Vganic

Georgina Roberts Updated by Georgina Roberts

What does Vganic mean?

Vganic establishes our whole-hearted commitment to producing quality products that align with our strong values concerning product, people, and planet. We have worked hard over the years to establish relationships with suppliers who share these core values, to ensure that everyone and everything involved from plant to product are treated fairly and with reverence. Vganic ensures the quality of ingredients and product, sustainable farming practices and the wellbeing of those folks growing the ingredients for us. No animals are used for labor in the farming of our ingredients.

Product

Our products are carefully curated by our in-house nutritionists and product development team. They are ever evolving as we grow and learn, and always rooted in the current nutritional research. The finished products are tested for their nutritional values (macro and micro-nutrients), aminos (where applicable), pesticides and herbicides (over 520 variants) and heavy metals. These stringent testing ensures our formulas are more than just concept, and they deliver the nutritional benefit intended at design, as well as mitigating the risk of contamination which is often unfortunately found in many off the shelf supplements. Our products are designed to comply with the EU food safety guidelines which outlines appropriate usage and amounts for ingredients within food products. We test our products PRE and POST launch for nutritional information and microbiology. Heavy metal tests are carried out by a third party every 12 months. Our ingredients arrive with us from our suppliers with a certificate of analysis, these tests test for similar contaminants and nutritional content.

We use organic certified ingredients wherever possible. For an ingredient to be organic certified, there are certain parameters that are be determined by a regulatory body. With the constant emergence/re-discovery of healthful ingredients, often the regulatory bodies cannot keep up and parameters for such ingredients organic classification are not set in good time. In such cases, an ingredient cannot be classified as organic yet. In this instance, we work with our suppliers to select the finest ingredients that are grown without chemicals, and with minimal impact on the environment.

Some more on our products:

·        Wherever possible source ingredients from their native countries.

·        We have ingredient specifications and only source from approved suppliers.

·        We reject ingredients that do not have an approved COA (certificate of analysis).

·        Non-GMO statements are obtained for all ingredients.

·        Allergen declarations available for each ingredient.

·        Where applicable, safety data sheets available for each ingredient.

·        Plant-based – process flows for each ingredient available to ensure minimal processing.

·        100% vegan – no animal products used in our products, nor are animals used for labor in the production of our ingredients.

Planet

Our commitment to environmentally friendly and sustainable practice is what sets us apart from many other supplement brands. This has been one of our values from the get-go, a non-negotiable that we must do our upmost to ensure our business has as little a footprint as possible. Of course, there have been many learning curbs along the way, and we are far from perfect, but we continue to strive to do more. Here are some of the things we currently do in our commitment to planet:

Carbon offset

We work hard to keep our emissions as low as possible, and work with environmental partners to offset the emissions we do make. Most of our team (less the warehouse team and some operational staff) work from home and have always worked from home. Not only does his help support our peoples work life balance, but it also reduces everyday emissions for travel. Every year we collect data and submit all our business activities (direct and indirect) to be assessed for GHG (green house gas) emissions. Natural Capital Partners assess our carbon footprint using various methods of data analysis and validation to give us a measurement for the year. We receive a report which outlines our emissions and breaks down what areas of our business are operating sustainably and what areas need work. We then offset our emissions by supporting the Rimba Raya Biodiversity reserve.

The Rimba Raya Biodiversity reserve is a an InfitnateEARTH project, and the largest REDD+ project in the world, in terms of its avoided emissions to date and protecting around 65,000 hectares of peat swamp in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Its avoided carbon emissions to date total to around 130 million tonnes. Rimba Raya is the world’s largest privately funded Orangutang reserve, and works with the surrounding community to provide education and employment, and addressing all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development goals. Rimba Raya is around the same size as Singapore, and it provides a vital patrolled buffer zone between ever-encroaching bulldozers of the palm oil industry and the Tanjung National Park, home to one of the last remaining wild populations of orangutans on earth.

The Trees

We plant a tree for every order, and often on special occasions (like our Green Friday campaign) we plant 10 trees for every order. We work with Eden Reforestation projects, the worlds most prolific and successful tree planting initiatives who work in areas around the world most damaged by deforestation. So many the historical climate catastrophes can be directly linked to deforestation, and the importance of reforestation is huge. Eden projects work is mostly in developing countries, who are most likely to be affected by climate change. They empower local people by employing them and providing a way out of oppressive poverty by reconnecting with nature and their local environment. The affect of their work can be seen not only in the reforestation of the land but in the quality of lives of those they employ who rediscover the connection and love of nature that they have worked to restore and protect. Eden projects carefully curate reforestation projects to rebuild the once existing forest, using native species and working with the land, for instance rebuilding Mangrove vales along the coast of Madagascar that provide a nursery for sea life as well as locking up carbon from the atmosphere.

Packaging

Our packaging has evolved over the years. We originally started we a recyclable plastic tub for our protein powders however as the business grew the fuel consumption for shipping these larger and heavier tubs outweighed the benefit of them being recyclable so we swapped to BPA free food grade plastic which could be recycled at a specialist recycling center. We knew however that we wanted to do more, and after a lot of research and much trial and error we worked with a company to develop a home compostable pouch. The difference between home compostable and biodegradable is that the latter will break down, however that could be in 50…100…200 years. Home compostable can be composted at home or in your food waste, so we knew this was the goal for our packaging. It has not been without set backs, and as with any new ventures there was a lot of reworking, we worked with consultants and suppliers from all over the world to make it a reality. We researched every single material in the packaging to ensure they were all truly home compostable. We printed prototypes in various sizes and tested them for shelf life stability, oxygen transmission and structural integrity during transit. We measured the composting process and conducted mineral analysis on the soils so we knew that they could down safely and efficiently. We aim to have our full range in compostable packaging by the end of the year. All orders are sent in recycled cardboard boxes, without plastic cushioning. We encourage you to re-use or recycle these, or even add them to your compost heap!

Green Factory

Our energy is supplied by Ecotricity which is the only energy company in the world certified as vegan by both the Vegan Society and Viva!, the vegan charity.

People

We believe that people should always be a priority in business, and endeavor to do all we can to ensure Vivo Life is a great place to work. The happiness of our people is integral to the success of our business, we believe in nurturing the roots to ensure strong and happy growth. Our commitment to looking after our own ensures that living wage is always paid, no excessive working hours, regular breaks and down time are integrated into the working day, regular wellness initiatives are organized by our people team as well as fun events for relaxation and team building. We are an inclusive and kind community who support growth and development of our people.

We have a strict moral code and when working with suppliers we ask the following questions:

  •   Have your employees freely chosen to work for you and are they legally entitled to work?
  • Do your employees have Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining?
  •   Are Working Conditions Safe and Hygienic for each member of your staff?
  •   Are your employees all over 18?
  •   Is each staff member paid in accordance with the national living wage?
  •   Can you ensure that none of your employees is working excessive hours?
  •   Can you ensure that no discrimination is practiced in the workplace?
  •   Can you ensure that no harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed in the workplace?
  •   Do you prioritize each workers mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing?

 

 

How did we do?

Certified Carbon Neutral

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