FARM UPDATES

We got rain! 

After the longest and driest drought in recent Australian history, we received a drenching in late January. We received over 363mm of rain – that’s over 14 inches of rain – in ten days!

While some folks in the area are now watching out for flooding, our tea trees and other plants are loving it.  During the drought our farm was in the fortunate situation of having good irrigation reserves, so our trees had continued growing, albeit at a slower rate than normal.  

Following these rains however, our dams are now full and we are expecting plant growth to be back on track when harvest time rolls around in 4-5 months’ time.  The rain has also been great for our 600+ koala food trees planted over the last six months.  Some of these trees are already taller than us!

TRACEABILITY

Blockchain is coming. Down Under is working with the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA), blockchain experts GEORA, and Agrifutures Australia to develop a pilot blockchain system for deployment in 2020. Funded as an approved project through the Tea Tree Oil industry R&D levy, this pilot system will incorporate ATTIA Code of Practice grower certifications, batch specific production details, and online access by manufacturers receiving oil from these batches.  CONTACT US if you are interested in participating as an end-manufacturer in our blockchain pilot.

Down Under is serious about Traceability.  We have implemented bespoke IT systems and are ready to onboard blockchain with this Tea Tree project in 2020 and then across our full product portfolio later in the year.

EMPLOYEE PROFILE

Meet our team in this first newsletter!

Every quarter our team spends a full day working through key strategic initiatives and reviewing our KPIs for the year.  Once a year, we bring everyone together, including our US Sales Team, for a face to face meeting and a Farm Work Day. For last December’s meeting, the team convened at our farm, Buhlambar for three days of activities.  While at the farm, we continued the development of our ‘Koala Corridor’, planting over 300 koala-food eucalyptus trees.  We also reviewed our new packaging solutions and procedures.  There was some (reluctant) pulling of weeds, but we also had some fun with tractor lessons and a fascinating cruise on the Richmond River (one source of irrigation supply) with an ecologist to better appreciate the river’s wildlife and how we can positively contribute to the health of the river system.

SUSTAINABILITY

Down Under has recently committed to full conversion of our essential oil packaging to  aluminum flasks (sizes: 1kg, 5kg, 10kg, 20kg).  We are taking this action based on an extensive project which considered:

• SHELF LIFE – preliminary studies support an extension to 5 year shelf life. This long term and accelerated study program is now underway.  Further information and updated COAs can be provided once testing is complete. Of course, a longer shelf life also means less waste.

• RISK – our previous standard packaging was HDPE. However Tea Tree Oil also required fluorination (Level 5) of the drums and caps; creating risk for failed fluorination at the manufacturer.

• HANDLING – The handle on the 10 and 20kg containers make for easier pouring, with lower risk of splashing and product wastage.

• SUSTAINABILITY – while HDPE may offer a theoretical lower carbon footprint than aluminum, in reality HDPE is much more damaging to the environment.

  • >75% of all aluminum is recycled versus <15% of HDPE

  • HDPE can only be ‘downcycled’ to lesser grade plastics, while aluminum is melted down and can retain high purity levels

  • Weight – our aluminum packaging is lighter than HDPE drums

• PRODUCT SECURITY

To assure our products arrive to a pure and un-altered state, our new packaging incorporates branded caps, featuring our famous 'kangaroos and shipping box' logo. These caps join our branded drum seals as additional anti-adulteration measures.

The new Aluminum packaging for our essential oils will be phased in as we replenish the HDPE-packaged stock in our warehouses.  These shipments have already commenced to our customers worldwide. 

We hope you are pleased with our new environmental packaging solution.  If you have any specific questions about this new packaging, please email us.