Sustainability and the Products We Use

@RedMountainSpa

By Myrna Beardshear,
Director of Spa & Wellness

At Red Mountain Resort & Spa we know that maintaining a healthy environment now is the key to preserving it for the future. The current trend in many industries is to “go green,” and the spa industry is no exception.

Sagestone at Red Mountain Spa challenged our suppliers to present to us information on their practices in support of sustainability. The first reports are in and we are proud to announce that our major suppliers are committed to safe practices and procedures aimed at protecting our priceless environment.

Davines – Hair Care:
In 2006 Davines joined forces with Lifegate, a leading Italian eco-cultural network. They are collaborating on Lifegate’s Zero Impact Initiative, which put into place the objectives of the “Kyoto Protocol” aimed at assessing and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the main cause of the green house effect and global warming. In practice they are offsetting the environmental impact of manufacturing their Essential Haircare range by contributing to the care and reforestation of 85,077 square meters in Costa Rica and 9,470 square meters in Italy.

Davines became one of Lifegate’s first clients to be supplied with clean energy - energy that is entirely renewable and non-polluting because it is produced by the sun, wind, water and land.

[comfort zone] Body & Skin Care Products:
The key ingredients of the [comfort zone] sun system comes from a plantation in the northern part of Brazil. Part of the income derived from the sale of this fruit goes to the local Amazonian communities and also serves to prevent deforestation and preserve biodiversity in the threatened Amazon Rainforest.

Each purchase of [comfort zone] sun soul products benefits the Tangerine Project, a women's project for the collection and commercialization of argan oil, a key ingredient in all sun soul products. Argan oil is traditionally used by Moroccan Berber women as an ancient beauty secret because of its high quantities of essential fatty acids such as omega 3. Socio-economic changes and soil erosion in Morocco have put the argan forests at risk. [comfort zone] has partnered with the Tangerine Project to protect these forests. Each year ten argan trees are planted for each woman working in the project.

Phytomer - Marine-based Products:
Harvesting Methods - Phytomer has become one of the pioneers of macro-algae farming for cosmetic use. They only remove certain varieties of marine plants from the natural stock and only produce the necessary amounts. In addition, they cultivate threatened species that can later be reintroduced into their natural environment to help avoid extinction.

Processing & Manufacturing - Phytomer’s manufacturing plant is ECOCERT approved. ECOCERT is a French independent monitoring and certification organization created for the certification of organic and/or ecological skin care products.

Reclamation - Phytomer uses a natural filtering garden to purify waste water used in the cosmetic manufacturing process. This yields clean water which can be returned to the natural environment and ensures zero waste. This 100% efficient method uses regional wetland species of plants without the use of chemicals resulting in beautiful habitats in which birds and other animals can reside.

Packaging & Delivery Systems - All of Phytomer’s product packaging (boxes, tubes and jars) can be recycled either through material recycling or energy recovery.

Activism - In 2006 Phytomer made a commitment in Saint Malo, France to defend the marine heritage of the Emerald Coast, alongside the Attention Mer Fragile association. They donate €1 to the association for each Marine Breeze product sold. Phytomer USA also donates $1.00 to the US non-profit, MARS (Marine Animal Rescue Society) for every Marine Breeze product sold.

Red Mountain continues to work towards sustainable practices to protect our priceless environment.