About Our Fresh, Organic & Wild Ingredients
Fresh, Organic, & Wild Ingredients
Blendily claims to use fresh, organic, & wild ingredients, but what exactly does this mean?
FRESH
At Blendily, we believe ‘fresh’ is best, and we are committed to using ingredients that are as close to the origin as possible. We do not usde synthetic fragrances, additives, or preservatives. No multi-syllable -xnaes, -ehydes, -ates, -ides, or other chemicals of concern.
Blendily offers a seasonal, rotating menu and the products are made-in-store, by hand, in small batches or custom made-to-order. All of the raw ingredients are in-store, for customers to be able to see, smell, feel, and even taste the building blocks of our products. Many of the plants and herbs used are grown in local gardens, or harvested in the wild.
Blendily doesn’t list ingredients as ‘fresh’ on labels, as the term carries various meanings; it is more a nod to our philosophy more than anything else.
ORGANIC
The term ‘organic’ started to appear on products around the mid-80s and slowly gained steam as time passed. According to the Organic Trade Association, “Organic is the most heavily regulated and closely monitored food system in the U.S.” However, this pertains to agricultural products only and falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). When it comes to cosmetics products, the term ‘organic’ is unregulated, and does not carry any real weight. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates cosmetics under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act (FPLA). The term ‘organic’ is not defined in either of these laws or the regulations that FDA enforces under their authority. Cosmetic products are eligible to apply for the USDA seal, but few do.
While on one hand we support regulation as this holds products to certain standards, but the cost of certification is often prohibitive, and we value products that are famed organically and sustainably wildcrafted as much or more than we value a seal assigned by an accrediting entity.
For example, products grown naturally without pesticides in home gardens cannot be called ‘organic’, but products that are 95% organic and contain 5% synthetic ingredients (“nonagricultural substances approved on the National List of nonorganically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form, also on the National List.”) can bear the USDA seal. While we believe in what the term “organic” strives for, true definition can be complicated. The other issue is that many of our certified Organic products come from overseas, but truthfully, we prefer products grown organically but not certified so in the Pacific Northwest.
Organic certification for Blendily’s product formulations is impractical of the rotating nature of our menu. We offer some rebottled certified organic raw ingredients that we purchase in bulk as customers have repeatedly requested them. Blendily is not a certified Organic processing facility, therefore you will not see the USDA seal or other Organic certification label on our products.
When Blendily uses the term “organic” on our labels, it is a product/ingredient from a trusted suppliers that has been certified organic by an accredited certification entity such as the USDA.
WILD
This term essentially refers to ingredients gathered in the wild. These are plants and herbs growing in the wilderness, in forests, on paths, and by-ways, in the great outdoors. There are some general rules to abide by when wildcrafting.
- Correctly identify the plant by latin binomial
- Allow for future propagation of the plant
- Time collection to the appropriate season and time of day
- Avoid industrial and high-traffic roadsides where soil contamination is questionable
- Obtain any legal permits needed for the area of harvest
Blendily labels products as wild, when they have been gathered in the wild by ourselves, or the products has been labeled as ‘wild, wildcrafted, or sustainably harvested’ by a reputable supplier.
Here is a list of the ingredients that Blendily grows & harvests:
Bay
Belony Wood
Bitter Root
Blueberry
Borage
Calendula*
California Poppy
Catnip
Chamomile*
Chrysanthemum
Clary Sage
Dandelion
Echinachea
Elderberry
Fennel
Horehound
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Oregano
Oregon Grape Root
Majoram
Marshmellow
Peppermint
Poke Root
Rosemary
Snowberry
Spearmint
Strawberry
St. John’s Wort
Thyme
Winter Savory
Yarrow
Here is a list of ingredients that Blendily forages:
Red Clover
Wild Carrot
Eucalyptus
Nettles
Camellia
Rose
Horsetail*
*We do not grow or cannot gather enough quantity of these herbs and must purchase from our suppliers to supplement the amount of plant material we need.
We hope this page helps explain our commitment to the ingredients in our products.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
If interested on reading further, please visit the resource links below:
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Chemicals of Concern
Organic Certification | Wikipedia
Organic Trade Association | Organic Standards