What is it made from?
INGREDIENTS: 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil (Rosa canina)
Packaging = Glass bottle, metal lid. Both can be recycled kerbside.
Where does it come from?
Akamuti is based in Wales. Only ‘100% natural botanical ingredients’ are used in Akamuti’s products.
Is it sustainable?
Rosehip Oil – The rosehip oil used here is from the ‘Dog Rose’, a rose bush introduced by the Spanish to South America where it thrives in the climate produced by the Andes mountains. This particular rosehip oil was grown and produced in Chile. Although this bush can grow elsewhere in the world, 85% of the supply of rosehip oil comes from the Andes region in South America. Rosehips have a long history of being used medicinally as well as topically for skin complaints. Humans have known that rosehips are good for us for years but only recently do we know why. Rosehip oil is 70% essential fatty acids (that’s a high concentration) such as linoleic acid and contains vitamins C, A and F, a super-combo of properties that help this oil soothe and hydrate the skin. To harvest rosehips, workers need to don protective clothing as the thorns of the Dog Rose bush are viciously spiky. The rosehips are raked off the bush, then taken away to be dried before being pressed. As with all oils, you need a lot of plants to make a little oil. Rosehip seeds are only about 3% oil, so that means to make 3kg of oil, you would need 100kg of rosehips. As demand increases, you can see why the price of this oil is high, considering the labour-intensive harvesting method. Rosehip oil can be extracted using a chemical solvent, hexane, which is not very environmentally friendly. This rosehip oil though is cold-pressed (squeezed), which is a more eco-method of extraction. Just the seeds are needed out of the rosehip to extract the oil, but the outside ‘shell’ of the rosehip is also used, this part goes in other types of cosmetics, food products and supplements.
How about ethical?
Akamuti’s Ethical Policy – ‘We are passionate about trading ethically and fairly. This means we try to think holistically about our ingredients, i.e. where they come from, where they are grown and harvested and the environmental impact that this may have on their immediate surroundings. Whether it be argan oil from Morocco or shea butter from Ghana – we believe in promoting sustainability from start to finish, so that everyone benefits!
We believe that by paying fair prices to small businesses for their produce, it will provide growers with a sustainable income. This enables them to build a better, more sustainable life for themselves and their communities. Fair prices contribute toward protecting vulnerable livelihoods and environments. Poor prices paid for high quality, labour-intensive products result in undermining the value of a product and the people who produce it. Unfair trade feeds the oppressive cycle of poverty and we believe that we can break that chain by supporting fair trade practices and principles.’
Extra good stuff:
Environmental Policy – Sustainability is really important to Akamuti – ‘We don’t use any unsustainable ingredients from endangered plants or tree species such as sandalwood and rosewood. If we’re aware that using a certain plant contributes to habitat destruction, we’ll choose something else!’ (…This is a very refreshing pledge, as all too often brands choose ingredients without thinking back through their supply chain, this is true even of a lot of ‘eco-friendly’ companies sadly. We all need to be more holistic like this, everything comes from somewhere after all, who knows what knock-on effects we are having if we are ignorant in this way? As you know, ABP does it’s best to combat this with the research we do on the ingredients and materials in the products we sell.)
Akamuti have an eco-friendly office, using recycled paper and environmentally friendly packaging. They have a zero-waste policy in their office, they recycle or compost all of their waste to try and make sure nothing ends up in a landfill.
Akamuti uses organic ingredients, but for those wondering how this is checked: ‘All of our organic ingredients come from an accredited source, usually the Soil Association or Ecocert. We are not certified or licensed by the Soil Association due to administrative and membership costs.’ (…Sadly, being independently audited/verified by certification schemes is usually very expensive, making it out of reach for lots of otherwise very compliant, passionate small businesses. ☹)
Cruelty-free - ‘At Akamuti, we are totally against all forms of animal testing and ensure that all our raw ingredients are sourced from animal-friendly suppliers. Our fixed cut-off date is the same as our company formation, i.e. July 1st 2003. We have never tested any of our products on animals and it has been our priority to source ingredients from suppliers who uphold the same policy. This means that none of our ingredients or end products have ever been or ever will be tested on animals. Our preparations are tested by willing people and assessed for safety by our laboratory.’
Conclusion –
Treat your face to the hippest beauty buy from a company that has nothing to hide and you’ll come up smelling like roses. Rosehip to the hop to it!
