Staff Uniforms
Globally, the textile industry is estimated to contribute 3 – 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. Plus, there are other environmental impacts to consider, including intensive water use, water pollution through dying and textile production, and pesticide and herbicide pollution through the agricultural production of cotton. Microplastics, which are shed primarily from synthetic textiles during washing, are also polluting the oceans, potentially negatively impacting human health and natural ecosystems.
With all this mind, when it comes to sourcing our staff uniforms, we choose materials such as linen, hemp, organic cotton, or recycled fibres. Impact Trading and it’s cotton brand, Cotton Roots, create the organic garments that make up our staff uniforms. The company holds a great number of ethical certificates for its Fairtrade standards in manufacturing. The farmers who produce the cotton are the key focus in this cycle. The whole chain, farmers, spinners, weavers, dyers, sewing, embroidery and printing can be traced. It also follows EU REACH rules (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals).
Bathroom Toiletries
We provide REN beauty products in our chalet’s bathrooms so our guests can rest assured that they are using products on their skin which do not include synthetic fragrance or colours, pore-blocking petrochemicals, silicones, sulphates, PEGs, TEA/DEA, parabens, urea or animal ingredients. We have found REN’s products to be effective and luxurious to use, whilst being totally free from the skin-unfriendly ingredients routinely used in the skincare industry today.
REN also share our zero waste ambitions by using packaging designed to be recyclable, reusable or containing recyclable materials. In addition, we buy the products in bulk and refill existing containers.
In the garden
Pesticides and other chemicals have, for several decades, become the go-to solution for all problems in the garden. The permaculture way is to find more natural solutions to such problems, such as weeds and pests. With permaculture techniques, solutions are long-term, rather than a quick fix, and may have multiple functions in the garden. For example, plenty of perennial plants create homes for all manner of beneficial insects – ladybirds, predatory wasps, hoverflies etc – which eat the trouble-making bugs and excrete valuable nutrients atop the soil. By the thoughtful design of our food forest, the natural pest controls kick in by themselves, and we create a vibrant eco system. We are very much at the beginning of this journey but excited by the prospect of growing many delicious tasting, organic vegetables, herbs, nuts and fruit to stock our kitchen.