Our company, Oriwa Naturals, truly cares for the environment. We do this in a number of ways with our products, which are all made from 100% natural products and are completely safe.
41% of plastic produced globally is for packaging and only 9% of all plastic waste goes on to be recycled. This is why we are very aware of what we use for our packaging and where possible, use packaging that can be re-used or recycled.
1). Tins.
For our Massage and Moisturising Balms, Makeup Removers, Nourish and Skin Soother, we use aluminium tins which are reusable. Once you have used the product completely, wipe the excess with a handy towel, then use boiling water and an eco-detergent to wash the tin. You can then use these tins for whatever you like, storage of buttons, pins, seeds, nuts - there is no limit.
2). Soap / Shampoo / Conditioner Bars.
No plastic is used. We are saving hundreds of shampoo and conditioner bottles from going into the environment. We place the soap / shampoo Bar in a cotton muslin bag which is compostable if thrown away and the labels we use are recycled cardboard. That's a big tick!
3). Lip Balms
We've really put our collective heads together on this one. We hate using the plastic lip balm containers but we have no choice. We've chosen to use compostable plastic lip balm containers. The cardboard lip balm containers are unwieldy and they are difficult to use on your lips. Our lip balms are packed full of Extra Virgin Olive Oil that will leach into the cardboard and the lip balm will dry out very quickly. We looked at glass, but decided that glass is too dangerous near the lips if they chip or crack. So we are stuck with compostable plastic in the meantime. However, we stand by our product and are happy for you to send your empty container back to us for us to sterilise and refill for you, or recycle (whichever you prefer).
4). Packaging
When we pack up your online order we use recycled packaging, we never buy new. Everything is re-used from packaging received when we buy our bulk ingredients. We hope that when you receive the packaging, you can do the same and reuse the bubble wrap for something else, and continue the re-use rather than throw it away in the landfill. We are looking into postage bags that aren't plastic depending on durability, protectiveness and price point, so watch this space.
Lastly - we are lucky we live in New Zealand where we have a good education system about rubbish and recycling. The majority of us are responsible and when we go to our beaches, they are clean compared to other countries. There's still a lot of education needed in third world countries. The following image I took on a beach in Morocco. I hope one day other countries like Morocco can follow our lead.
