OUR FOUR Ws

At Elegant Roots we follow our Mission/Vision and five Core Values by pushing ourselves, and encouraging others, to conduct business in a more transparent and responsible way. We seek to create a world environment where customers care to ask and business authentically answers four simple questions: who made this product, what is it made from and under what conditions, where was it made and why, beyond its form and function, is it worth buying? We believe that the more often our answers demonstrate socially and environmentally responsible product roots and business practices, the more dramatic our shift to sustainable living.

To that end, we provide as much detail as practicable for every product, including outlining the all-important who, what, where and why story. We hope this transparency provides our customers peace of mind and the information they need to make responsible choices about how to spend their powerful purchasing dollars. Please click to learn more about our Mission, Vision and Core Values.

Who

Under our Who heading on every product page, we identify the designer, founder, principal, artisan(s) and/or owner of the responsible small business that makes each gift we offer. Since space is limited on our product pages, under this heading we link to our Designer Profile pages. In our Designer Profiles, we provide relevant information about the roots of each of our gifts, including a summary of how the small business began, what is at its business heart and some business highlights.

We offer our profiles to honor and promote each of our responsible small business vendors and to encourage others who wish to create for the betterment of people and planet.

What

Under our What heading, we summarize product qualities and specifications. We explain what the gift includes, what materials are used, and, as applicable, identify sizes, colors and dimensions. Also in keeping with our transparency pledge, we include a complete ingredient list for personal-use gifts such as spa products, which can be accessed by an easy Ingredient List link. While we select all of our personal products for their safe, natural and organic ingredients, we believe this additional detail will give peace of mind and help customers identify any potential allergy problems.

Under this heading, we also remind customers to use our powerful zoom function. We added this strong, “touchable” zoom feature, together with well-photographed, multiple product views, in order to give our customers the best means to examine quality, color and style.

Where

We love the richness and diversity that comes from creative and responsible artisans, designers and small businesses in the United States and around the world. We purposefully search for gift offerings from a variety of interesting geographies, starting with the United States.

While we carefully select each gift for its socially responsible roots regardless of geography, we believe our customers have the right to thoroughly understand where a product comes from before making an important purchasing decision. Thus, under our Where heading, we explain where the designer, founder, principal and/or owner of the company is headquartered and, if applicable, where the artisans work and/or where major components were made or assembled.

Why

Under our Why heading, we summarize some of the many reasons why this particular gift is worth purchasing. In each case, we begin with the point that the gift comes from a socially responsible small business / designer. If we cannot make that assertion, we will NOT carry the product. We next highlight the special form, function and social / eco-consciousness of the gift selection, which can be confirmed by reviewing the product specifications, zooming in on the detail and reading more in the Designer Profile.

We always end this section by highlighting three additional reasons to purchase this gift from Elegant Roots. First, at checkout we provide a gift card each customer can personalize for his or her Recipient. Second, we send a Story Card with each choice so the Recipient can also take comfort in the gift’s responsible roots. We show the exact language of the Story Card to the left of the Why heading. Finally, we remind our customers that their gifts will be sent free of charge in eco-friendly gift packaging. We specifically identify whether that particular product will arrive in our eco-friendly gift wrapping or in our signature eco-friendly gift box and link to our detailed description of our painstaking Gift Packaging choices.