The oil has been sourced from the Kenya Organic Oil Farmers Association (KOOFA), ensuring that the ingredient is from both a sustainable source as well as being supplied according to fairtrade principles.
The company has launched the new oil in an effort to meet manufacturers' demand for ingredients sourced with ethical credentials, falling in line with growing consumer demand and appeal.
Earthoil says it has seen this project through, from concept all the way through to the launch of the new ingredient, and also stresses the fact that one of the principle objects has also been to bring new opportunities to the Kenyan farmers involved in the project.
KOOFA gets project off the ground
KOOFA involves some 535 active members, all growing organic and fairtrade tea tree oil according to sustainable principles that are ultimately helping to increase yields and the volume of tea tree oil produced.
The project means that Earthoil only buys the tea tree leaves, which in turn enables the farmers to use the stems for other purposes, including firewood and fencing.
Company spokesman Giles Bovill also pointed out that the launch of the new ingredient is very timely, given the fact that serious flooding in Australia has had a significant impact on the global supply of tea tree oil this season.
Tea tree oil known as dandruff treatment
Tea tree oil is a known antifungal agent, and is subsequently proving to be an increasingly popular ingredient in a range of natural-based skin care products, as well as proving a useful active ingredient for ant-dandruff treatments.
The company believes this initiative is part of the future for organic and natural oils, and believes that this project will help lay the foundations for further projects.
”We are looking to expand and bring a number of new projects to the market so our range will be expanding over time,” said Bovill.
Increasing demand for sustainable natural ingredients
Earthoil’s project falls in line with an increasing number of similar projects that are concentrating on the sourcing and supply of more ethical and sustainable ingredients.
Similarly, other significant industry initiatives have been triggered by The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which has made huge progress in encouraging the beauty industry to switch to sustainable sourcing of palm oil.
This initiative is now supported by some of the industry’s biggest players, including L’Oreal, Avon and Unilever, and has established goals that will see many companies sourcing only sustainable palm oil by 2015.