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photo: naturamus
photo: naturamus

Nature offers many ingredients that have been tried and tested over decades and even centuries. With the ongoing organic trend and the increasing demand for natural ingredients, it is interesting that lanolin, one of the most traditional ingredients of all, is not yet available in organic quality. Time to do something about it.

Since antiquity, lanolin (wool wax) has been indispensable for producing ointments and natural remedies. Nevertheless, the world market has not yet had an organic lanolin, even though lanolin is a natural raw material. After seven years of development, now we can offer the first organic certified lanolin worldwide.

Diverse natural raw material

Lanolin is a popular ointment and cosmetic base thanks to the diversity of possible applications. On the one hand, lanolin shows a high-water absorption capacity, making it a great emulsifier. On the other hand, lanolin is similar to the sebum of human skin. Thus, creams and ointments based on lanolin care for the skin noticeably and lastingly. As a result, cosmetic manufactures use lanolin for their natural cosmetics very often. However, up to now the branch had to rely on conventional wool wax. This fact is surprising since lanolin is a natural product. We had to change this. Therefore, we were looking for pioneering partners with whom we can develop organic certified lanolin. The search, however, turned out to be challenging since the wool market has changes over the past decade. Nowadays, wool is sent around the globe to be washed and processed. Patagonia is one of the last regions where sheep are sheared, and their wool is washed at the same place. This is, what we were looking for. We identified Fuhrmann Argentina . who is located in that area, as a partner with whom we share a visio — and with whom we could share the project— and the world’s first biologically certified lanolin could be produced. 

Transparency, sustainability and process know-how

In Patagonia, thousands of sheep live freely alongside a few people. Far away from intensive agriculture, pollution and hot and humid climates, one sheep grazes on 40 000 m². Thus the parasite pressure is low and the use of (many) different pesticides to protect the sheep is unnecessary. That is an ecological benefit for everyone. The sheep remain healthy even without protective substances, the pastures remain natural and the wool wax is low in pesticides. Fuhrmann Argentina manages organic sheep farms and washes the sheep’s wool according to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). They know the supply chain from the very beginning to the final product. Moreover, they work in an exemplary manner on sustainability regarding the entire supply chain of the final wool. For example, the company is involved in keeping sheep in Patagonia according to the Responsible Wool Stan dard (RWS), a standard for animal friendly livestock farming. The “raw” wool wax, washed out of the sheep’s wool, is not ready for sale instead. The wool wax must be prepared before sale. For this step, we have found another trustworthy partner in Inquimec. Inquimec produces wool wax under process conditions meeting the strict criteria of organic requirements without using aggressive chemicals. Instead, the company stands out for gentle and ecological proceedings.

The final touch

In order to offer a low-odour organic lanolin in premium quality, a German partner performs additional cleaning and deodorization processes. This way, our German partner reduces the already low pesticide residue of the wool wax and the proportion of wool wax alcohols. The lanolin can be considered hypoallergenic for that reason. It, thus, serves as an ointment base for all skin. In times, when the origin and production conditions of raw materials have become more and more important for customers, ensuring social and ecological sustainability along the supply chain is of crucial importance. As a pioneer in the field of ethical and ecological procurement of natural resources, naturamus is a leader for traceability, transparency and sustainability. Thanks to the 100% organic Cosmos certification, combined with high product quality and a transparent supply chain, the organic lanolin meets the requirements of critical customers.

Ralf Kunert,

managing director, naturamus,
Aichelberg, Germany,
www.naturamus.de 

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