We believe you don’t have to choose between a high-quality product, a product that empowers the people who make it, and a product that takes care of the planet. You can have all 3! That’s what our holistic business model is all about.
Here’s a transparent look at how we implement sustainable practices at every level of our business process.
We value empowering our farmers to farm better and smarter. We have trained over 200 farmers in Certified Organic farming techniques, planted over 26,000 coconut trees and Organic certified 86,000+ trees. Check out our Organic Farming Certification here.
We also teach our farmers about intercropping, the practice of growing two or more crops in proximity. We plant other crops between coconut trees in order to conserve land!
Did you know that coconut trees are renewable and sustainable resources? They don’t require any fertilizers or pesticides (though some coconut oil companies still chose to use them- ugh!) because of its reliance on salt to grow. Palm trees, where we get palm oil from, are at fault for deforestation over the years, and therefore, not sustainable.
In efforts to not repeat history, we specifically chose to focus on coconuts and producing coconut oil!
Coconuts have six parts. Globally, most coconut companies take the oil or the water of the coconut, and discard the rest. As much as 80% of each coconut is wasted - piled up to rot! Our brilliant engineers spent months researching the properties of coconuts and found there were creative uses for each part.
Our goal at Dignity is to use every part of the coconut and create ZERO coconut waste. That’s right, zero.
How We Use The Parts of the Coconut
Oil: We extract the oil using our unique centrifuge method so you can use it in your every-day life! Try a jar of our 100% Raw Coconut Oil today.
Water & Milk: We’re in the process of developing a coconut water and coconut milk product! In the meantime, our employees at the Dignity plant drink it and bring it home to their families to enjoy.
Shell: We grind the shell to make a renewable filler for stronger, lighter plastics.
Husk Fibers: We are in the process of transforming the husk fibers into erosion-control blankets.
Peat: We are in the process of capturing the peat as a conditioner to give new life to stale soil.
It is our goal to use every part of the coconut. As we grow, we can purchase the equipment to become zero waste.
Our founders have always been passionate about eliminating plastic in both our process and packaging.
Sustainable Packaging For Coconut Oil
Glass: Our 4oz. and 15oz. jars of coconut oil come in glass jars that can be repurposed or recycled
Cardboard: Any 15oz. jars or Clean Beauty Kit will be shipped to you in a recyclable cardboard box and filled with recycled brown paper as a filling + a paper card on how to use your product. Other than your shipping label, there are no stickers or other pieces of unnecessary packaging.
Reusable Bags: Our Clean Beauty Kit comes in a reusable bag made from 100% natural materials and is biodegradable.
Our goal is to use only 100% sustainable packaging materials. We are getting there, but the small size of our company and the fact that we have a glass product that needs to be protected during shipping makes many options unavailable to us at our scale.
We’re Currently Working On
Replacing the plastic film that our lip balms come in with a cardboard version.
Replacing our plastic lip balm tubes with a reusable or recyclable version.
If you order just our 4oz. jar of coconut oil, it currently arrives wrapped in plastic bubble wrap. We’re working on finding a recyclable option for even our smallest deliveries.
Unfortunately, being in the food industry means the little piece of plastic around the lid of your brand new jar is legally required for it to be considered sealed.
REDUCE
There is beauty in the simple so we only buy what we need. Whenever possible, we buy products made locally in the Philippines.
REUSE
We take the impure fresh water that saturates our region, purify it to meet our needs, and release it for others to use safely—a model we are helping others to learn. Just as we do our best to buy secondhand or thrift our clothing, at Dignity Coconuts we purchase our machinery secondhand when we can. Why buy something new when you can buy it pre-loved?
RECYCLE
We recycle the heat from our plant’s air conditioning to produce all the heat we need in our production method, dramatically reducing our carbon footprint. That’s what we call sustainable.