VALUING PEOPLE

As part of our core values, we champion artisans and craftspeople, as we too are artisanal operators whom believe in the inherent value of hand workmanship and creative thinking. In time, we will commission works by artists, artisans and creatives across a plethora of disciplines and allow each the freedom to create in response to our products, individual works or as they please. It is our ambition to offer a selection of homewares and lifestyle products on our site, a combination of found ‘vintage’ pieces and new works by talented makers.

When works are not commissioned, we collaborate with decent people. This collaboration manifests itself as a responsive work. HEROWN pledges to cover the expenses incurred by collaborators. Each finished work will be presented on our website (www.herownstore.com) and other represented sites. It is our pledge to those whom we collaborate with to transfer all profits raised from the sale of any collaborative work to them. In the interest of full transparency, HEROWN may require deducting transaction fees if pieces are sold via our payment platforms. It is our aim with HEROWN to champion and work with emerging talent collaboratively without exploiting artists creatively or financially.

HEROWN is a lifestyle brand creating the highest quality scented interior and related products and as such we require marketing and distributing our products continually. We partner with our selected artists to showcase our collections, placing these works front and centre when it comes to our press activities and campaigns.

At HEROWN we are passionate about the people we work with and their individual skills, stories and experiences. We routinely share these via our social media and newsletters. It is our goal to create and co-create products and experiences which combine to build a community with integrity and authenticity.

TO MINIMISE OUR IMPACT ON THE PLANET

Our environmental approach is always to try balance our impact and to continually improve.

Products using 100% natural origin raw material harvests and extraction have an ecological and environmental impact as do chemical manufacturing processes. We only use safe, traceable materials that are as sustainable and ethically sourced as possible.

As an industry, we need to ensure that if we are yielding a harvest of natural raw materials that we are doing so sympathetically and at the very least, replacing what we take and minimising the footprint on the environment. When manufacturing chemicals we must ensure that this is done as efficiently and as cleanly as possible.

Our suppliers have progressive environmental standards that support our aims. When selecting new suppliers we always look for a shared approach to environmental standards.

At HEROWN we aim for continual improvement in our own environmental standards.

Functional materials:

For a candle to function it requires a fuel source (wax) and a constant source of combustion (wick). You can read extensively on the reasons why we use the materials needed for our candles to function here. We are always looking for the most sustainable and high performance materials for our products. We source our materials from industry leading manufacturers and suppliers, each with their own environmental standards.

Aromatic materials:

As our candles are scented, we require using aromatic materials to produce the aromas. We ensure each of our suppliers operate both responsibly and ethically – our values must be shared. Within our supply chain we are continually building closer ties with our suppliers.

HEROWN uses noble raw materials. Natural origin and manufactured – we do not discriminate. A fine balance of both makes for a more sustainable and ecologically sounder end product. 

By industry standards we use a relatively high proportion of natural origin raw materials, as well as manufactured materials; aromatic chemicals. We also use a high proportion of natural isolates, biochemical derived materials and a plethora of natural materials that are the result of sophisticated extraction and co-distillation methods.

We subscribe to the notion that only the finest materials are worth working with and by finest we don’t just mean eye-wateringly expensive. Economical materials are just as valid in the creation process as the expensive ones. We focus on the aromatic quality of the end product and the creativity within, using the right materials to execute our vision irrespective of cost.

It is wrongly assumed that natural materials are better, both for personal use and in the ecological sense. At HEROWN, we love natural materials but they are no safer or healthier than their manufactured counterparts. We often hear arguments that manufactured materials have grave ecological impact on the environment however many manufactured raw materials have a lower ecological impact than natural material harvests and vice-versa, and it all depends on where, how and from whom these materials are sourced. Cutting to the chase, no fragrance has a clean footprint, but as a business and as an industry it is our duty to find the cleanest and safest pathways for our products be that raw materials, delivery systems or packaging.

From extensive studies performed by Jorum Laboratories we are of the belief that a balance of both responsibly and sustainably sourced natural materials and responsibly and efficiently produced manufactured materials within a product has an arguably lower impact than one which is wholly comprised of natural or manufactured materials.

We have spent a decade building our supply chain and have ensured that every raw material we use is sourced from a responsible supplier.

We work with suppliers who have the cleanest and importantly most efficient processes, plant and machinery operated by the most skilled and knowledgeable staff whose safety and well-being is paramount. As most of our raw materials are sourced via multi-national corporations each with public corporate responsibility manifestos we are ensured that our raw materials are being supplied as fit for use and as sensitively to the planet and people as possible.

We are always conscious and consider each material and the impact its harvest and or production has on the wider environment.

No HEROWN product uses banned or endangered raw materials.

PACKAGING MATERIALS

We wish to create products that - whilst being functional - are well designed with the hope that even the outer packaging is kept from landfill. With that being said, we have tried to ensure that if a customer wishes to dispose of the entire presentation, that most of our packaging can be readily disposed of and recycled.

We aim to minimise packaging and where possible we use recyclable or biodegradable materials.

Our glass containers are sourced from a British company. The containers are supplied by an Australian manufacturer and are made in their plant in China.

Our boxes, inserts and labels are made here in the UK too.

ANIMAL PRODUCTS

Any mention of an animal based raw material by HEROWN is referring to reconstitutions i.e. mixtures made using natural origin raw materials (plants, flowers, seeds etc.) and/or molecules, to recreate the scent of animalic aromas. Notes such as Castoreum, Civet and Musk are all manufactured materials and do not contain any animal products.

We only use three animal by-products in our laboratory: Beeswax absolute (from abandoned hives), Hyraceum (from the excreted waste of Hyrax) and beach-combed Ambergris (a bilious excretion from Sperm Whales). In all three cases the animal is not harmed as the raw materials are a naturally excreted by-product (waste, essentially). These materials are rarely used and currently do not feature in any HEROWN product. If these materials are used within a composition, we will highlight this to help with your purchasing decision.

If you require further clarity please email us: hello@herownstore.com

ANIMAL TESTING

HEROWN and Jorum Laboratories:

None of our products are tested on animals nor do we sponsor any testing on animals anywhere in the world. Each of the materials we use are traceable. We only use materials which are not actively tested on animals.

Our suppliers:

Individual raw materials

Each of the raw materials supplied to us and thus comprising our products go through rigorous quality and safety tests. As a responsible operator, it is our duty to shed light on how the entire industry operates regarding the testing of individual materials on animals.

Within the fragrance and flavour industry, the universal position on animal testing of individual raw materials (natural and manufactured) subscribes to the three-R’s: replacement, reduction and refinement. Each of our suppliers invest heavily in the development of replacements for animal testing. The testing of specific raw materials may only be required to meet global regulatory and legislative requirements, for example under regional and national chemical regulations requiring the assurance of the safety of chemicals for workers and consumers. If testing of a raw material is required, said material must be tested in order to comply with government requirements.

Each of our suppliers continually contribute to the development of in-vitro methods in testing ingredients for skin sensitisation. Each of our suppliers are committed to developing alternatives to animal testing and each subscribe to ‘last resort’ policy i.e. only if government(s) require an individual raw material to be tested on animals and there are no other testing alternatives available, irrespective of cost implications. Individual raw materials will only be tested if required to do so by government agencies and no testing will ever be performed for the purposes of Cosmetics Regulation in the EU.

Individual raw materials are only tested on animals when government demands this.

We source our raw materials from the market leaders and at HEROWN we also source direct from small co-operatives and artisanal producers, too. With each new raw material we add to our laboratories inventory, we ensure that the supply of a raw material does not require continual and active animal testing.

We must repeat that it is never our practise at HEROWN nor Jorum Laboratories to test any of our products on animals and where possible we avoid those materials which are tested on animals. In any case, we ensure that all of our raw materials are not actively tested on animals.

Compounds

None of our suppliers perform animal testing on compounds (blended raw material mixtures for flavour and fragrance).

Jorum of Scotland Limited does not perform, sponsor or condone animal testing.

OUR SUPPLIERS

We have worked with our suppliers for many years. Our suppliers share our own standards which is one of the main reasons we continue to work with them. The standards we have set upon ourselves are our own and are linked fundamentally to our core values but are based on the International Labour Organisations core Conventions and the Conventions on the Rights of the Child which require the following:

• Compliance with local labour law

• Statutory pay and working hours

• The right to organise and bargain collectively

• A ban on child labour

• A ban on discrimination

• A ban on forced labour

• Health and safety in the workplace

• Compliance with local environmental legislation

OUR MISSION CONTINUED…

At HEROWN we champion the creative and liberal arts. HEROWN is an extension of what we have been doing through Jorum Laboratories for over a decade. We have worked with and have enabled artists, individuals and businesses create something unique in their respective spaces in the world. At HEROWN, it is our aim to continue this journey, reaching even more people with our own and our collaborators work.

Ultimately, we aim to design and make good things that will delight our customers; that will allow us to continue creating original products, and will help support artisans and craftspeople. With any hope, HEROWN will allow us, our collaborators and suppliers to make a living.

It is our obligation to balance our impact on the world by continually reviewing our processes and products.

HEROWN thrives in a diverse environment. By continually collaborating and commissioning artists, artisans and craftspeople from wide and varied backgrounds we hope to build a community which creates works which bring joy to those whom seek it. Ultimately, a culturally diverse organisation enriches what we do which influences the products we create and therefore present for sale.

Fundamentally, we truly understand that perfumery, chandlery and the arts are not a necessity for life and as such we aim to have fun with what we do at all times with the hopes being that we entertain and delight our customers - otherwise there is no point in doing it, right?

It is our mission to create considered, innovative and original products using only the finest raw materials we can source and afford. We want to offer exceptionally crafted products with integrity and sincerity, with a creative and ethical point of view that people can relate to.