ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

pure me’s Green Document – helping to create a sustainable future

We do a much as we can to limit our damage to the environment.
Wherever possible our packaging is recycled, re-usable or bio-degradable.
We use green stationary including recycled papers and vegetable inks.
We use green printers and eco-electricity.
We prefer glass, china and wood to plastic and cruelty-free natural fibres over synthetic fibres.
We try to take a responsible approach in everything we do and source products and supplies from companies which do as little damage to the planet as possible.

The Green Stationary company www.greenstat.co.uk
Eco Poly Jackets www.pac3000.com
Severnprint www.severnprint.co.uk
Seacourt www.seacourt.net
Ecotricity www.ecotricity.co.uk

We make every effort to check the whole process of product production. See Certification Bodies below.
In house, wherever possible we recycle, reuse or use recycled products and our suppliers work to similar ethical standards.

Recycling
• The paper we use is recycled. The recycled content is usually from 50 to 100%.
• We shred the office waste paper that we produce and use it as part of our packaging.
• We reuse the polystyrene and corn starch chips used in goods delivered to us in parcels we send out.
• Plastics used in product tubes are recyclable. Some suppliers chose to use plastic as it takes less energy to produce than glass and they feel it is safer for customers. Some products which appear to be in plastic bottles are in fact in corn starch bottles.
• Our Gift boxes are 100 recyclable and are made from at least 50% recycled materials.
• Many products are boxed as legislation dictates a lot of information which must be visible to customers. These boxes are recyclable and most are made from recycled materials.
• We recycle the plastics, glass and cardboard which come to our office.

Being kind to the environment
• Our beautiful FSC and recycled wrapping papers are printed with vegetable inks.
• The Poly bags we buy for some mail order deliveries are completely biodegradable.
• Some of our suppliers use soya inks on their packaging.
• We use green stationary and green printers.
• We shut down all computers and electrical appliances when not in use.
• We are working on using energy-efficient and eco-friendly appliances throughout our office. Our Eco Treatment space uses low energy light bulbs.
• Our Electricity is supplied by Eco-tricity.
• Our Eco Treatment space is decorated with Auro Natural Paints.

We care passionately about what goes into the products we sell. Many of the ingredients in our skincare products can be traced back to the fields they were grown in.

All products at pure me are free from artificial colours, artificial fragrances, DEA / TEA / MEA /, fluoride, formaldehyde, mineral oil, petroleum derivatives, parabens, PEG compounds, phthalates, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulphate and toluene.

All our cottons are organic (or occasionally up-cycled) and where possible we work with companies which also use Fairtrade Cottons. When this is not available we ensure that our suppliers cotton is fairly traded meaning that farmers are paid a reasonable and normally premium price for their cotton, and are not exploited.

Some of our products are made with bamboo which takes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen. Bamboo is environmentally-friendly, non-toxic and sustainable.

Increasingly we are able to source products made in Europe and the UK. We now stock an extensive range of products Made in the UK.

Many of our products are certified organic by one of the main certification bodies. See Certification Bodies below.

CERTIFICATION BODIES

	Products displaying this symbol are certified by the Soil Association. The UK's largest trademark for organic products, with some of the highest standards in the world. www.soilassociation.org
	Products displaying this symbol are certified by Ecocert. Ecocert is the European leading certification body for organic products. www.ecocert.in
	The Nature & Progrès Label France’s leading fair trade organisation. The Nature & Progrès label is official recognition that the company manufacturing the product complies with standards of fair trade and refuses animal testing. It is a guarantee of the company's ethical approach. www.natureetprogres.org
	The AB logo The AB logo stamp on a product or inspected, certified essential oil, guarantees that it is incontestably organic. However, under French law, the term "issu de culture biologique" ("produced from organically grown crops") may only be used for raw materials or processed products intended for human ingestion.

If it cannot be claimed that an "organic" product is intended for use as food, it cannot use the AB logo label . Therefore blends of organic essential oils designed to perfume the air or for massage may simply give a list of the organic ingredients they contain and the name of the certifying authority, but cannot use the AB logo. Some authorities such as Nature & Progrès get over this loophole in the law by staking their own reputations and applying their own logo.

The use of the EKO Quality Mark is restricted to organic companies certified by Skal. The EKO Quality Mark is only allowed on products containing more than 95% organic ingredients. It cannot be used on agricultural products under conversion to organic production. Skal is the inspection and certification body for organic production in the Netherlands. Skal is member of EOCC, the European Organic Certifiers Council. Skal is a private non profit foundation with a public task as certification and inspection body for the organic production in The Netherlands. For this task we are assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Food Quality and Nature. Skal is accredited by the Dutch Council for Accreditation and a member of IFOAM

GOTS: GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARDS
Ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labelling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer. www.global-standard.org

Oeko-tex 100 Standard: an international testing and certification system for textiles, limiting the use of certain chemicals.

NO SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES AND COLOURS
NO PETROLEUM DERIVED PRODUCTS (Parafines, PEG, -propyl-, -alkyl-, etc.)
NO SILICON OILS AND DERIVATIVES
NO GENETICALLY MODIFIED INGREDIENTS (complying with EU organic regulation)
NO IRRADIATION OF END PRODUCT AND BOTANICAL INGREDIENTS
PRODUCTS MAY NOT BE TESTED ON ANIMALS

	BDIH is the Association of German Industries and Trading Firms for pharmaceuticals, health care products, food supplements and personal hygiene products. In 1996, working together with leading natural cosmetics producers, the BDIH developed comprehensive guidelines for certified natural cosmetics, keeping in mind the expectations of consumers. On the basis of these guidelines, an independent institute has tested more than 2.000 products for their contents and production methods. BDIH www.kontrollierte-naturkosmetik.de
	The USDA, AMS, National Organic Program (NOP) accredits private businesses, organizations, and state agencies to certify producers and handlers of agricultural products according to the NOP regulations.
	The Biodynamic Agricultural Association was founded in Great Britain in 1929 to promote biodynamic farming and gardening. It also administers the Demeter symbol and gives support through a network of advisers, the journal Star and Furrow, a news-sheet, conferences, seminars and workshops. The Association's main objectives are to foster and promote the agricultural impulse started by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 (the date of his course of lectures on agriculture) and to help and support those wishing to put into practice the bio-dynamic method. With these objectives in mind it keeps in close touch with the biodynamic impulse abroad, with other aspects of anthroposophical work (especially on nutrition and other sciences) and with various organisations concerned with a non-chemical approach to the soil, environment and health. BDAA www.biodynamic.org.uk

IFOAM www.ifoam.org
Pesticide Action Network www.pan-uk.org
Fairtrade www.fairtrade.org.uk