Reduce food waste
Did you know that one third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally each year (Food and Agriculture Organization UN, 2019)?
Less food waste would lead to more efficient land use and better water resource management with positive impacts on climate change and livelihoods.
Try decreasing your own food waste by using your senses vision, smell and taste! An important aspect is the difference between expiration date and last consumption date and what it means in term of food safety. Even though foods are close to, at or beyond the expiration date you can use your senses to determine if it is still edible or not. But if the food has passed the last consumption date it might be hazardous and therefore needs to be thrown away.
Another thing you can think of is not buying more food than you consume. For instance, don’t buy “three for the price of two” if you think you won’t have time to eat the food before it’s inedible.
Drink tap water
Liquids are some of the heaviest items to ship around the world and lots of fossil fuel is needed to carry them. Instead of purchasing bottled beverages, use a refillable bottle and fill it with fresh water from the tap or filter. By choosing tap water instead of other bottled beverages, such as sweetened soda, you not only minimise your intake of calories and added sugars, but also limit your environmental footprint.
Limit shopping trips
Even though transport is usually not the largest share of food’s final carbon footprint it’s always good to reduce the number of travels you do with a car on fossil fuel. Try to condense your shopping trips to take advantage of your location. For example, if you’re headed to the farmers market, do all of your food-related shopping trips in that nearby location for the week and maybe swing by the pharmacy while you’re at it.
If it’s possible, the best way for a shopping trip is by foot or on two wheels on a bicycle. In that sense you also get a refreshing exercise at the same time. Win, win!
Sustainability with Wellness by Oriflame
Sustainability is core to who we are as Oriflame – it is part of our Swedish heritage, our brands and our mission to fulfil dreams.
Since we sell products all over the world, it is inevitable that manufacturing and distributing products will have an impact. That is why it’s important for us to be responsible and take several actions to reduce negative impacts on the environment.
When choosing ingredients, we always do it wisely. To develop high-quality products with active compounds we’ve always turned to nature for inspiration and science for powerful insights and substantiation.
Most of our products have plant-based or vegetarian ingredient sources, which is considered more sustainable than an animal origin, such as for example red meat. A few of our key ingredients are sourced from for instance pea, faba bean, bilberry, lingonberry, apple, chicory root, algae, egg and milk.
But we don’t stop there, now we take it further than that! Let us explore what other actions we take to be more sustainable!
Vegan Society
Our Natural Balance Soups, Prebiotic Fibre Drink and Meal Replacement for Weight Control are all registered with the Vegan Society and wear their trademark. By that we guarantee that all containing ingredients and final products are free of ingredients derived from animals.
The Natural Balance Soups can be eaten as a healthy snack or as part of a main meal to top up on plant-based protein and dietary fibre.
The Prebiotic Fibre Drink is an easy way to boost your dietary fibre and prebiotic fibre intake. The powder can be mixed with any liquid or food – warm or cold.
The Meal Replacement for Weight Control powder can be mixed with either 250 ml of cow’s milk or 310 ml of soy drink (plant-based option). It’s intended to replace 2 of the 3 daily main meals for weight loss or replace 1 of the 3 daily main meals for weight maintenance.
Friend of the Sea
The fish oils in our Omega 3 supplements are certified sustainable by the Friend of the Sea (FOS). FOS is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, whose mission is the conservation of the marine habitat. It is now a leading international certification project for products originated from both sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
FOS leads fisheries which join the certification program to adopt selective fishing methods and reduce ecosystem impact within maximum sustainable yield. The certification also ensures high quality standards in terms of energy efficiency and social accountability.
The Omega 3 products can be a convenient way to top up on your essential fat intake (EPA & DHA), if not eating fish 2-3 times a week for instance.
Aquamin TG
The Marine Calcium & Vitamin D supplement contains the highly bioavailable calcium from Aquamin TG™, a unique natural multi-mineral complex with +70 trace minerals. Aquamin TG™ is sustainably harvested from red algae found in the pristine Icelandic waters.
These chewable tablets are a convenient way to increase the intake of the two most important nutrients to help support optimal bone and teeth health – calcium and vitamin D.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
The paper and cardboard packaging for our Wellness by Oriflame products comes from FSC -certified sources, which means it comes from well-managed, sustainable forests.
LEED® certified - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Last but not least, one of our Wellness production facilities, located in Roorkee, India is LEED® certified. LEED® is a green building certification recognising best-in-class sustainable building practices. Almost too good to be true, right?!
As you might have figured out by now, Wellness loves Sustainability! Now it’s up to you to decide what kind of actions you would like to take for a more sustainable and healthier you. Remember! Caring about yourself will also have a positive impact on Mother Nature. I hope I’ve sparked an interest in how to be both healthy and sustainable at once. Wellness by Oriflame can support you on your health and sustainability quest!
References:
- National Geographics. Future of Food-series. What the world Eats. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/what-the-world-eats/. 2011
- Willet W et.al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet. 2019
- Poore J, Nemecek T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science. 2018
- The State of the World. The state of Food and Agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2019
