The Sustainability Report 2021
Certifications
The cornerstones of Rudolph Care have always been our certifications. They support our ambition to create products that combine luxury and effect with a concern for both people and the environment.
Below we'll tell you about the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Ecocert COSMOS Organic and all the other certifications.
Why certifications?
Certifications support our ambition to create products that combine luxury and effect with a concern for both people and the environment. We always aim for both core certifications, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and Ecocert COSMOS Organic, when we develop new products. Our certifications are your guarantee that the things we say and claim on our products are in fact true. The certifications also verify product quality, effect and environmental impact. Combining certifications can be a difficult task, because they set different and sometimes contradictory requirements that make the development of our products time consuming.
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is the official Nordic environmental label, which assesses the entire life cycle of a product by setting requirements for the degradability of the ingredients, the finished products and the packaging. Ecocert COSMOS Organic is the pan-European certification for organic cosmetics used in more than 45 countries, and deals with the origin of the ingredients.
The process behind developing our products with this dual certification is your guarantee that the content and packaging of each product is carefully selected based on parameters such as; cultivation, processing, production, working conditions and further use of the packaging.
All Rudolph Care products are free from the 26 known fragrance allergens that the EU recommends we avoid. In addition, Rudolph Care products do not contain synthetic dyes nor substances suspected of being potential endocrine disruptors.
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is the official Nordic environmental label and an essential certification for Rudolph Care. The aim of the label is to reduce the impact on the environment for the benefit of humans, animals and the Earth’s resources. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel places absolute demands on the manufacturer and is difficult to obtain, which makes it easy for the consumer to make an environmentally sustainable choice and drives the companies’ product development in a more sustainable direction.
To be awarded this label, a product must meet a range of stringent requirements in all applicable phases of its life cycle, including requirements for the chemicals used alongside requirements for the handling of waste and resources. This all ensures that the whole lifecycle of the product is assessed.
Overall, the Nordic Ecolabeling of our products means the following:
- Hair and skincare products carrying the Nordic Swan Ecolabel do not contain MI or other preservatives classified as allergenic.
- They do not contain any components found on the EU’s list of substances suspected of being endocrine disruptors and do not contain microplastic.
- Stringent requirements are further made of care product packaging in terms of volume and packaging type.
Find out more about the Nordic Swan Ecolabel at www.ecolabel.dk
Ecocert COSMOS Organic
COSMOS is a common European certification of organic cosmetics. The certification is used in more than 45 countries and verifies the following characteristics of Rudolph Care products:
- Products carrying the COSMOS label must state the percentage of natural ingredients and organics.
- To be awarded the COSMOS Organic label, a product must have 95% natural ingredients.
- A minimum of 10% of the ingredients in products that can be washed off and a minimum of 20% of ingredients in products that cannot be washed off must be organic.
- Finally, a minimum of 95% of the natural oils and extracts in the product must be organic.
COSMOS is also a guarantee that ingredients are grown responsibly and with respect for the environment.
Read more about COSMOS at www.cosmos-standard.org
Vegan Trademark
Many Rudolph Care products are certified with The Vegan Trademark, except those of our products which contain natural and organically certified beeswax, honey, lanolin and carmine. None of our products are tested on animals and in fact, we are happy to test them on ourselves.
Learn more about The Vegan Trademark at www.vegantrademark.com
AllergyCertified
All Rudolph Care products made for children are certified with the international AllergyCertified label, are 100 % fragrance-free and contain no known allergens or allergic preservatives. The labeling also ensures that every single ingredient has been assessed by a toxicologist.
Find out more about AllergyCertified at www.allergycertified.com
Asthma-Allergy Nordic
The certification can be found on our product Mommy & Me balm for both mother and child. It ensures that a product does not contain substances that frequently cause allergies while not using perfume, MI or formaldehyde.
Read more about Asthma-Allergy Nordic at www.asthmaallergynordic.com
GOTS certification
At Rudolph Care, we produce a small selection of textile accessories. Many of these are produced in either 100% recycled textile or in GOTS-certified (Global Organic Textile Standard) textile, as our Beach Buddy towel.
GOTS is an internationally recognized standard for organic fibers that includes an independent certification of the entire supply chain. The certification guarantees the consumer that a piece of textile is manufactured under proper working conditions, is free of harmful chemicals and is organically produced from harvest to finished garment.
Transparency in a global value chain
With a global value chain like ours, it is essential that we invest in projects and measures that ensure Rudolph Care's values are complied with, everywhere in the world where we have suppliers.
In 2021 we implemented a Supplier Code of Conduct setting certain demands for all our suppliers and possible subcontractors in regards to working conditions, working environment, business ethics and environmental aspects - this helps increase transparency and ensures proper conditions in all parts of our value chain.
Mapping the journey of our ingredients
We have an ambition to create increased transparency at Rudolph Care by becoming better at collecting data on our value chain. In 2022 we have started a process of selecting a suitable EMS (Environmental Management System) for Rudolph Care. These systems make it possible for companies to collect data on the origin of their ingredients and map out their journey in the value chain. The implementation of such systems will give us an overview of the origin of our ingredients and enable us to select, enter and/or initiate social projects that specifically relate to our value chain - such as our partnership with the locals of Nazarezinho do Meruú in Brazil, where the açai berries used in many Rudolph Care products are harvested. You can read more about our project in Brazil in the section “The projects we support”.
Among the requirements of our Supplier Code of Conduct is that we can require documentation from our suppliers that they have an appropriate environmental management system in place, and have implemented measures that help ensure the conservation of biodiversity, including guaranteeing traceability of the raw materials and natural resources used.
Increase our use of certified organic ingredients
We see the requirements for the amount of organic ingredients in Rudolph Care products set by our certifications as a minimum and work continuously to increase the proportion of organic ingredients. In 2020, we prepared an overview of all the natural ingredients in our products, which we want replaced by organic alternatives where possible. We say ‘where possible’ because both our certifications and our own requirements for the effect and consistency of our products do not make it possible to replace all existing ingredients with organic alternatives. Although we are actively trying to increase the proportion of organic ingredients in our products, many products will never be able to become 100% organic, as many products contain an ingredient such as water, which cannot be certified organic.
Together with our manufacturer and suppliers, this is a process that we are constantly working on and we make an effort to find possible organic alternatives to our ingredients, without compromising the effect, consistency and our certifications.