In February 2020 Ethical Consumer sent Bentley Organics Ltd a questionnaire, requesting information about the company’s environmental reporting. No response was received. Ethical Consumer therefore searched the company’s website in March 2020 for publicly available information. No report could be found.

The ‘about us’ section of the website stated that ‘we stand by two key philosophies; firstly that all products are Soil Association certified as a guarantee to our consumers of their organic integrity. And secondly that we are ‘Of the Earth, not costing the Earth’, as an integrated manufacturer and supplier we are able to offer our customers a better value product – we believe organic products should be reasonably, not premium, priced’.

In addition, Soil Association certification means that its products were:
‘Not tested on animals and do not contain ingredients of animal origin; Parabens free; GMO free; Do not contain SLS or SLES; Free from petro-chemicals"

As a company with a turnover under £10.2million which demonstrated a commitment to the environment, the company was awarded Ethical Consumer's best rating for Environmental Reporting.

In March 2020, Ethical Consumer searched Bentley Orangics' website for the company's policy on the use of microplastics and non-biodegradable liquid polymers. No information was found. The company had also been sent a questionnaire but no response was received.

According to Beat the Microbead, there are more than 500 known microplastics ingredients that can be found in our personal care products such as toothpastes, face washes, scrubs and shower gels. They are tiny plastic particles that are added for their exfoliating properties, but sometimes purely for aesthetic purposes only.

ACcording to a recent report by Code Check, non-biodegradable liquid polymers were also prevalent across a wide range of cosmetic products. Like microplastics, these materials degrade with a similar difficulty in the environment and may cause similar harm.

In 2018, the UK government banned the use of microbeads in toothpastes, shower gels and facial scrubs. However, some products classified as “leave on” were not subject to the ban, this would include lotions, sun cream and makeup, as well as abrasive cleaning products. This ban did not extend to non-biodegradable liquid polymers.

Given that the company lacked a clear policy on the use of microplastics and non-biodegradable liquid polymers, it lost half a mark under Pollution and Toxics.

In February 2020 Ethical Consumer sent Bentley Organics Ltd a questionnaire, requesting information about the company’s approach to the use of the chemicals parabens, triclosan and phthalates. No response was received. Ethical Consumer therefore searched the company’s website in March 2020 for publicly available information.

Triclosan is an antibacterial and is a suspected endocrine disruptor. Parabens are also endocrine disruptors and have been linked to breast cancer and are used as preservatives. Phthalates, usually DEP or DBP, are used in fragrances and are endocrine disruptors.

A strong policy on toxics would be no use of these chemicals or clear, dated targets for ending their use.

All of the company’s products were certified organic by the Soil Association. It stated that as a result its products were paraben free and did not contain SLS or SLES or petro-chemicals.

The Soil Association website listed parabens and phthalates as ingredients that may be in non-organic cosmetics.

Ethical Consumer assumed the company continued to not use triclosan (confirmed in previous communications in 2017) as no evidence of it could be found on its website.

Overall the company received Ethical Consumer's best rating on toxics.

In February 2020 Ethical Consumer sent Bentley Organics Ltd a questionnaire, requesting information about the company’s palm oil sourcing policy. No response was received. Ethical Consumer therefore searched the company’s website in March 2020 for publicly available information.

The FAQ section of the website stated ‘ some Bentley Organic products contain palm oil. The palm oil we use is certified organic and comes from a sustainable source in Columbia’. No further information could be found and Bentley Organic was not listed as a member of the RSPO.

Although all of the company’s palm oil appeared to be certified organic, as no detail was provided, it received a middle rating for its palm oil policy and lost half a mark.