TALYBE, Bio and Fair: an option to respect thepeople and the environment

“an innovative line of environmentally friendly detergents, with fully vegetable formulas and organic and Fair Trade ingredients”

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The Brazilian folk song describes the essence of the commitment that the women, quebradieras of the babassu coconut, live each day to ensure their survival and the survival of their families and the pre-Amazonian forest where the babassu comes from.

The detergents project was not created in the wake of a fashion, but on the fi rm belief that applying fair trade means restoring dignity to people and to Mother Earth.

This work began in 2007and is still ongoing, ensuring that every detail is ethical and environmental and is treated with care.

The exhibition unites and highlights the main features of this ambitious project called Talybe fair trade, which is co-sponsored by a network of Italian Fair Trade organization: LiberoMondo, Mondo Solidale, in collaboration with Equomercato.

“There is a way to change society, participate withoutthe fear of being a woman!”

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The tree of lifeThe babassu coconut palm is commonly called, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão where it grows, the tree of life, because from it you can produce: food for humans and livestock; resistant fi bers for baskets and roof tiles for houses; leaves for organic fertilizers; coal for kitchen stoves. In particular the seeds are used for: oil and fl our for food; oil and vegetable fats for soaps; cosmetics and detergents.

The babassu coconut palm is a species endemic to the Amazonian region, where it grows in a large area of roughly 18 million hectares. Its rational and sustainable use actively contributes to the preservation of this important plant species of the pre-Amazon zone.The babaçu coconut, which is the fruit of the plant, is harvested without being cut.

The use of this natural resource is therefore to preserve the Brazilian forest, as well as to support the lives of thousands of agro-farming families. As a matter of fact 300,000 families depend on this plant.The productive activities relating to babaçu are many and fundamental both for families and for the entire rural communities. Not only do they provide an income, they enable the people to remain in the rural areas and strengthen the role of women, but they also strengthen the social cohesion and can thus be considered a real means for protecting the rights of the agro-farming families. The babaçu is thus not only a source of income but it also a cultural and traditional element for entire communities.

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Although all the babassu coconut palm parts are vital for the lives of the population of many Maranhão state provinces, the seed is without a doubt the most precious gift, because babassu oil is made from it. It is the real protagonist of the Talybe organic solidarity detergents .

The use of babaçu oil, which is made in Brazil with organic certifi cation and is used for producing surfactants, off ers several important advantages, such as:

produce environmentally friendly surfactants, eliminating the molecules of petrochemical origin;

preserve the pre-Amazon forest, rather than destroying it;

provide a reliable source of income for tens of thousands of rural families who are struggling to remain in their lands of origin and to defend their right;

respect the health of people who use detergents and cleaners;

respect the environment where the detergents, once used, are released.

It takes a seed...to make an organic-fair detergent!

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Since the 80s the condition of the rural population of the Maranhão state has become more critical. This is due to the strengthening of property rights of large landowners, the destruction of babaçu palms (to make room for pastures and crops for livestock ) and the privatization of large forest areas.

The agro-farming families in many territories decided to react to this situation by joining together in cooperatives, associations and small businesses based on the principles

of a solidarity and partnership economy. This stand, the initiative of many leaders of rural communities and trade unions, led to the foundation in 1989, in the Mearim region, of the NGO ASSEMA (Associação em Áreas de Assentamento no Estado do Maranhão).

ASSEMA supports and coordinates the work of various

Babaçu Livre!

groups (associations and cooperatives) of farmers and babacu walnut pickers, in order to improve working conditions, increase the technical and professional knowledge and defend the rights of rural communities.ASSEMA’s thematic areas of intervention are: family farming, food safety, cooperative movement, sustainable rural development, the fi ght for human rights, “educação do campo”, strengthening of women’s role in rural area communities and creating income and employment.

After a long period of claims and struggles ASSEMA got approval, in 14 municipalities of the Maranhão state, of the “Babaçu Livre” Law which provides free access for collecting fruits and prohibits the cutting of trees and the indiscriminate exploitation of the land (caused by intensive farming and relevant use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers) .

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One of the most valued resources of the babaçu coconut palm is the excellent vegetable fi bers that are made from the leaves and trunks of these old trees: thanks to them, in fact, you can build spacious baskets and resistant structures for house roofs.In the municipality of Lago do Junco (Médio Mearim region of the Maranhão state) the Coppalj cooperative, which was no doubt inspired by the strength and versatility of the babassu fi ber, coordinates, supports and defends the work of many coconut picker members (mostly women, “quebradeiras de coco” of neighboring communities).

Coppalj: vegetable fi ber as resource

The “quebradeiras” members leave the picked nuts in some of the collection centers owned by Coppalj. Every week Coppalj carries out the collection and processing of the nuts (10 tons per week, which produce mainly oil and fl our).The Coppalj cooperative pays babaçu nuts at a higher price than the quebradeiras could get from the “intermediaries” of local processing industries.The nuts purchased from Coppalj are only those of the highest quality, organically certifi ed and the oil extraction method too is natural and does not use solvents.

The Coppalj Cooperative is a member of ASSEMA and it relies on it for all the technical training programs and assistance for the benefi t of its members.

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Attention to detail...

The babassu oil, imported into Italy by the Mondo Solidale Cooperative, is of high quality, because it is made from the best nuts and it is organically certifi ed.

In order to preserve and bring out the product’s best features we have chosen two small Italian processors who are always very attentive when it comes to the production process. Quality was not the only criteria used in creating Talybe detergents: we also looked at the production of surfactants, which in fact, is managed by a few large multinational companies, so as far as processing is concerned we have favored small-medium sized Italian companies.

The Allegrini company produces surfactants from babassu oil (it has also created a small but qualifi ed laboratory for research and development of surfactants in its factory). For these same reasons we chose a medium-sized company as supplier for the formulation and production of detergents. It is the Pierpaoli company, which is specialized in the production of conventional and organic detergents.

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The organic babassu oil is not the only fair trade quality ingredient found in the Talybe home and personal detergent product line. In fact SIPA and Phalada, two Indians Fair Trade organizations, produce the essential oils used in formulations (perfumes are not used).SIPA produces several essential oils: true lavender, tea tree, orange, lemon, cedar wood, vetiver.Phalada produces lemon grass, citronella, rosemary, peppermint, cinnamon, lime, strong mint, wild Indian basil, rosemary essential oils.

Talybe detergents are not only organic and fair-trade but are

also eff ective... Easy to say, but it is actually quite complex to get fully vegetable formulas that have not been tested on animals, that do not contain preservatives or synthetic perfumes, that do not have ethoxylates, sequestering agents, parabens and formaldehyde yet which can also off er excellent washing performance and skin care.

The detergents were subjected to comparative eff ectiveness tests, which showed that the Talybe household detergents product line ensures equal or better performance than leading conventional products on the market.

The Talybe wellness line was evaluated by consumer tests which

showed superior performance in comparison to the market leaders in cosmetics where organic certifi cation is required.The Talybe wellness lines are both eff ective and gentle: they are dermatologically tested and can be recommended even for people who are intolerant to standard petrochemical surfactants and synthetic perfumes. In particular, the personal wellness line has been dermatologically tested on sensitive skin and has been nickel tested and physiological pH.

The products are certifi ed by ICEA (BioEcoDetergent and BioEcoCosmetics) and LAV (stop to animal testing).

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Let us now compare some traditional detergents and Talybe.A washing machine with a dose of traditional laundry detergent requires about 300 liters of water to be rendered harmless.A washing machine with a dose of Talybe laundry detergent requires about 48 liters allowing a saving of 84% of water.

On average, Talybe detergents give 70% water savings and as a result an equal reduction in the amount of environmental impact when using detergents.If, for example, all of Italy were to use for one year Talybe laundry detergent or others with the same percentage of water saving, instead of conventional detergents, a saving could be made of more than 60 cubic kilometers of water: one and a half times the Garda Lake ... And we are only talking of laundry!

Detergents, unfortunately, are a major source of domestic pollution, once they have been released into the soil, and this fact could not be neglected when we developed the Talybe detergent product lines.

Detergents’ pollution level nowadays is no longer measured using the old biodegradability concept. It is measured by evaluating the toxicity of substances: this evaluation, called the Critical Dilution Volume, is calculated by measuring how much water is used to dilute the product to make molecules harmless to aquatic life.

… and for theenvironment

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Along with the classic way of selling detergents in “disposable” containers (nowadays “recyclable containers” ...), we have, in recent years, seen the introduction of the bulk refi ll method, which allows you to refi ll the container, usually rather large (10 or 20 kg), that can be used over and over for the same function. We too promote reusing instead of recycling (i.e. - recycling plastic material in order to regenerate new plastic), because reuse has less an environmental impact and is energetically more convenient than any form of recycling.The consumer, therefore, has an excellent opportunity to choose the method that respects the environment the most.

Retailers (world shops, organic shops, etc..) too have the same advantage: choosing the rigid plastic containers (10 or 20 liter HDPE containers) for the sale of products in bulk, and applying the reuse system, is signifi cantly more advantageous than any form of recycling.

Let’s make a synthetic comparison between the three most common sales systems for detergents sold in Italy:

P The “classic” type, i.e. only recycling: the customer buys the full plastic bottle, and once it is empty it is thrown into the plastic recycling bin (the bottles are collected, transported to specialized companies, the plastic is melted and new containers are produced).

P The “mixed” type foresees reuse (by the consumer) along with recycling (carried out by the dealer): containers for the sale of detergent in bulk are found in the store. The customer buys the detergent by fi lling the empty bottle over and over. Instead, once the large bulk container is empty the shop owner places it in the appropriate plastic and paper container for recycling: so in this case, containers are used (usually 10 liter canisters) which are made of a rigid outer cardboard box and an inner plastic bag that, once emptied, is placed in the plastic recycling bin. The shop owner then opens another container, provided by the distributor, and the whole cycle is repeated.

P The “reuse” type, however, foresees in all phases (distributor, retailer and customer) the use of containers (cans and bottles) which are then reused, without any sort of recycling. No waste is produced, because the containers are continuously circulating.

Below are the steps related to the three diff erent types of distribution; the materials used, the relevant passages, and energy costs. In conclusion an energy balance is carried out.

Betterto reuse thanto recicle!

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Comparison of energy costs...

C. 280.15 kg of CO2 equivalent per 1000 liters of detergent packaged in system C (only reuse) is foreseen when using Talybe detergents.

If we want to look at these numbers and percentages based on daily laundries in the washing machine we can conclude that: the reuse system enables you to use a 2KW washing machine for about 172 hours more than in system A and about 75 hours more than the system B. The third system (only reuse) therefore allows for:

P approximately 115 washes more than system A (recycling only);

P approximately 50 washes more than system B (reuse + recycling).

The reuse system thus proves to be the one that allows you to save more and have a much better performance over the fi rst two systems.

503,72

A)

368,00

B)

280,15

C)

Less CO2 in the air!Let’s look at the costs in these steps. The amount of Kg of carbon dioxide emission in the following three cases:

A. 503.72 kg of CO2 equivalent per 1000 liters of detergent product packaged and distributed according to the “classic” type (type A: recycling of all the bottles, without distributing the detergent in bulk);

B. 368.00 kg of CO2 equivalent per 1000 liters of detergent packaged where “mixed” recycling of the containers is used for refi lling (type B: external casing is made of cardboard and the inner bag is plastic);

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