What are they made from?
Jar – glass (upcycled which saves energy as it is not recycled before reuse.)
Lid – metal with plastic inside (sneaky plastic!) the lid has been reused though and it can be recycled.
The Green Woman tries to use as much reclaimed or donated material for packaging their goods as possible.
Ingredients:
Sodium bicarbonate, Organic Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut Oil), Organic Maranta Arundinacea Root Powder (Arrowroot), Organic Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Organic Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Sunflower Oil), Organic Aloe Barbadensis powder (Aloe Vera), Organic Rosemary essential oil, Organic Bergamot essential oil, Organic Geranium essential oil.
Where do they come from?
Handmade in Shropshire, UK.
Are they sustainable?
All organic ingredients hooray! No pesticides found here.
Arrowroot powder – is the starch from tropical tubers such as the cassava plant. It is mostly farmed on Caribbean islands such as St. Vincent, which is the main producer of this crop. Demand is growing, but other countries have recently begun to farm specifically to produce arrowroot powder to capitalise on this. No issues other issues that I can find.
Coconut oil – seems to be fine.
Sodium Bicarbonate – has a ridiculous amount of uses, such a handy substance. These range from relieving heartburn to getting rid of any lingering radioactive uranium deposits on your clothing. Useful stuff this. Sodium bicarbonate is made from the minerals nahcolite and trona, which is then refined into soda ash, which is then turned into bicarb of soda. Nahcolite and trona are mined, (the US has the largest deposits) so they are not renewable resources, but are so abundant we have enough to last more than 2000 years. Mining isn’t the most environmentally friendly process, but to produce sodium bicarbonate synthetically it uses up and gives off a lot of nasty chemicals, so swings and roundabouts. If you enjoy caving or spelunking I am sure you are all for mining, whereas if you are a canary I imagine you would prefer it to be made synthetically. Good, bad, whatever, I refuse to go any further into this mining debate without a headtorch at least.
Shea butter – is great. It is a very sustainable and environmentally friendly in production, because it does not grow in plantations, (it is therefore wild) and has no need for irrigation or pesticides. Unrefined shea butter is best.
Mandarin orange peel essential oil - In terms of the farming of this fruit, citrus plantations tend to be managed nowadays as an intensive monoculture, (although a lot of crops are famed this way now, bring back crop rotation!) which causes soil erosion. This type of farming while effective for crop growing, has caused problems with the land and has even led to over-production (wasted food). The making of orange oil is not environmentally damaging as essential oil production generally uses steam distillation which has no environmental concerns, but it takes a lot of plant to make only a small amount of essential oil.
Tea Tree essential oil - Tea tree leaves can be sourced sustainably using fair trade principles. But, it can also be synthesised synthetically.
Cypress essential oil – It takes around 2000 pounds of cypress to produce a pound of cypress oil. That’s a lot, compare that amount to lavender essential oil which is around 250 pounds of plant to a pound of oil. Essential oils by nature are potent though (as you would expect looking at those figures!) so you don’t need to use a lot in one go to achieve the desired fragrance. Cypress oil is by no means the worst essential oil, as some essential oils like rosewood and sandalwood are dependent on plant species that are rare or threatened. Cypress grows quite quickly, more trees are potentially grown than is currently harvested in some places such as the US and all parts of the tree is used, so none goes to waste.
Essential oil production generally uses steam distillation which has no environmental concerns, but it takes a lot of plant to make only a small amount of essential oil.
How about ethical?
The Green Woman actively supports green initiatives and works with two charities, Breast Cancer UK and Womankind Worldwide as corporate partnerships. 10% of their profits are donated to projects that are working towards fighting climate change. Handmade in the UK so I’ll assume the founders of The Green Woman make sure that their own working conditions are happy and healthy unless they tell me otherwise!
Extra good stuff:
‘Free from Aluminium, Parabens, BPAs, Petrochemicals and plastic packaging. Suitable for vegans. Tough odour protection that's gentle on your skin and the planet. Hand made by The Green Woman in the UK.’
Conclusion –
Don’t break a sweat over how environmentally friendly your deodorant is anymore with FitPit. Organic, ethical and plastic free. Smells like a sweet deal to me!
