Our Product Philosophy
We’re a principles based company with a wholistic approach to product development. Our team of world class scientists and chemists led by Huia Iti evaluate the impact of our products on the health of people and the environment every step of the way.
We believe our products are healthier for you because all ingredients are carefully assessed for potential skin irritation, skin absorption, respiratory effects and cancer concerns. The lower pH, sodium, alkalinity and phosphorous levels of our cleaning products also make them safer for our environment.
There are 3 principles at the heart of our product development and formulation processes.
- Safety always comes first – we follow the Precautionary Principle which means if there’s any doubt about the safety of an ingredient we will find a safer alternative.
- No compromise on performance – our products are independently tested to perform as well as the leading brand alternative.
- Use a little, save a lot – our safely concentrated products use the least number of ingredients at the lowest concentrations to get the best results.
Our Research and Development Team
We are a science-based company. We solicit the help of Sir Ray Avery as our lead formulating chemist and other chemists experienced in eco chemistry. We are constantly reviewing our products, as new science comes to hand we evaluate and change to improve our formulations.
Huia Iti
Huia heads up our Research and Development team, he has a science degree from Auckland University, and brings more than 8 years experience in chemistry to his role at ecostore. Huia facilitates the development and improvement of both new and existing product formulations. Understanding and managing the environmental impacts of our products at all stages is critical and explains his focus on formulating products that are not only greywater safe and biodegradable, they are also better for people’s health. Performance benchmarking against the more conventional top selling brands helps him make sure that our products perform just as well or better.
Sir Ray Avery
Award winning scientist and humanitarian, Sir Ray Avery is our lead formulator. Sir Ray is a founding member of the University of Auckland School of Medicine’s department of clinical pharmacology and brings more than 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry to the development of our products. When he is formulating products for ecostore Sir Ray works on the Einstein principle that ‘the simplest solution is the most elegant’. Our safely concentrated formulations use the least number of ingredients at the lowest concentrations to achieve the best results and help us achieve our goal of using a little and saving a lot.
2010 Sir Ray receives New Zealander of the Year Award
Sir Ray won this award for his invention of technology to produce low cost intraocular lenses that help restore vision affected by cataracts.
2010 Sir Ray is awarded a Knighthood
Sir Ray was awarded a knighthood for his work helping the worlds poor which included the invention of an intravenous flow controller to prevent fatal drug administration errors and a low cost incubator that helps save the lives of
premature babies in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa.
Our Claims
On the back label of any ecostore product you will notice these symbols proudly displayed:
GE Free
No animal testing
Please Recycle
Enviromark Diamond
GE Free
GE is not a black and white issue for us because we are opposed to GE field trials but support the ethical development of GE within laboratories.
Why we are opposed to GE field trials
We have campaigned for many years to keep GE out of our food chain, in fact we were a ‘Gold Sponsor’ of the Econation 20/20 Campaign against lifting the moratorium on GE field trials in New Zealand. None of our plant derived chemicals come from GE stock such as corn and wheat and despite there being a new cornstarch alternative to plastic we have chosen not to use it because it comes from GE crops.
Why we support GE in the laboratory
We’re not opposed to the ethical use of GE contained in laboratories for the production of medicines such as insulin or more recently for the production of cleaning enzymes. Enzymes are also known as nature’s catalysts and are very effective cleaning agents in household cleaners which don’t come into direct contact with the skin.
Enzyme production and use
Whilst the cleaning grade enzymes we use in our auto dish powder and tablets are not GE organisms, they are derived from a laboratory controlled process which utilises GE.
There are two very distinct types of genetic engineering; In Higher organisms (humans, plants and animals) and Lower organisms (Microorganisms [Bacterium or Fungus]). GE of microorganisms is used in the production of cleaning grade enzymes.
We use enzymes in our auto dishwash powder and tablets because:
- They reduce the large number of chemicals needed to achieve similar results.
- The production of enzymes allows for reduced energy and raw material consumption.
- They are readily biodegradable.
- A small amount < 1% in formulation is all that is needed to achieve excellent results.
- They enable us to formulate safer dishwasher products with a lower alkalinity.
- They are not in direct contact with your skin.
We don’t use enzymes in our laundry products because:
Residual enzymes from your laundry products can be trapped in clothing, sheets or underwear which means they are up against your skin day and night and can be reactivated by sweat and moisture. If they continue doing the job they were designed for, which is removing fats and protein they may start targeting your skin and cause irritation or other allergic reactions.
No animal testing
ecostore does not test on animals, we are a Choose Cruelty Free accredited company.
Please Recycle
Minimising packaging is an ongoing journey for us which is why we offer refills and bulk size options whenever we can. We are also investigating using a high percentage of plastic regrind in our bottles. In the meantime, the recyclability of our products is a priority, all of our bottles are made from HDPE – code 2 for recycling. The screw-top lids on some of our bulk size containers are Polypropylene – code 5 for recycling. The lids need to be of a tougher material to withstand the pressure that is required to tighten them.
Our cardboard laundry boxes are made of 95% recycled materials and our Autodish tablet box is made from 85% recycled materials. Some virgin material is required in the boxes for strength.
Enviromark Diamond
Our Auckland based factory carries the Enviromark Diamond certification from Landcare NZ which is your guarantee that we have undertaken full third party environmental auditing of our processes.
The use of Palm Oil and PKO.
Sustainability is an integral part of our business and we seek out suppliers that share our commitment. Our main plant based chemical supplier has been a member of RSPO since 2004
Since 2008 the palm oil industry has set up criteria for sustainability and is the 1st industrial agricultural commodity industry to do so. The RSPO is the only organisation that supports the process of implementing sound principles, key indicators and criteria for sustainable crude palm and palm kernel oil production.
We have received confirmation (October 2011) from our main plant based chemical supplier that their intention is to purchase all palm and PKO from certified sustainable sources and that they are aiming to have achieved that goal by 2015
Did You Know?
Your skin lives and breathes. Many chemicals in use today in household cleaning and body products are known irritants to the skin, and can create health issues like eczema and dermatitis.
Myth Busting Eco cleaning products don’t work as well.
ecostore products are independently proven to perform as well as, or better than, the leading brand alternatives, so you don’t have to compromise on performance.
Myth Busting Eco cleaning products cost more.
If you steer clear of products that use cheap bulking agents and opt for more concentrated products, you’ll use less and save money overall.
Did you know?
Most of our products are wheat free
We take the needs of those with allergies to wheat and gluten very seriously which is why 99% of our products are wheat free. Only 2 of our bar soaps contain wheat germ oil: Manuka Honey & Kelp soap and Baby soap
Did you know?
Most of our products are vegan friendly – not derived from animals
ecostore is a Choose Cruelty Free accredited company and almost all of our products are free of animal based ingredients making them suitable for vegans, here are the exceptions:
Manuka Honey & Kelp bar soap – Honey extract
Goats Milk bar soap – Goats milk extract
Manuka & Oatmeal bar soap – Honey extract
Peppermint & Honey bar soap – Honey extract
Baby Nappy balm – Beeswax extract
Baby bar soap – Goats milk extract
