suki® and the environment

suki is & has always been low-impact, considering the environment in every decision we make.

ingredients:

• we support fair trade, organics, biodynamic processing & local sourcing, considering fuel emissions & travel when choosing suppliers.
• we choose to use only biodegradable ingredients that do not hurt the ecosystem or animals in the long run, rather than toxic ingredients like petrochemicals, fragrances & preservative systems used in many 'vegan' personal care products. this is, we believe, a short sighted way to say 'animal cruelty free.' perhaps the initial formula is, however, the breakdown of the product is not.
• all of our ingredients are cruelty free. suki never tests on animals & make each of our suppliers sign a waiver saying that they do not either.
• our products are truly cruelty-free (in that they do not harm humans either).
• the only animal product we use is beeswax & will continue to utilize the enormously beneficial bee products in various formulations. bees are never harmed in the harvesting of wax, honey or royal jelly & we do not support harming any animal or disrupting ecosystems in cosmetic manufacture. suki only buys from farms that do not burn hives.

manufacturing:
our products are made by hand in small batches, not in a large factory with heavy machinery so there is virtually no carbon output. everything is hand poured & labeled.

packaging:

• our glass packaging ensures not only a sophisticated, sensual experience, but a healthier planet. suki is against the use of plastics & avoids this toxic material whenever possible; not only do toxins leach into the product & leach out essential vitamins & botanical content, it is very difficult to get rid of.
• even the new so called "environmentally sound" corn plastics are just as bad for us & the earth. the new marketing trend to say packaging is PLA (corn based) is deeply flawed & not environmentally sound at all.
• our packing uses recycled stock. we also consider recyclable post-use. we do not uv coat our boxes so that they can be recycled (people generally do not know that most papers are coated with films that are not recyclable)
• our printers & suppliers support environmental initiatives as well - our box printers hold the Forest Stewardship Council's Certification as well as using wind powered energy.
• our inks are clean, biodegradable, vegetable inks.

shipping:

• we buy only organic cornstarch peanuts & we use unbleached newsprint papers.
• since we are a manufacturing facility, we receive hundreds of shipments that contain bubble & styrofoam. throwing these materials away or "recycling" them, which is actually a very toxic process, would be wasteful. we reuse the packaging we receive.

real vs. marketing:
we do not just use ingredients & environmentally sound packaging for label or marketing claims. it's honest and the right thing to do.