Soeder
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The Shifting Gaia rating evaluates brands based on sustainable practices, ingredients and materials, and social responsibility, among others. Below are a few factors influencing this brand's score:
overview
about
Soeder is a Swiss brand that makes toxin-free soaps, lotions, and sanitizers. Highlights
• Energy efficient manufacturing efforts
• Refill options available
• Non-toxic formulations
sustainability
details:
Packaging
Soeder uses glass instead of plastic whenever possible and offers a robust refill program, but refill packaging is largely made of recycled plastic. Pumps are made of plastic. There is no information about shipping packaging.
Material Sustainability
Soeder uses mostly plant derived ingredients but with a few that can not be considered sustainable. This includes Squalane, which unless specified as plant-derived (from olives or sugarcane), most likely comes from shark-liver, which has led to dangerous levels of overharvesting that threaten shark species populations. Some forumaltions also contain Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, which is not RSPO certified and thus likely contributes to deforestation. These two ingredients are specific to lotions and make up a very small portion of total ingredients. Soaps contain only ingredients in the highest sustainability tier.
Energy Use and Footprint
There is little information regarding production emissions and reductions. Soeder claims to manufacture in a a facility “geared towards fulfilling exemplary ecological principles,” but does not really specify what this means outside of recycling production materials, reducing packaging waste and reusing resources wherever possible.
Waste Management
There is little available information regarding waste mitigation strategies in production beyond claims that the manufacturing plant recycles production materials, reduces packaging waste, and reuses resourced whenever possible. How this is done is unclear, and third party certifications are absent.
Business Model
Soeder has a mostly evergreen selection of products with minimal churn. They prioritize quality over quantity and encourage mindful spending over impulse purchases.
non-toxic
details:
Soeder's ingredients are non-toxic and carry at most negligible or minimal risk for those with especially sensitive skin.
social responsibility
details:
There is little information regarding participation in social or environmental initiatives. There is also a lack of information regarding fair labor practices, however Soeder produces everything at their facility Switzerland, which is at an extremely low risk for fair labor violations.
