INCREASING OUR RANGE OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
Here at Caroline Jane, we have made a conscientious commitment to offering more and more environmentally friendly and sustainable products. We already stock a large number of wood, bamboo, jute, wool and sheepskin products and we will continue to grow our sustainable ranges and prioritise materials and practices that minimise harm to our planet.
PALM OIL
We only use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) from New Britain Palm Oil in our handmade Caroline Jane natural soaps. New Britain Palm Oil are one of the world leaders in sustainable palm oil practices supporting both the environment and local small holders. They were one of the first companies to produce a sustainability report which can be viewed on their website. They’re also the first palm oil producer to be awarded the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Pathfinder Award.
Many soap makers were boycotting palm oil but with advice from leading environmental organisations and charities such as WWF and Greenpeace, it was decided that rather than a boycott, we need to support the production of genuinely sustainable palm oil.
The global demand for oil will not abate and palm oil is the most efficient oil on the planet in terms of land, fertiliser and pesticide use.
To give you a clearer picture, palm oil produces approximately 5950 litres per hectare. The closest to that is coconut oil which produces 2690 litres per hectare and rape oil produces 1190 litres per hectare.
Our concern, which is shared by WWF, Greenpeace and many other charities, is that the trend for companies to boycott palm oil could lead to a catastrophic increase in deforestation as the alternatives are so inefficient.
Only environmentally responsible trade and production can minimise risk of further deforestation and damage to wildlife, habitats, local people and their economies dependant on sustainable palm oil revenue.
While researching palm oil we decided to look into other oils, we discovered that many coconut oil producers use Pig Tailed Macaques to harvest coconuts, this practice imprisons these beautiful animals and keeps them from living a natural life in the wild in social groups.
Currently there is not enough awareness of this practice and therefore no demand for cruelty-free coconut oil and other coconut products. We would like to change that by making customers more aware so that the subject reaches producers and we can source a genuinely cruelty-free product in the future.
Our olive oil is harvested during the daytime by mechanical means to avoid harm to songbirds roosting. We stopped using unsustainable Indian Sandalwood and we now use West Indian Sandalwood (Amyris) which has a similar sweet woody scent but is sustainable. We constantly research our ingredients and packaging to ensure that our little business treads as lightly on this planet as possible.
PACKAGING
Our packaging uses FSC paper, printed in the UK with eco-friendly inks and we have replaced the glue that we use on our soap wrappers with a cellulose sticker that is 100% compostable. We continue to look for innovative packaging ideas that do less harm to the planet.
Our aim is to be as environmentally aware and responsible as possible. Being natural, our handmade soaps, bath bombs and candles contain no harmful chemicals and are fully biodegradable. We aim to be mindful of what we buy and use, recycling packaging and avoiding waste where possible. We re-use packaging that comes in to us and we work to keep our packaging minimal, plastic-free and fully recyclable.
ANIMAL TESTING
Our products have never been (and never will be) tested on animals.