BIO
PHOTO: CHRIS HOPKINS
JC IS THE FOUNDER OF QUEENIE ORGANICS. HE STUDIED FINE ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY BEFORE WORKING AS A CINEMATOGRAPHER ON FILMS, DOCUMENTARIES AND COMMERCIALS (WWW.JCDOP.COM). SINCE BIRTH, HE HAS HAD A NUMBER OF MINOR SKIN ISSUES INCLUDING COLD SORES, RASHES AND DRY, CRACKING SKIN. A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, HE BEGAN RESEARCHING NATURAL ALTERNATIVES TO REMEDY HIS OWN PROBLEMS. FOR A WHILE, HE ONLY MADE SKINCARE FOR HIMSELF BUT WHIILE WORKING ON A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE REFUGEE CRISIS, HE FOUND THE IMPETUS TO CREATE QUEENIE ORGANICS AND HELP RAISE SOME MONEY FOR THE CHARITIES HE WORKED WITH DURING THAT PERIOD (SEE BELOW).
DURING HIS RESEARCH, HE DISCOVERED THAT A LARGE MAJORITY OF EMULSIFIERS USED IN MAKING CREAMS CONTAINED PALM OIL (PALM OIL DERIVATIVES). FURTHERMORE, PALM OIL FREE EMULSIFIERS WERE VERY RARE. HAVING BEEN ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE SINCE HE WAS A TEEN, HE SOUGHT TO CREATE EXCELLENT SKINCARE THAT DID NOT REQUIRE CHEMICALS OR THE USE OF PALM OIL.
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SINCE IT'S LAUNCH IN AUTUMN 2018, QUEENIE ORGANICS HAS PARTNERED WITH SEVERAL FILM FESTIVALS AND SPONSORED MAKE UP ARTISTS WORKING IN FILM AND FASHION. IT HAS BEEN RATED NO.2 MOST ETHICAL SKINCARE BRAND BY ETHICAL CONSUMER MAGAZINE AND WON AWARDS FOR IT'S SKINCARE. JC HANDMAKES EVERY TIN AND JAR OF SKINCARE.
SOIL ASSOCIATION COSMOS
ORGANIC
SADLY, WE HAVE DISCONTINUED OUR MEMBERSHIP TO THE SOIL ASSOCIATION. THIS HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE FINANCIAL COST OF DOING SO AND NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR SUPPORT OR COMMITMENT TO ORGANIC STANDARDS. WE WILL MAINTAIN THE STANDARDS SET BY THE SOIL ASSOCIATION WITH OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE PRODUCTS. WE HAVE DESIGNATED THESE FUNDS TO CHARITY DONATION AND KEEPING THE PRICES OF OUR PRODUCTS THE SAME SINCE 2018.
THE
VEGAN SOCIETY
WE ARE REGISTERED WITH THE VEGAN SOCIETY WHICH MEANS THE DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING OF OUR PRODUCTS AND INGREDIENTS HAS NOT INVOLVED THE USE OF ANY ANIMAL PRODUCT, BY- PRODUCT OR DERIVATIVE. IT ALSO MEANS THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO TESTING OF ANY SORT ON ANIMALS DURING THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING OF THE PRODUCTS OR IT'S INGREDIENTS.
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PALM OIL
DERIVATIVES AND WHY WE DON'T USE THEM
WATER- BASED CREAMS CONTAIN EMULSIFIERS TO BIND OIL AND WATER TOGETHER (WATER IS TYPICALLY THE TOP INGREDIENT IN ANY CREAM)
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99% OF EMULSIFIERS SUITABLE FOR COSMETIC USE CONTAINS PALM OIL
PALM OIL CONTRIBUTES TO DEFORESTATION, HABITAT DEGRADATION, CLIMATE CHANGE, ANIMAL CRUELTY/DEATH AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS ABUSES
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WE USE PALM OIL FREE EMULSIFIERS AND PALM OIL FREE GLYCERINE
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WE ARE A PALM OIL FREE BRAND
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TO BE CRUETLY FREE, WE BELIEVE YOU NEED TO BE PALM OIL FREE
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ANY BRAND THAT CLAIMS TO BE CRUELTY FREE IS NOT IF THEY USE PALM OIL DERIVATIVES
OUR POSITION
WE SUPPORT THE ONGOING ENDEAVOURS TO MAKE PALM OIL SUSTAINABLE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, THE LIVELIHOOD FOR THOSE WHO PRODUCE IT AND, FOR THE NATURAL HABITATS OF ANIMALS. IT IS CONTAINED IN MOST SKINCARE PRODUCTS AND WE WANT TO OFFER CONSUMERS A CHOICE AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHANGING PARADIGM OF WHAT INGREDIENTS WE USE IN SKINCARE.
POFCAP
WE ARE THE FIRST SKINCARE BRAND IN ENGLAND TO BE CERTIFIED PALM OIL FREE BY POFCAP. THE INTERNATIONAL PALM OIL FREE CERTIFICATION TRADEMARK WAS DEVELOPED TO AID CONSUMERS IN FINDING PRODUCTS WHICH HAVE BEEN ASSESSED BY AN INDEPENDENT, REGISTERED AND GOVERNMENT APPROVED PALM OIL FREE CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME AND FOUND TO BE PALM OIL AND PALM OIL DERIVATIVE FREE. IT WAS ALSO DEVELOPED TO CREATE A NEW FUNDING STREAM TO ASSIST ORGANISATIONS ON THE GROUND AROUND THE WORLD WORKING TO PROTECT RAINFORESTS AND ALL THEY CONTAIN.
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FOR MORE INFO:
HTTP://PALMOILFREECERTIFICATION.ORG
A LIST OF THE NAMES FOR PALM OIL INGREDIENTS (COURTESY OF BEV LUFF OF POFCAP)
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BLOG POSTS ABOUT PALM OIL:
PALM OF YOUR HANDS
LIAR, LIAR FOREST ON FIRE
MUSWELL HILL CREATIVES
QUEENIE ORGANICS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE MUSWELL HILL CREATIVES. IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
"MUSWELL HILL CREATIVES IS A DYNAMIC COLLECTIVE OF LOCAL ARTISTS , DESIGNERS AND MAKERS WHO TAKE PRIDE IN A QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP AND PROMOTE CREATIVITY"
COMMUNITY DRIVEN TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES, THEY HOLD A MARKET FOUR TIMES A YEAR IN MUSWELL HILL (LONDON) AND CONNECT THE DOTS...
TO SEEK REFUGE
PHOTO: JC. KATSIKAS CAMP, GREECE.
MASS MIGRATION THROUGH WAR, FAMINE AND DISASTERS IN THE 20TH CENTURY HAVE BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED. IN RECENT YEARS HOWEVER, THIS DOCUMENTATION TURNED POLITICAL AND DIVISIVE AS EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST SAW THE LARGEST MIGRATION OF PEOPLE SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR. ANTI ISLAMIC RHETORIC, GROWING ISOLATIONIST MENTALITY THROUGHOUT THE WEST WAS AND IS, REFLECTED IN IT'S LIMP AND UNETHICAL RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS.
ONCE EVERYDAY PEOPLE WERE GOING ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS, WAR BROKE OUT AROUND THEM. FAMILIES LEFT THIER HOMES ESCAPING WITH ONLY WHAT THEY COULD CARRY IN THEIR HANDS AND ON THIER BACKS. THROUGH OFTEN TRULY TREACHEROUS JOURNEYS THEY ARRIVE ONLY TO BE TREATED WITH DISDAIN AND BUREAUCRACY AND TO LIVE IN A TENT FOR MONTHS ON END.
NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO ENDURE SUCH AN EXPERIENCE, YET THERE ARE MILLIONS WHO HAVE. TO MAKE THIER LIVES A LITTLE EASIER, THERE ARE CHARITIES WHO HELP WITH A VARIETY OF SHORT AND LONG TERM SOLUTIONS. HAVING PERSONALLY SPENT TIME IN VARIOUS CAMPS AND SEEING THE WORK DONE BY VARIOUS GRASSROOT CHARITIES, 25% OF PROFITS GO TO THESE LIFE AFFIRMING ORGANISATIONS.
CHARITIES WE CURRENTLY DONATE TO:
MÉDECINE SANS FRONTIÈRE/DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
MALAAK
UNRWA
PHOTO: JC. ON THE SET OF PADDINGTON, PINEWOOD, UK
PARTNERSHIPS
SINCE OUR LAUNCH IN SEPT 2018, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, THE CHINESE VISUAL FESTIVAL, THE SOUTH SOCIAL FILM FESTIVAL AND FIVE FLAVOURS FILM FESTIVAL IN WARSAW TO PROVIDE SAMPLES TO FILM INDUSTRY DELEGATES AND GUESTS. IN PRODUCTION, WE ALSO SUPPLIED
CREAMS TO THE MAKE UP TEAMS FOR BRITISH FILM, 'CENSOR' AND FOR APPLE TV'S 'SLOW HORSES'. THESE ARE AMONG SOME OF THE EVENTS/PROJECTS WE LOVE BEING PART OF.