronounce the ingredients, you shouldn't use them on your body. Most of the ingredients we use are what you would find in your own kitchen. We go out of our way to ensure the raw ingredients are of the highest standard - set by you. Every ingredient is certified NON GMO and where possible we use Organic. If we can't source organic, we support small farmers who do not use chemicals on the crops. Knowing who grows the ingredients is the BEST certification ever!
We also use essential oils. These are the highly concentrated versions of the plant's oil. Essential Oils can be extremely beneficial - in small quantities. We take great care to ensure our blends are at proper dilution rates for topical application and stand by Health Canada in stating Essential Oils are not for ingestion - ever! Essential Oils are classified as VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and in over-use, can cause severe sensitivities.
Taxes
What Taxes Will I Be Charged On My Order?
As a Canadian business, we are required by law to collect GST, PST, RST, and HST for each province based on the shipping address of the order. The only exception is BC in which we are required to collect GST only at this time. The $5 shipping fee is sold as a product and is also taxable at the same rate.
If you are purchasing from the USA, AUS, UK, or MEX, GOOD NEWS! Our Canadian taxes do not apply to you - but we are also not responsible for any duties or import fees that may be incurred by you purchasing from Canada as we have no control over foreign fees. With that said, please note that we have been made aware that the UK limit is £135. Purchases from our site over this amount will add 1-2 weeks additional delivery time AND will be subject to UK duty and VAT which are not under our control as an exporter.
Shipping
How long before I receive my order?
If you live in Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba destinations are usually 3 day delivery. BC and the rest of Canada is usually 5 business days. For our friends in the USA, 6-10 business days. We ship only by Canada Post for several reasons. Reduced shipping rates, reliability, care for the packages and their ability to deliver to PO boxes in more remote areas are just a few.