A hand touches the water of a lake from which an illustrated fish jumps

Good for the skin, good for the environment?

What can and cannot go into Kneipp products

Unless you happen to be part of a large family, the things you need in everyday life usually seem pretty manageable. Take showering, for example. Two or three times a week, a handful of shower gel - that's it. But it's not just you, it's around 27 million Germans over the age of 18 who shower with the same frequency every week¹. That's an incredible 70 million liters of shower gel per year for this group alone (35 full 50-meter swimming pools). And that's not even counting those who shower less frequently or more often.

As a manufacturer of such shower gels and other cosmetic products, we are of course aware of these dimensions, as well as the responsibility that comes with them: we therefore ensure that our products contain ingredients that are as environmentally friendly as possible.

The power of plant-based ingredients

Without kerosene, silicone and mineral oils

Without microplastics

Without palm oil, but consciously with palm oil derivatives

Let nature work its magic:

We harness the power of plant-based ingredients

Hand holding arnica flower after the Kneipp arnica harvest

Whether an ingredient is suitable for Kneipp products is also determined by its impact on the environment. The following applies: wherever natural ingredients prove to be sensible in terms of resource conservation, optimum compatibility and proven effectiveness, they are used. This includes more and more certified organic ingredients. We do not use preservatives (such as parabens) and use plant-based emulsifiers.

We also use natural vegetable oils or oils derived from vegetable fatty acids in our cosmetics. The situation is similar when it comes to fragrance: here too, nature provides us with almost everything we need in the form of natural essential oils. If the use of natural products is not justifiable for ecological reasons, we fall back on nature-identical fragrances.

Here, too, nature can do it better:

House ban on kerosene, silicone and mineral oils

Kerosene, silicone and mineral oils are a no-go for our effective skin care, which is why you won't find them in any Kneipp product. For one thing, they are all based on the fossil raw material crude oil, the extraction of which is known to have fatal consequences for our planet's ecosystems. They are also difficult to biodegrade and can therefore pollute our groundwater.

Secondly, such oils are only applied to the surface of the skin and do not integrate into the skin barrier. They therefore have no lasting effect on the skin's appearance - with the result that the skin often needs to be reapplied. Vegetable oils have a clear advantage here; their lipids can be optimally utilized by our skin barrier due to their similarity to the skin's own lipids. This has an all-round positive effect on the regeneration process of our largest organ.

Relieve groundwater, protect the environment

Biodegradable ingredients

A woman drains the bath water from her bathtub.

Biodegradable ingredients are an important issue when it comes to environmental protection! Every day, substances end up in our wastewater that cannot be broken down by the microorganisms living there, or only with great difficulty. In other words, they pollute the water cycle and can therefore have a negative impact on the environment. To avoid this, we use almost exclusively biodegradable ingredients for our skin cleansing products. Our shower products and hand soaps contain 98% biodegradable ingredients, while our foam and cream baths contain 97% (according to OECD or equivalent methods).

Small particles, big problem:

No microplastics in Kneipp products

Picture of the sea with waves and flying seagulls

Human health is inextricably linked to a healthy environment. This connection is particularly clear when it comes to microplastics. After all, the tiny plastic particles not only damage ecosystems; they have been proven to penetrate into the food we consume, for example via marine life. We therefore expressly welcome the fact that the EU has launched a gradual ban on microplastics in the fall of 2023. Accordingly, we do not use any microplastics in our products - neither in bath and shower products, skincare, soaps or anywhere else.

Under the microscope:

What is microplastic anyway?

Microplastics are basically solid plastic particles (particulate synthetic polymers) with a size of less than five millimetres. In addition, liquid synthetic polymers are often also counted as microplastics. However, there is no universally recognized and uniform definition for "microplastics". If you would like to read up on the details of the topic, you can find all the information here:

The palm oil thing:

Palm oil no - derivatives yes, because ...

The fact is: At Kneipp, we do not use palm oil or palm fat or palm kernel oil as such. But it is also a fact that we use so-called derivatives, such as surfactants made from palm kernel oil. Because no palm oil is not a solution either! Other plants would require far more acreage for the same yield of vegetable oil, which would have to be taken away from nature. The problem would therefore only shift. It is therefore much more important to cultivate the oil palms, which are actually so efficient, in a sustainable way without depleting the rainforest. This is exactly what we are campaigning for.

Sources:

¹ t-online: This is where Germany's shower grouches live, retrieved on 22.04.2024