BACK TO THE LAND
At Spoth Farms, one of our foundational principles is the belief that we must act as responsible stewards of the natural world. We've chosen to work as much as possible with recycled, recyclable, compostable, post-industrial, and biodegradable materials in our products, and all our hemp is grown with organic fertilizer and without pesticides that damage the soil or contaminate water sources. Partnering with providers such as Tree Hugger Containers, EcoEnclose, and GreenWay Containers allows us to minimize our environmental impact and maximize the circularity of our materials: we've considered everything from the glass of our jars to the boxes we ship to the ink that we print. As we transition to a green economy and strive for greater harmony with this planet we call home, we pledge to work towards finding sustainable solutions for both packaging and production needs, and continue paving the way to a waste-free, carbon-negative future.
SOME STEPS WE'RE TAKING...
PRODUCTS
We take great care to work with recycled, recyclable, compostable, post-industrial and biodegradable materials in the creation our products. Steps we've taken include:
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Rather than single-use plastic, our lip balm tubes are made from renewable, sustainably-sourced Kraft paper with plant-based wax paper lining. These tubes are fully compostable, biodegradable, and recyclable after use.
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Our salve jars are made from 78% recycled glass and are fully recyclable.
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The product seals on all our salve jars are biodegradable tamper-resistant strips.
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The boxes we use for our CBD starter kits are composed of 100% recycled content, including 95-97% post-consumer waste, and are fully curbside recyclable, naturally biodegradable, and compostable.
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Our gummy jars are made from 56% recycled glass and are fully recyclable.
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The void fill shred in our starter kits is recyclable Kraft paper.
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The bags we use for our 3-pack of lip balm are compostable and composed of innovative plant-based material.
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The ink for our stamps is soy-based, which, on top of being derived from a renewable resource, creates less liquid industrial waste during the recycling process and emits far fewer volatile compounds into the air than traditional petroleum ink.
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The "Best Practices" card shipped with our products is made from 90% post-consumer recycled material and is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. The FSC is the world's leading organization in responsible forest management, as well as works to protect the rights of those indigenous communities that inhabit them.
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The twine we use to tie "Best Practices" cards to products and to seal our starter kits is made from 100% natural hemp, the same sustainable plant that CBD is extracted from. See "Hemp - Growing a Better World" below for more information on how hemp can contribute to a more environmentally conscious planet.
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The custom stickers used to seal our Beginner Boxes are made of compostable, FSC-certified, acid-free materials and are printed with soy-based ink.
SHIPPING
Today's shipping network takes a tremendous toll on the environment. We're committed to finding responsible solutions to this challenge while maintaining the same convenience that customers have come to expect.
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All Spoth Farms products are shipped in recycled poly mailers composed of 70% post-consumer plastics. These mailers are highly water and tear resistant while still being fully recyclable.
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Instead of plastic bubble wrap, which is not curbside recyclable and takes an enormous amount of time to biodegrade, our products are shipped in GreenWrap: a cushioning alternative that offers similar padded protection but is naturally biodegradable, compostable, fully recyclable and has been certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
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All products are shipped with a "We Care" card courtesy of EcoEnclose. These cards provide recommendations for how to best recycle packaging, are made from 100% post-consumer waste, and are printed with vegetable-based inks.
MORE TO COME...
This is just the beginning. Striving for a greener future is a process, and we are actively searching for new ways to improve our practices and chart a more sustainable path forward. For example, we have yet to find an affordable, green alternative for packing tape, but continue to monitor potential new options. Additionally, we're working to integrate carbon checkout on our website, offering customers the option to make a small donation to offset the carbon footprint of shipping their product. We are always open to new ideas, suggestions, or recommendations: just reach out at our contact form, or email support@spothfarms.com to get in touch.
HEMP: GROWING A BETTER WORLD
Hemp, the crop from which CBD is extracted, has both deep roots in the American agricultural landscape as well as unexplored, untapped environmental potential. A cannabis plant with a very low level of THC*, hemp is sturdy, carbon sequestering, and unusually versatile in its applications for human manufacturing.
Below are just a few benefits of growing this highly dynamic, thoroughly sustainable crop.
*THC (short for tetrahydrocannabinol) is the compound in cannabis plants that creates a "high."
Hemp is carbon negative, meaning that it absorbs more CO2 from the air than is produced by the equipment needed to maintain and harvest it.
According to a senior researcher at Cambridge University: "Numerous studies estimate that hemp is one of the best CO2-to-biomass converters. It's even more effective than trees. Industrial hemp absorbs between 8 to 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare of cultivation. In comparison, forests typically capture between 2 and 6 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year depending on the number of years of growth, the climatic region, the types of trees, etc."
Hemp requires far less irrigation than crops that are cultivated for similar purposes. Much has been made about growing comparisons between hemp and cotton in particular, both of which can be used to produce textiles.
In the Stockholm Environment Institute's report comparing hemp cultivation to cotton cultivation, 1 kg of cotton required 9,758 kg of water, while 1 kg of hemp required between 2,401 and 3,401 kg of water. Similarly, a study by the University of Twente in the Netherlands found that "the water footprint of cotton is more than three times larger than the water footprint of industrial hemp textile."
Hemp is less vulnerable to pests than equivalent crops, requiring fewer pesticides and reducing soil pollution and groundwater contamination. At Spoth Farms, we use no pesticides when growing our hemp.
In fact, hemp is good for soil in general: an exceptional rotational crop, hemp is
soil restorative, absorbs toxins and metals, and grows deep roots that help prevent soil erosion and break up compaction. Hemp was even successfully tested by scientists after the Chernobyl nuclear accident for phytoremediation - it absorbed heavy metals from the soil and reduced radionuclide levels in contaminated fields near the power plant.
Capable of being grown in a wide variety of climates and soil types, hemp grows rapidly and requires only a short cultivation season to yield high volume returns. This is good for both the farmer and the land: fast turnarounds, but less space and resources required to generate an equivalent amount of product. Compounded by the fact that hemp can grow with relatively tight spacing, hemp proves a less environmentally taxing alternative to its more spatially-demanding agricultural siblings. As the Stockholm Environment Institute notes: "It is possible to produce three times the amount of hemp fibre as cotton from the same amount of land."
