i+m Philosophy and Quality Standards

The History- Tradition and quality since 30 years

Inge Stamm, the founder of i+m started to develop cosmetics 30 years ago. Living in Berlin, an inspiring environment of creativity and innovation, she began her training as a midwife, a pharmacists and a homeopath and with that background started to create skin care/cosmetics. Her spirit of curiousness paired with her deep knowledge of the effects of natural ingredients made her experiment with natural ingredients and a leader of innovation for natural skin care. Her approach has always and still is a little different Beauty and indulgence going together in her concept. Be yourself has always been and still is her maxim/principle. Cosmetic for her is about wellbeing and intuition. The ability to enjoy with all senses and the way / road to a positive self image.

Very early on, her sense of purity let her use organic ingredients for her formulations. For her, a conscious approach for the environment goes hand in hand with a caring approach for the skin. In her opinion cosmetic should protect and nurture body and senses and should be free of any harmful chemicals. Experience the pleasure of cosmetics and to know you are doing something good for yourself make her cosmetics special.

In 2007 Inge Stamm found two creative partners in Berlin whose, personal devotion and commitment to environmentally sustainability and social responsibility are driving the company towards a consistently ecosensible, responsible, but also fun and creative company. I + m nowadays stand for sustainable production, functional, environmentally friendly, creative package design, innovative formulations and ingredients, cooperation with fair trade partners and least but not last the finest organic quality and craftsmanship.

I+m is proud to be a truly Berliner Company and to be part of the new spirit of Berlin as the centre of art, design and fashion in Germany.

Over the last decade, i+m products earned several quality rewards from the independent German product testing journal „Ökotest“. All i+m cosmetic products are natural cosmetics certified and controlled by the German BDIH.

Environmental impact and sustainability

In reality the body care products that everyone uses eventually go right down the drain and into our environment. Therefore, we make sure that all products have little environmental impact during manufacturing and also when released into the environment.

We care about the effects of sourcing ingredients, production and packaging on the environment:
 Use of Certified organic ingredients that have been grown without polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching.
 Organic farming works to prevent contamination, and protects and conserves water resources.
 Particular care to protect endangered species is mandated
 Genetic manipulation and modification are rejected.
 Minimal resource consumption during manufacturing
 Airless packaging helps keep the product fresh and guarantees hygienic use
 Easily recyclable packaging and minimal packaging for the finished products completely avoiding multiple packaging layers
 Economical, environmentally-friendly and recyclable packaging

i+m evaluates all products regarding their impact on the environment and works on constantly improving their carbon footprints from the sourcing of the ingredients to the disposal of the packaging.

Efficacy

At i+m we believe that nature is most efficient in caring for your skin. 30 years of research and product development taught us that plant derived ingredients are most effective, purest and safest for the skin.
Our philosophy is closeness to nature and maintaining highest quality standards.
i+m products are carefully formulated using the purest organic cold pressed oils, the best essential oils and extracts available making sure that the products contain potent, most efficacious levels of beneficial ingredients for the skin.
Producing natural cosmetics means for us more than just the usage of natural ingredients. It is equally important to leave these ingredients as unprocessed as possible. We use the ingredients as given to us from nature directly or only harvested with traditional methods. Only this way the precious active ingredients can be conserved. Only that way the benefits from the plants vitamins, minerals and essential oils remain in the purest and most efficient way possible.
For example, we only use native oils from organically grown plants without artificially modifying the scent or colour. This distinguishes us from most other natural cosmetic manufactures.

Safety

"What goes on the body goes in the body."
The skin is the largest organ of the body, a delicate shield of protection covering us from head to toe. Experts agree that most skincare ingredients are absorbed into the body. For this reason, we believe that the products we apply to our skin must be truly clean and pure, natural and organic, made from ingredients that are effective and safe.

At i+m we use organic ingredients whenever possible because only organic ingredients guarantee inherently pure and safe products

Certification

Especially in the US there has been a controversial discussion about the use of the term organic on cosmetic labels. A variety of different guidelines are confusing to the customer, hide product flaws and allow producers to make misleading claims.

This is when certification becomes important to provide trusted guidelines. i+m products are certified organic to the highest standards, by the German BDIH, one of the most trusted bodies for organic certification worldwide.

The BDIH is a federal association of German manufacturers of drugs, supplements, cosmetics and personal care products whose "Guidelines for Natural" are the most selective in the world. The BDIH “Certified Natural” seal of approval is awarded only to products evaluated by independent laboratories for compliance to the guidelines. i+m products are certified organic by the BDIH, and we display the certification seal on our packaging. For more information on the BDIH and their selective criteria see www.kontrollierte-naturkosmetik.de

Social compatibility/responsibility – FAIR TRADE

Fair Trade means “precious ingredients and more justice in the world economy”

An environmentally friendly production and a fair and responsible cooperation with our suppliers are particularly important to us. Under this philosophy, i+m has been supporting fair trade projects for many years

What is fair trade?

Producers from poor countries will get the fair-trade minimum price plus a premium, a bit extra to invest in community projects such as schools and healthcare. This way, the living situation of the producers and their families within their communities will improve and stabilise long term.