Natural
Organic
Healthy
Happy
Eco Conscious Spa - List of Achievements
Becoming an eco conscious spa has become one of our top priorities. As many of us already know, things are not looking too good for the future of this planet. It is a sad truth that we have damaged it, and almost beyond repair. That said, it is not too late yet! At Lemongrass Garden, it has become a priority for us to tidy up some of the mess that we have helped to create. We would like to share with you some of the ways that we have changed to become an eco conscious spa, and also share our near future objectives.
Eliminate plastic carrier bags
We now use a special type of biodegradable carrier bag made up entirely from the root vegetable cassava. You will see it around the spa as bin liners and as a carrier for your purchased products. Check out CleanBodia to find out more.
Massage oil
For several years, we have been using a palm oil based massage oil. Since finding out about the negative effects of palm oil production, we have sought out a different brand that use eco-friendly and sustainable methods to create their product. Made locally by the amazing team at Kambio Nature, our new oil is completely organic and uses a base of 30% coconut oil and 70% rice bran oil. No palm oil! Our new supplier also collects and reuses the plastic bottles, eliminating unnecessary waste! To find out more about the devastating effects palm oil production has on the Earth, click here.
Lunch boxes for our team
We have given every member of our team their own personal lunch “box” – a 3 tiered container commonly used in Cambodia. Now, if and when they go to any local food seller, they can say “no thanks” to polystyrene boxes. These boxes made up a lot of our waste, so we are delighted at how well our team have taken to it! Next up is reusable cups for drinks brought outside. This is coming soon.
Composting
Most of our facial and body scrub products are made fresh in the spa with natural ingredients. Now, we have begun using the leftovers of those products to create a compost, which goes to….
Lemongrass Garden “Farm”
Since 2017, we have been busy planting all sorts of vegetables and plants at our small oasis dubbed Lemongrass Garden Farm. Here, we organically grow moringa, kaffir lime, bananas, oranges, basil, milk fruit and of course, lemongrass. This has enabled us to ensure that all of our products are completely organic so you can have the best chemical free treatments available. We have also been planting many trees to the land, and we hope to make it a public space in the close future.
Eco-friendly, chemical free soap
We have changed all soap and shower gel in the spa to a locally produced, refillable, 100% natural and organic soap. One of those ingredients is our favourite essential oil lemongrass, which has anti-bacterial properties making it the ideal for all things cleaning. Our metal
soap containers are refillable too, so no constant disposing of old soap bottles! Eliminate underwear – we know what you’re thinking lol. No, it’s not quite as it sounds. For any oil massage or body scrub, we gave our customers a one-time use, disposable nylon underwear which comes in a plastic wrapper. Nylon is seldom recycled because of it’s low melting point. Recycling companies hardly accept it because they’d need to wash it to kill all bacteria, making the process not so profitable. We campaigned to find a local upcycling company to take our customers’ used underwear, but to no avail. So, we decided to simply stop using it. Since then, our customers have proven more than happy to keep their own underwear on during the oil an massage. They are always covered by a towel anyway 🙂
Near Future Goals
Whilst 2018 saw a lot of big changes for us, we still have a long way to go. We will never be totally green as Cambodia’s climate demands certain luxuries, such as air conditioners. However, there are certainly plans to improve our standing as an eco conscious spa. These include;
Light bulbs – changing all of our spa lights to LED to cut back on power usage and green house emissions.
Change Faucets/taps – we plan to change all 11 faucets in both spa locations to special low flow taps.
Do You Have Any Other Ideas For Us?
We know that we haven’t thought of everything, and we are constantly looking for further ways to improve. If you can think of anything else that we can do to become a cleaner, greener and more eco-friendly spa, please let us know via our booking form. Thank you.