When we were launching elmkind we knew that we wanted the products and our company to be the most sustainable that they could be. Which is why we knew choosing organic ingredients where they are available was our only option, but what does 'organic' mean and why should you opt for organic wherever you can?
Something being classed as 'organic' generally means that it has been grown without the use of chemicals, such as pesticides, synthetic fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides to name a few. These chemicals can speed up the growth of plants, vegetables etc and will kill off bugs and insects so that the crops aren't eaten/destroyed.
There are two key issues here with the use of these chemicals, firstly being that these chemicals pollute our environment, including our soil and the biodiversity of our soils which also in turn runs off to pollute our waterways when it rains and filters into our rivers and water systems. The second being that even when non-organic crops are picked they have been found to still contain some traces of pesticides and chemicals that have been used in the process of growing the crops. So if we are ingesting these plants/fruits/vegetables then we are directly consuming these chemicals which can have a negative impact on our health and can result in respiratory problems, memory disorders, skin conditions, depression, miscarriage, birth defects, cancer and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease to name a few. There are also even greater risks for those who are working with these pesticides directly and for people who may live near by to farms/sites where these chemicals are being used, and you can find out more on this on the 'World Health Organisation' website.
Organic farms are much safer and kinder to our environment as well as being safer for near by birds and animals too. So as you can see, it's not just organic food we need to be looking at, choosing organic products wherever we can will help the demand shift to this way of working and in the long run will not only benefit us and those working in those environments, but our wildlife and ultimately our planet too, which is why going organic was an absolute no brainer to us. How could we sell 'eco-friendly' and 'natural' cleaning products with non-organic ingredients that would be contributing to environment pollution? Well exactly that, we couldn't and that's why we choose organic. We believe only truly sustainable products can be formed when they are sustainable right from the start, from soil to bottle, keeping your families protected from potential toxins and paving a greener and safer environment for all.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. As always we welcome any questions or feedback, please feel free to get in touch!
Emma x
Fact sources: W.H.O & Studies from the University of Washington.
