Earth Day 2019: Our promises to the planet

From moving documentaries showing the devastation caused by deforestation to protesters bringing London to a stand still, climate change is on everyone’s radar. One of the reasons it has come to the fore this week is Earth Day, which is on Wednesday April 22 around the world this year. But with so many conflicting opinions and different events to support, what does that mean for you and what can you do to support? Below you’ll find some of the facts as well as the promises we make as a business to reduce our environmental impact on Earth, which may give you some inspiration.

Earth Day first took place in 1970, when millions of people took to the streets in the US and beyond to protest the effects of industrial development on the environment. Since then the day has been officially marked each year - with its 50th anniversary coming up in 2020. Those who take part in raising awareness or funds (an estimated one billion globally) do so to highlight global issues such as climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticide use, among others. This year’s theme is Protect our Species, something that the official Earth Day organisation believes we can all influence in a positive way. You can take part in the Protect our Species campaign here.

At James + Jake, we are very aware that our work and actions may affect the environment, just like any business. But we take sustainability, our carbon footprint, and the wellbeing of all life on this planet very seriously. We do all we can as a company to reduce the impact of our work and processes on pollution. And we also ensure that the products we make have minimal effect on the environment we live in. Here are some of our environmental promises:

Extinct exfoliants
We’ll never use plastic beads as an exfoliating substance in our scrub products. This helps to prevent the amount of plastic entering our oceans

Eco delivery
As you would expect from a product based business like James + Jake, we need a certain amount of packaging in order to get your goods delivered safely and securely. All of our outer packaging is made from card - easy to dispose of in your paper or card recycling bin. And we have opted not to use individual boxes for each product, which you will often see on the shelves in stores.

Permitted plastics
We believe it’s possible to reverse the effects of plastic pollution in our environment by taking action to recycle, manufacture responsibly, and educate people on the recycling process. Our current product packaging (the blue bottles and jars used to hold products) is all ‘Resin ID One’ - the most eco-friendly plastic available because it has already been used as something else and recycled. It’s also recyclable again once you’ve finished with it.

Clean and green
We endeavour to make as many of our products natural and using natural, clean or organic ingredients. This is not only great for conditioning your skin. It means there are fewer nasty chemicals going down the plughole and into our oceans.

Sustainably sourced ingredients
Our carbon footprint is always a consideration when it comes to making James + Jake products. We aim to ensure all ingredients are selected from sustainable sources and grown responsibly.

Completely cruelty free
We will never produce anything that uses animals for testing purposes. Fortunately, this is illegal in EU countries.

Refil, not landfil
We’re working on bringing customers the chance to purchase product refills, with eco-friendly packaging, in our attempts to reduce the impact we all have on the environment.  

You can read more about our environmental pledges here. And for more details on everything Earth Day, visit earthday.org

If you have any questions about our product packaging or ingredients, please get in touch using enquiries@jamesandjake.com