Science has confirmed that our planet has reached its tipping point. Here at Tribe, we are obliged to produce products that are not only attractive and functional, but sustainable—products with the smallest possible ecological footprint which, as a result, will make the world just that little bit healthier.
Looking after natural resources and using them sparingly is a key part of our philosophy. We are committed to creating the lowest possible impact on the environment by reducing energy, using fewer materials and eliminating unnecessary waste – all Tribe products come without outer packaging. We use 100% recyclable containers and closures and promote low resin weight PET jars and fully recyclable glass bottles.
Handmade Tribe Soap and Scrub are packed in paperboard boxes, which are made from 100% post-consumer recycled material and are fully biodegradable and recyclable.
We use only environmental and economical 100% recycled carton or plant derived postal packaging and re-use our boxes until they can’t be used anymore, then recycle them. We also use and re-use boxes from other companies as well. All our paper products are FSC certified. The loosefill chips we use for posting products are designed to biodegrade in landfills, soil and water leaving no harmful residue behind.
Tribe products are 100% free from sulphates, silicon, parabens, synthetic fragrances and artificial colorants. Our products are biodegradable and not harmful to natural watersheds and eco-systems. Tribe products do not contain nanomaterials and not tested on animals.
We have consciously decided not to use beeswax in our natural skincare products’ formulations. Bees and other pollinating insects play an essential role in ecosystems. Bees make more than honey – they are key to food production because they pollinate crops. Bumblebees, other wild bees, and insects like butterflies, wasps, and flies all provide valuable pollination services. A third of the food that we eat depends on pollinating insects: vegetables like zucchini, fruits like apricot, nuts like almonds, herbs like coriander, edible oils like canola, and many more… In Europe alone, the growth of over 4,000 vegetables depends on the essential work of pollinators. Since the late 1990s, beekeepers around the world have observed the devastating and sudden disappearance of bees, and report unusually high rates of decline in honeybee colonies. If wild pollinator declines continue, we run the risk of losing a substantial proportion of the world’s flora. Instead of beeswax, we are using a wax called candelilla, which is a plant wax derived from the candelilla shrub.To find out more about where our candelilla wax comes from and how it is sourced please click here.
We consider the continuation of our business and developing products that maintain nature and its resources. We seek the best natural materials and prefer, whenever possible, naturally processed ingredients or from organic farming.
Here at Tribe are also proud supporters of International Campaign Against Microbeads in Cosmetics and all Tribe product registered as free of any plastic ingredients and carry Beat the Microbead the ‘Zero Plastic Inside’ logo.
Tiny particles of plastic have been added to possibly thousands of personal care products sold around the world. These microbeads, hardly visible to the naked eye, flow straight from the bathroom drain into the sewer system. Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to filter out microbeads and that is the main reason why, ultimately, they contribute to the Plastic Soup swirling around the world’s oceans. Sea creatures absorb or eat microbeads. These microbeads are passed along the marine food chain. Since humans are ultimately at the top of this food chain, it is likely that we are also absorbing microbeads from the food we eat. Microbeads are not biodegradable and once they enter the marine environment, they are impossible to remove.
Positive action on behalf of manufacturers has meant that more and more of these microbeads are being removed from personal care products and replaced by naturally biodegradable alternatives.
Although the full extent and consequences is hard to quantify, the accumulation of plastic, including microplastics, in the marine environment is today recognised as a serious, global environmental issue.
We aren’t perfect, but we do love the Earth, and try to make our environmental footprint as small as we can.
