Traceback your oil
and explore your
impact on people
& the environment
Creating a
FAIR ECONOMY
$ 12,326
are invested in supporting the small farmers of EoL in carbon sequestration and avoidance practices.
Creating a
FAIR SOCIETY
100%
of full-time employees who worked to produce this product receive health insurance and safe working conditions.
Life Long Learning &
WELLBEING
10%
of the working time is dedicated to art and self-development activities; to promote wellbeing and happines at work.
Protecting the
ENVIRONMENT
100%
of the people who worked to produce this product throughout the supply chain receive ecological awareness trainings.
Farming
The cotton is grown on 31 farms in Egypt, located in Beheira, Damietta, Fayoum, and Kafr El-Sheikh. These Demeter certified farms that grow under the principle of organic and biodynamic methods which provide the highest quality products and enhance biodiversity. The farmers separate the seed from the cotton fiber and sells it to iSiS organic food company.
EoL supports small-scale farmers on their path to green energy by providing them with funds and the necessary tools to facilitate their transition.
EoL provides guidance and support for small-scale farmers through engineers offering their consultancies every step of the way.
Animal welfare is ensured by the biodynamic principles that views the farm system as an organism where every part: animals, soil, plant and people need one another to flourish.
Meet The Farmers
get to the source of production
Ahmed Tawfik
Farmer in Fayoum, Egypt
Ahmed Tawfik has his own Demeter-certified biodynamic farmland called Mashour Farm, where he grows cotton, Giza 95. His father has been working with SEKEM for 30 years. He grew up not knowing any other agricultural methods than the biodynamic methods. He seeks to further develop, biodynamic agriculture in his surrounding area.
Ezzat Shahin
Farmer in El Behira, Egypt
Ezzat Tolba Shahin has his own Demeter-certified biodynamic farmland in El Behira in the Nile Delta called Tolba Shaheen Farm, where he grows cotton Giza 86. He inherited the knowledge about agriculture from his grandfathers, but he seeks to innovate through biodynamic agriculture and reduce the resources.
Salama Maarouf
Farmer in El Behira, Egypt
Salama Maarouf has his own Demeter- and organic certified farmland in El Behira called Maarouf Farm. He grows cotton, variety Giza 86 along with other crops. He believes that manual work blesses the yield with love and joy and that machines should not replace humans.
Mahmoud Rabiea
Farmer in Fayoum, Egypt
Mahmoud Rabiea has his own Demeter-certified biodynamic farmland called El-Manashee Farm. Along with other crops, he grows Cotton Giza 95, where the weather in Fayoum is the most suitable for this specific Giza.
Processing
After the harvest, the cotton seeds arrive at iSiS organic food company where they get sample tested to make sure that is the quality is according to the standards of both Demeter and organic. The seeds are cleaned from any impurities and are ready to be cold-pressed and filtered to produce the oil.
Using cold pressing techniques allows for less energy usage as it doesn’t require heat or the use of chemical solvents.
Barely any waste is left after the oil extraction process. The seed residue is used to make animal feed and compost production, which are used on the Sekem Adlya farm, close to the iSiS factory.
The factory workers receive medical care that is readily available to them from the medical center located next to the factory
Packaging
Now after the cotton seed oil is filtered, it arrives at the packaging department to be poured into glass bottles, after which it gets sealed with a metal top, a plastic cover, and a Sekem label sticker and it is ready to go.
The factory ensures the optimal usage of the oil during the packaging process with minimal waste produced, where any oil that might be wasted is collected and used.
As part of Sekem holding , the world bank and UN women has granted iSiS the “One Business Community, Equal Opportunity Seal” for their efforts in supporting women and ensuring equality
iSiS employees are part of the core program Sekem offers, which includes art, music and environmental awareness sessions.
Packaging Material
Cotton seed oil could be responsibly grown and processed, but its packaging material has a huge impact on the product’s lifetime, and cannot be neglected.
The oil bottles are made from glass, which is energy-intensive, where the process of shaping the glass uses a lot of combustion energy resulting in Co2 emissions that iSiS do not account for.
The sticker label on the bottles is made of FSC certified materials.
The tops that seals the bottles are made from metal and the cover on top is made from plastic, which is not accounted for by the iSiS factory when offsetting their emissions.
Distribution
The bottles of cotton seed oil are now ready to be distributed directly to your home, local shops, or overseas.
iSiS always opts for sea freight and only makes the decision to use air freight on the rare occasion that a client orders a small amount that can not be transported by sea.
Drivers have a limit on the number of hours they can drive per day, to ensure their safety
Drivers receive health consultancies from SEKEM medical center located near the factory to make sure that they monitor their health.
Meet The Employees
have a look, who processed, packaged and distributed your product
Marwa
Quality Manager in iSiS
Marwa has been working in the iSiS factory for more than 8 years. Together with her husband and two children, she lives on the SEKEM farm.
Nour
Factory Engineer at iSiS
Nour Hassan lives with her family in Kafr Ayoub located near Belbies. She is responsible for packaging the oils and different products.
Noura
Factory Engineer at iSiS
Noura lives in Galvina, and though she’s only been working for a few months, she’s already impressed with the values and programs SEKEM offers, as she didn’t find such things in her pervious jobs.
Hossam
Factory Engineer in iSiS
Hossam lives in Galvina with his family, and has been working with SEKEM for 15 years. He’s in charge of oil extraction in the oil production department.
What is the True Price?
Are there hidden costs that the price doesn't reflect?
True Price Comparision
Sustainably & ethically produced products add value to society. However, when comparing prices, we don’t take into account the long-term impact of the product. For example, since the sustainable agricultural practices of cultivating the cotton is sequestering Co2e it is actually saving up future damage cost that you’ll eventually pay for. This means that it is cheaper than products that emit Co2e, but so often the price tag doesn’t reflect that.
We encourage you to compare products based on their true price; the price that reflects the hidden costs that you and future generations eventually pay for.
Indirect Costs include:
WATER
REPROCESSING COST
Society is paying taxes to clean water sources from agriculture’s chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, as well as the irresponsible disposal of wastewater from factories, in order to make it usable/drinkable water.
HEALTH COSTS
The use of pesticides in agriculture eventually affects the human body and therefore increases medical treatment costs.
ENVIRONMENTAL
DAMAGE
Society has to bear the long-term cost caused by disruptive agriculture e.g. soil erosion, desertification, and loss of biodiversity.
Locations
Check out the locations of all the farms, companies who were involved in making this product!
discover the origin of your product
We hope this information helped you Choose Your Impact!
And make mindful purchasing decisions that leave a positive impact on people and the environment
Interested to know more about the companies above? Click here to download the SEKEM Sustainability Report
