*Respecting Finnish nature and its gifts: We respect Finland's clean and well-preserved nature. We move in forests and waters and collect its fruits for food. Mushrooming is really close to my heart.
*Reducing consumption. We try to use the purchased goods until the end. We are also happy to buy old and used goods. Our workshop is completely furnished with used furniture.
*Maximizing recycling. We recycle everything. We use the Bokashi system for composting, from which we get new nutrient-rich soil every spring for our vegetable garden. In particular, plastic recycling has significantly reduced the amount of final waste. Products made from recycled plastic are hit products for us. 
*Self-reliance. We grow a lot of food in our vegetable garden. Even the gravel yard of a small detached house can be grown with raised cultivation. Tomatoes, cucumbers and basil are growing in the greenhouse, potatoes, carrots, herbs, pumpkins, peas, strawberries and marigolds are growing in the grow boxes. A flock of Silky chickens and a rooster live in a chicken coop in our backyard. The small eggs they lay are packed full of nature's own keratin, which gives hair abundance. That's why we use it as an ingredient in the Silktipu shampoo. Another benefit of keeping chickens is that litter and manure work as excellent soil conditioners in the vegetable garden.
What does Zero waste mean?
The zero-waste thinking model has become trendy for a reason. Its main idea is to reduce consumption. Of course, there are things we cannot live without, such as food and hygiene. However, it is possible to achieve cleanliness without a huge mountain of plastic bottle waste. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and moisturizer are usually always packed in a plastic bottle and mostly contain water. When we started paying attention to the amount of bathroom waste, it was a bit of a shock even to ourselves. We realized a little late that shampoo and shower gel bottles cannot be taken to the plastic collection. We have been enthusiastic plastic recyclers for years. Actually, as residents of detached houses, recycling first became important in the form of euros. We noticed that by recycling and composting we saved a lot of money in waste management fees. Plastic recycling has also awakened us to notice how much of the waste in our economy is precisely plastic. Taking it to a recycling point has brought some comfort to the anxiety brought by own consumption. But those shampoo bottles. We have been trying to get rid of them for years. We have been using bar shampoo and bar soap and have now completely moved away from plastic bottles in the bathroom. The reduction in bathroom waste has also come from the use of washable menstrual pads and cotton pads. They are coming to Ekokauppa's selection in the future. So by switching to eco-friendly cosmetic products, you save the planet for future generations. By buying Elsa's Ekopaja products, you are also buying well-thought-out raw materials. We buy raw materials in large packages and preferably directly from the producer. Our manufacturing method consumes very minimal energy. You won't find animal lard and palm oil in any of our products. All the raw materials we use are biodegradable.
