Last Updated on July 4, 2024 by Kapuluan
Eco-friendly coconut oil is touted as a healthy alternative to toxic lotions and skincare products. But is it healthy for the environment, too?
Read the Full Post at EcoCult.com
With so many products on the market and touting so many benefits with clever marketing terms, it is increasingly challenging to understand all the different types of coconut oil.
A few of the simplest ways to determine a positive or negative impact on people and the planet by any company are:
Price point – While a low price may be tempting, consider where coconuts come from, how far they travel, all the steps in packaging and preparing for sale, and the cost to acquire you as a customer and run the company. Still a low price?
Business model – Is the company dedicated to improving the world? Or are they out to earn as much profit as possible? Do they have any unique partners or accreditations?
Retail locations – In what type of retail locations can you buy the product? This ties into price point a bit, but people and businesses keep company with others with similar values and interests. Some retailers are highly committed to positively impacting people and the environment. Some are not.
Quality of the product – Is the product good? Usually, you get what you pay for. Is the coconut oil brown or yellow at the bottom of the jar? Is all of the coconut oil yellow? Does it smell good or bad? Is it raw coconut oil? These are all critical questions. If the product is not good, what else is the company doing that is not good?
*NOTE: Quality, Pure, and Eco-friendly coconut oil should not be yellow or smell foul. The whiter the oil, the better the smell and the finer quality. Of course, everyone has different senses and preferences, but with some care, you can determine the quality of coconut oil from coconut oil with poor quality.
9 Ways to Choose an Eco-Friendly Coconut Oil
Here are the top 9 ways to choose eco-friendly coconut oil. Some of this information may not be easy to find, but with a bit of reading and research, you should be able to learn more about coconut oil and the different brands selling it.
- Coconuts picked from biodiverse, organic, rural coconut farms.
- Product travels the least distance from production to your door, saving on carbon emissions from shipping multiple times.
- Often, wasted parts of the coconut are used.
- No fuels are used in production.
- No timber or additional surrounding resources are used in production.
- Hand-processed (husked, chopped with a machete, and pressed) in small batches without using sizeable industrialized equipment.
- Kept raw instead of processed with heat (cooked) so the oil does not need to be bleached or deodorized after pressing and filtered using a cheesecloth.
- Energy should come from solar panels.
- Machinery and large equipment are not used.
In short, if you choose an eco-friendly coconut oil made locally using more traditional methods, you’ll get a higher quality, more sustainable coconut oil that nourishes your skin and the planet.
Try Kapuluan Coconut’s eco-friendly coconut oil for all your beauty needs!
