Sonett

The production of Sonett products takes place in southern Germany. The working conditions in which the ingredients are obtained are unclear. 

The labeling of many of the products is done by disabled people at the nearby Camphill Workshops Lenenhof. In addition, Sonett has collaborations with other care facilities and the Rehab Clinic for Drug Addicts ​“Seven Dwarfs.” In addition, the company supports social and community integration and support for people who have difficulty finding jobs in the regular labor market, offering them a new perspective.

Sonett considers itself a pioneer not only in terms of the efficiency and economic use of its products, but also in terms of the social structure of the company. Therefore, one of the company’s main concerns is social orientation at all levels: towards employees, customers and suppliers. They believe that not competition and self-interest, but cooperation and mutual support count in business. Profits remain within the company or are transferred to the Non-Profit Foundation Sonett. Profits are also used for donations to research and welfare purposes; think water research initiatives and artistic culture projects. 

As for suppliers, it is Sonett’s principle to strive for long-term cooperation based on trust, transparency and personal respect. As for customers, the company considers itself their service provider with the goal of not only meeting their needs and demands, but ennobling them. 

Furthermore, the company states that it offers equal opportunities, without discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, religion or belief. Of the 110 jobs, 56 are held by women. They employ people of diverse nationalities and ages. Moreover, Sonett strives to facilitate the reconciliation of family and profession by offering flexible working hours and parental leave periods. 

The importance Sonett places on the people it works with is also evidenced by the fact that the company holds a CSE (Certified Sustainable Economics) label. Unlike product certifications, this label covers the entire company. In addition to ecological product requirements, the company’s social and ethical orientations are also certified.

The jury that awarded the German Sustainability Prize 2022 to Sonett reasoned that: ​“Sonett’s washing and cleaning products are produced according to strict sustainable guidelines. This applies both to the products made from 100% biodegradable, purely vegetable and mineral raw materials and to the packaging.” The company does not use petrochemical raw materials, genetic engineering, nanotechnological enzymes, microplastics, synthetic fragrances, dyes and preservatives. 

Quite a mouthful, in other words. But what does the company use? Well: essential oils derived from organic plants, plant-based soaps and surfactants from sugar and minerals. They use large quantities of raw materials from biodynamic or certified organic cultivation, such as olive oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, palm oil, essential oils and balsamic additives. The percentages of ingredients in each product are indicated. 

Sonett has the NCP label (Nature Care Product) and the NCS label (Natural Cosmetics Standard). This shows that they are indeed using organically grown raw materials, and not microplastics. 

Perhaps you had already noticed the use of palm oil from the above story. The biggest problem with the use of palm oil is that large tracts of rainforest are disappearing to make way for oil palms, sometimes exploiting farm workers or driving indigenous people out of areas. Sonett says they use palm oil for their soap production because palm oil is solid at low temperatures. In doing so, they use only certified organically grown palm oil from Colombia. The manufacturers supplying the palm oil to Sonett are RSPO certified, which means the product comes from sustainable forestry. Cutting down rainforest is fortunately prohibited in organic cultivation! 

For packaging, Sonett uses polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). They did research on alternatives to the PE bottles, but haven’t found anything suitable yet. Therefore, the Sonett alternative is: rebottling and recycling. Since 2019, therefore, they have taken back empty 10‑l and 20‑l cans from more than 250 refillers. The cans cleaned and refilled. All Sonett PE containers that are returned and can no longer be refilled are shredded and processed into new Sonett bottles. In this way, plastic and CO2 are saved in the long term, as polyethylene is infinitely recyclable. The brand’s NCP label and NCS label confirm that they are indeed using recyclable packaging. 

As for the products themselves, by using 100% biodegradable raw materials and renouncing microplastics, the return to and reintegration into the natural cycle is promoted! 

The coconut oil Sonett uses comes from a FairTrade project in the Dominican Republic. The olive oil is supplied by cooperatives in Spain, Italy and Greece. As for the other ingredients, there is no description of where they come from, so we at COSH! do not have a good idea of how long the chain is.

Sonett is certified with the Stop Climate Change label. This label means that CO2 emissions have been examined and that the company provides transparency in the processes that cause CO2 emissions. The analysis at Sonnet showed that the company hardly causes any CO2 emissions.

Most Sonett products carry the Vegan Society Label, which certifies that there are no animal ingredients in the products and that the company does not conduct or commission animal testing. However, there are also some products that do not carry this label, namely: Sonett Wool Care, Sonett Gall Soap, Sonett Floor Mopping Fluid and Sonnett BioBubbles. These products are not vegan! 

Sonett’s site includes an animal protection statement that is in line with the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance. In it, the company states, among other things, that they indeed do not test on animals, and do not hire others to do it for them. Suppliers of the ingredients used in Sonett’s products must also document that they do not test on animals. 

Some of Sonett’s products are a concentrate, such as the All Purpose Cleanser and the powders. This allows you to do longer with one package of the product. In addition, many of the producers are refillable!

The brand is very transparent about which raw materials are used and in what quantities they are in the various products. However, there are still gains to be made in terms of transparency of ingredient origins. At COSH we are very curious about where these come from. Only then can we gain insight into the working conditions of the suppliers the company works with and the exact length of the chain.