ingredients and sourcing
Beauty lives in the details.
We take a curious and conscious approach to every part of our process—from ingredient sourcing to packaging design. As we deepen our understanding of our environmental and social impact, we’re committed to improving traceability, expanding our use of responsible materials, and making informed lower-impact sourcing decisions across our supply chain. While our sustainability journey continues to unfold, here’s a breakdown of where we are today, and where we plan to go:
We craft our fragrances with over 90% naturally derived ingredients—carefully chosen for their biodegradability, safety, and scent performance. All of our fragrance concentrates are carried in a corn alcohol base and are designed for skin safety, under IFRA guidelines.
Where We Are
- • Formulated for Biodegradability - we prioritize ingredients that break down safely in the environment, leaving no harmful residue behind. No forever chemicals – just clean chemistry that returns to nature.
- • Every ingredient vetted for human + animal safety — meaning our formulas are free from ingredients linked to known health risks such as endocrine disruption, carcinogenicity, or skin sensitization.
- • Cruelty-Free - and made without traditional animal ingredients, ensuring each fragrance respects people, planet, and all living beings.
- • Free of parabens, phthalates, and synthetic dyes
- • Transparent Ingredients - Each fragrance comes with a complete ingredient list, including essential oils, isolates, and aroma molecules (natural or novel).
Where We’re Going
- • Improving Traceability & Transparency - while we can currently trace 100% of ingredients by volume back to Country of Origin, we remain committed to expanding direct farm partnerships to improve visibility into ingredient origins and ensure responsible sourcing practices throughout the supply chain.
• Increasing Use of Lower-Impact Alternatives - we are working to better understand the environmental and social impacts of our ingredients. As we learn more, we will transition to lower-impact options. In the near term, this means prioritizing a shift from some key natural and synthetic ingredients to bio-engineered alternatives.
We believe the objects holding your fragrance should reflect the same care as what’s inside. While our boxes and sleeves are fully recyclable throughout the U.S., our glass and metal bottles aren’t widely recyclable yet due to design and infrastructure limitations. We are currently working on bottle redesign so that soon, nearly every piece of our packaging can go into your curbside bin.
Where We Are
- • Responsible & Recyclable paper-goods - All boxes and sleeves are made from 100% FSC-certified recycled paper, sourced from at least 30% post-consumer waste.
- • Lower-impact inks - All boxes and sleeves are printed with soy-based inks and minimal finishes to support recyclability and reduced environmental impact.
- • Supporting Carbon Removal — Every order shipped invests in carbon removal. Our logistics partner Shopify Planet, we direct a portion of all shipping costs toward scaling carbon removal technologies like direct air capture, bio-oil, and mineralization to help counteract the impact of delivery.
Where We're Going
- • Lower-Impact Redesign — We’re re-developing our packaging to be fully recyclable through municipal systems, lighter in weight, and incorporate lower-impact circular materials.
- • Focus on Reuse — We’re actively exploring refill opportunities for larger sizes to further minimize packaging waste and encourage circular behavior.
Where We Are
Conscious selection begins at the source. We partner directly with farms, distillers, and trusted suppliers who share our commitment to ethical and environmentally responsible practices.
We focus on:
- • Fully Traceable origin stories for raw materials
- • Direct farm partnerships, whenever possible
- • Suppliers who prioritize regeneration, fair labor, and conservation
- • Local sourcing for select ingredients and packaging materials to reduce transportation emissions
We maintain a strict internal criteria for everything we use. Every material undergoes internal vetting for environmental impact, labor ethics, and transparency before it enters our studio. If it doesn’t meet our standards for clean chemistry, quality and responsible production, it doesn’t make it into our bottles. Our full ingredient lists are always available on each product page—because you deserve to know what you're wearing.
Where We’re Going
We are currently working to improve our direct sourcing relationships and invest in next-gen sustainable aroma ingredients—including those derived from regenerative agriculture practices, bio-tech innovation and zero-waste extraction methods. Here’s what’s on our horizon in the near-to-mid term:
- • Improve Strategic Partnerships — Deepening relationships with suppliers who meet high environmental, ethical, and social standards, with clear expectations around fair labor and sustainable practices.
- • Increase Local & Regional Sourcing — Exploring opportunities to shorten supply chains and invest in local communities by sourcing closer to where products are made and sold.
- • Leverage Third-Party Verification — Expanding use of public-facing certifications (e.g. Fair Trade, FSC, RSPO, Organic) where applicable to ensure claims are credible and progress is measurable.
- • Conduct Life Cycle Assessments — Performing robust impact assessments across all products and packaging to identify environmental and social hotspots, guide sourcing decisions, and prioritize the most effective sustainability improvements.
- • Invest in Ingredient Innovation — Integrating more regenerative natural ingredients and bio-based synthetic ingredients into our formulas to reduce environmental impact while maintaining scent performance.
We will continue using leading environmental and social science to guide decisions, regularly evaluating our impact on both people and the planet. This is an evolving journey, and we’re committed to sharing progress openly as we learn and improve.
To ensure safety and sustainability, we exclude:
- • Synthetic musks that have been linked to bioaccumulation in waterways.
- • Animal by-products
- • Known endocrine disruptors
Have questions about a specific ingredient or process? We’d love to share more. Email us here → support@mhainey.com
Our Roots
Our story begins in the garden, where an early love of nature and design shaped the vision for M.HAINEY. Discover the path that led from childhood memories to a modern expression of conscious fragrance.
Our Ethos
At M.HAINEY, we believe fragrance should feel as good as it smells. Our values—clean formulation, conscious design, and transparency—guide every decision we make.
Our Craft
Each perfume is designed in-house, blending over 90% naturally-derived ingredients with responsible innovation. Explore how we craft scents that are dimensional, wearable, and distinctly our own.