Sustainable Sourcing: The Stories behind our Suppliers - truthpaste
May 09, 2022

Sustainable Sourcing: The Stories behind our Suppliers

By Marisa Battrick

Sustainable Ingredients

It was always part of our founder’s vision that Truthpaste should be as ecologically friendly and sustainable as possible. This has always meant that our products need to be from exceptional suppliers who have their own stories to tell. 


Sustainability goes beyond just eco friendly. There is a range of elements that need to be considered in order for a product to be considered sustainable


A great deal of time and research goes into finding ingredients that are not just environmentally sustainable, but socially responsible.


What does organic and wild harvested mean?

We have always encouraged questions and feedback from our customers, and one that often comes up is “Is Truthpaste Organic?”. It is probably worth clarifying what ‘organic specifically means in terms of ingredients. Put in simple terms, an “Organic” or “Wild harvested” ingredient is one which has grown naturally in its environment with no pesticides. It’s farmed as closely as possible as it would be if it were growing in the wild, thus has no adverse effects on the surrounding environment. Whilst we have not officially been certified as an Organic product, we look to source organic ingredients wherever possible. 

Where are our ingredients from?

Since honesty is such a big part of the Truthpaste ethos, we thought you might like to know a little bit about the ingredients that go into our unique formula. 

Our Peppermint and Spearmint oils, both organic, have been sourced from a farming co-operative in India. All farmers in the community bring their crops to be processed in one facility, which is very much the hub of the community, providing a lot of work and support to the community. It’s a rather nice touch that much of the mint is picked and processed by hand. The same is true of our Wintergreen essential oil. Also organic but produced in much the same way in Nepal. At Truthpaste HQ, we are used to the fresh smell of the essential oils but it’s nice to feel like our mint has a real heart to it.

Also from India, although in the South, our neem oil is produced by a family business that has been operating for over 20 years. Again, this is run as a co-operative where the neem is hand picked then processed centrally. Most importantly, the wild harvested neem provides a significant amount of working opportunity in very remote parts of Southern India which has a huge benefit to many of the local farms and villages. 

Not that we want to give away too much of our secret formula, but citrus oil plays an important part when formulating Truthpaste. And, yes, this too is an Organic product produced in a rather beautiful and insanely scenic farm in Sicily. For five generations, the same family have owned the plantation where the lemons are hand picked. Providing a great deal of employment for the surrounding villages, this idyllic setting bears the best fruits there are on offer. 

In case you hadn’t heard (and if not, where have you been?!) coconut oil is simply brilliant at everything. You can use it on your hair, your skin, your teeth, and, of course, it’s edible! We were very much spoiled for choice when it came to finding the best supplier and it took us some time to find the one that was most in keeping with our ethos. You won’t be surprised to learn that like so many of our other ingredients, our coconut oil is in the Organic club. We’re really proud to have sourced a product from the Philippines which is Fairtrade and also supports the surrounding communities by backing projects that provide drinking water in local villages.

It’s an ongoing task to find the most sustainable suppliers and the best natural quality for our formulas, and we hope that knowing a bit more about about the love and the dedication that goes into getting those essential oils from their origins to your reusable glass jar gives you that little bit more reason to smile when you brush your teeth.

 

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