WE BELIEVE THAT WE ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE CARE OF OUR PLANET DURING THE MIDST OF A CLIMATE EMERGENCY. THROUGHOUT OUR PRODUCT JOURNEY WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE IMPACT THE PLANET IN FOUR WAYS, FIRST IS THROUGH OUR SOURCING, SECOND IS THROUGH OUR PACKAGING, THIRD IS THROUGH OUR INGREDIENTS AND FINALLY THROUGH OUR PRODUCTION.
THE ISSUES IN BEAUTY
WATER
The average British citizen uses 142 litres of water a day! A continuation of this usage will lead to water poverty by 2025, impacting 2/3rds of the population.
At Naturally Tiwa, we made sure that our products provide maximum hydration without using any water! We also consider the amount of water used by our Shea facilities in Nigeria during production and we are working on projects to make sure we are efficiently using this resource.
WASTE
95% of all beauty packaging is thrown out after a single use. The beauty industry produces 120 billion unrecyclable units every single year.
We want to be a part of the solution, not the problem. All of our products are packaged in recyclable glass jars and cardboard boxes. We also screen print onto our jars so that less waste is created. We recognise there is more that we can do and with every new product launch, we seek ways to reduce our waste. It is about evolution, a journey towards zero waste, with our ultimate aim being completely plastic free.
DEFORESTATION
Did you know that around 8 million shea trees are lost every year across West Africa? More than 50% of shea trees in the Savannah Ecological Zone have been cut down to make charcoal and firewood, leading to a 77% loss of forest cover between 2001 and 2005 alone. Cutting down trees leads to the release of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases which has a negative impact on the environment.
The Shea Trees which are of high economic and commercial value are cut down and used as firewood by local communities and there has been an increase of tree felling during the COVID 19 pandemic. We are doing our part by securing a commitment with the King of Essan to stop the felling of trees in Essan.
We are also taking initiative from the Global Shea Alliance, who have made a commitment to replant 10 million shea trees in 10 years (by 2031). Our goal is to contribute to this target by replanting shea trees on our 16 acres of land in the Kingdom of Essan.
OUR PLEDGE
- TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE UK REALISING ITS EMISSIONS LAW TARGET TO NET ZERO BY 2050.
- TO NOT TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF THE EARTH WE DON’T GIVE BACK, WHICH INCLUDES MANAGING THE WASTE WE GENERATE.
- TO NURTURE OUR PLANET BY LOOKING AFTER OUR TREES INCLUDING REPLANTING, RESEARCHING AND REPLENISHING.
- TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE ZERO WASTE PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES BRINGING SOMETHING POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE TO THE COMMUNITIES WE WORK WITH.
- TO GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR WORLD THROUGH CHAMPIONING A SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE.
- TO NURTURE AND LOOK AFTER THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US.
THESE PLEDGES MAKE OUR CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS PART OF OUR LIFESTYLE CHOICES!
OUR PRODUCT JOURNEY
We collaborate with the women at our facilities in Nigeria, by sourcing our ingredients, Shea Butter, Kola Nut and Millet, from their community in an ethical and sustainable manner, providing the infrastructure needed to ensure quality, and the training that will help them progress.
Traditionally, the Shea industry has women at its core with over 16 million rural African women collecting and processing Shea kernels as a main source of income. Naturally Tiwa, through its employment of rural women for its activities is bringing economic benefits directly and indirectly to at least one hundred thousand rural women in the Essan region.
Our ‘Source to Jar’ ethos means that we ensure our end-to-end supply chain is as seamless and as conscious as possible.
We minimise the volume of water used to process our Shea Butter. We do not work with Shea collectors or farmers who utilise pesticides.
Our aim is to facilitate a circular economy, utilising every aspect of the Shea nut, ensuring that zero waste across the processing line is achieved.
PACKAGING
With over 120 billion units of packaging (mostly unrecyclable plastic) produced annually by the global cosmetics industry, we are doing our part to make a difference.
Our packaging has been designed from the ground up, with sustainability at its heart. Our glass jars include a UV protective layer, to ensure the products inside last longer. We screen print directly onto the glass jars which means no more labels, less waste and better for our environment.
INGREDIENTS
Plastics in the ocean is a major issue, but it is an issue that we can see and an issue that is currently being tackled. However, the narrative is changing and conversation is moving towards what else is in the ocean that we can’t see (chemicals, cosmetics, sun cream that impacts our coral reef and oceans). To be part of the huge disruption in the industry, Naturally Tiwa is committed to not using any synthetic chemicals in any of our products.
PRODUCTION
We are proud to manufacture our products in the UK. Our manufacturers are artisans, employing traditional methods to produce our formulations, utilising people instead of machines and simple methods including melting, blending, whisking and hand pouring formulations. This is the way that skincare used to be made before mass manufacture and we are proud to incorporate these methods in our manufacturing process.
