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Sustainability & eco-design

Eco-innovative by nature.

Sustainability is not an add-on at Arboretum Ingredients. It is built into our extraction technology, our sourcing and our products from the very start — from the plant in the field to the finished active.

Birch sap harvest in the forest
Our position

Rethinking the plant extract industry, from the soil up.

For decades, the plant extract industry has relied on two extremes: open-field cultivation and wild harvesting — unstable, ecologically costly and increasingly disconnected from biodiversity — or, at the opposite end, energy-intensive industrial processes that strip plants of complexity through aggressive solvents and high temperatures.

We believe in a third path: one that honours the plant, respects the soil and trusts the intelligence of nature. Our actives are sourced from organic French plants grown in short, traceable supply chains, then transformed through a patented cold-extraction process powered by ultrasound and a natural plant-based solvent — tree sap.

Less energy. Zero chemical solvents. Full traceability. The active integrity of the plant, preserved.

Measured impact
−90%
Energy use vs conventional hot extraction
−95%
CO₂ emissions per extraction cycle
0
Chemical solvents, ever
100%
Organic French plant sourcing
3
COSMOS-approved actives launched
The Ultrasevum™ framework

Six principles of eco-extraction.

Our process is built on the founding principles of green chemistry, adapted to the realities of natural active ingredient production for cosmetics.

i.

Renewable biomass

Organically farmed plants, grown in the Perche regional biodiversity reserve. No monoculture, no wild over-harvesting, full soil rotation.

ii.

Tree sap as natural NADES

Birch sap replaces water and chemical solvents: a natural deep eutectic solvent, rich in minerals, sugars and organic acids, that adds biological value rather than removing it.

iii.

Low-energy ultrasound

Cold extraction at acoustic cavitation frequencies. Cycles of 10 to 30 minutes versus 2 hours for decoction, with one tenth of the energy footprint.

iv.

Zero chemical solvents

No ethanol, no glycol, no surfactant, no preservative carrier. The output is a clean, COSMOS-approved natural active, ready for the most demanding formulations.

v.

Thermolabile integrity

Cold extraction protects fragile secondary metabolites. No Maillard reaction, no HMF, no oxidation — the plant signature is delivered intact.

vi.

Circular by design

Plant by-products are composted and returned to the soil, closing the loop locally between the Perche orchards and the Évreux R&D laboratory.

Eco-designed extraction

A process designed to respect the plant.

Ultrasevum™ is an eco-extraction platform built on plant sap as a natural medium. By replacing organic solvents with birch sap and using ultrasound-assisted extraction at reduced temperature, the process preserves sensitive bioactives while lowering energy and environmental impact.

  • Solvent-free extraction using plant sap as a natural medium
  • Low-temperature process that preserves fragile bioactives
  • Reduced energy and process intensity versus conventional methods
  • Aligned with the principles of green, eco-responsible extraction
Eco-responsible extraction technology in the laboratory
Process benchmark

Ultrasevum™, measured against conventional extraction.

Internal data, based on a typical extraction cycle per kilogram of dry plant matter.

Criterion
Conventional hot extraction
Extraction cycle duration
~ 2 hours
Energy consumption
~ 5 kWh per cycle
CO₂ emissions
~ 4,000 g per kWh
Solvent
Water, ethanol, glycols, propylene glycol
Thermal degradation
Significant on heat-sensitive metabolites
By-product valorisation
Industrial waste
Sourcing

From the Perche orchards, to the finished active.

Our raw materials are grown by partner organic farmers in Normandy, within a short radius of our Évreux R&D laboratory — linseed, gentian root, white mulberry, birch sap. Every batch is traceable from the field to the cosmetic factory.

This is not vertical farming. This is not industrial fermentation. This is land, well kept, well harvested, well honoured.

100%Organic certified farming
FRShort supply chain, Normandy
0Pesticides & herbicides
1Patent protecting the process
Responsible natural sourcing of birch sap
“We believe the future of cosmetic actives will not come from replacing nature, but from listening to it more carefully.”
Arboretum Ingredients
Work with us

Partner with a sustainable active ingredient supplier.

Talk to our team about how our eco-designed actives can support your clean and sustainable formulations.