Is Kayan Naturkosmetik a sustainable brand?

Is Kayan Naturkosmetik a sustainable brand?

No! Of course not! And don’t be fooled by anyone who tells you their brand is! Sustainable is one of the most wrongly used words out there, and it’s everywhere! Let’s think about what it means: sustainable practices are things that we can do over and over again for many years and their impact on our planet will be neutral or positive. Do you really think this is the case for all the things you might have bought which claimed to be sustainable? Of course not! And the reason for that is that the word “sustainable” is not subject to any checks or certification of any kind, meaning that anyone can claim that their products are sustainable to encourage people to buy more of their products. So beware of brands using words like “eco-friendly”, “sustainable” or “natural”: this is most likely greenwashing.

Kayan Naturkosmetik is making a stand against greenwashing.

To me, greenwashing is one of the worst things companies can do: they are preying on their customers' will to do good and to contribute to the environmental crisis we are experiencing and using this to sell more products to make more money. Perhaps the brands themselves believe to some extent that they truly are delivering on those promises of being a force for good. However this is rarely, if ever, the case. Remember: to be sustainable the overall outcome must be neutral or positive for the planet. That means that if you made a balance sheet of all the positive and negative impacts, they should cancel themselves out. That includes the production, transport, and use of the products, meaning looking at the greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, water use, and pollution of all kinds for the product, its container and whatever other dependencies it has. Many of these processes may indeed be better than they were, or better than another option on the market. But better just means slightly less unsustainable. A step in the right direction. Better, does not, in my opinion, mean you can claim to be sustainable.

Less unsustainable doesn’t mean sustainable

That’s why I am committed to making a stand against greenwashing. At the heart of that are three values:

• Being honest: I will never claim that my products are sustainable. Sustainable would be to not use any cosmetic products. And even then, you would have to do something to offset your water use.
• Being open: I will share everything I know about my products. For each of my products I have researched the environmental impact of my ingredients and containers, and the findings (good and bad) are shared with you.
• Striving for the best: I will work hard to reduce the impact of my products on our planet. The research I do on my ingredients and containers informs me on how I can improve my recipes and processes to ensure that I use the least unsustainable alternatives wherever possible.