Why we choose Certified Organic Oats

Oat is our material.

It gives our soaps their character, their subtle texture and their distinctive simplicity. So when one ingredient plays such an important role in what we make, we believe its provenance matters.

That is why we choose certified organic oats.

For us, this is not about adding another desirable word to a label. It is about choosing an ingredient grown within a more carefully controlled system, with greater restrictions around the pesticides and artificial fertilisers that can be used.

In Great Britain, organic farming is independently regulated and certified. Organic farmers are required to avoid artificial fertilisers and pesticides, with only specified substances permitted under organic regulations when they are necessary. Organic does not mean that absolutely no crop-protection products can ever be used; it means their use is significantly restricted and governed by a defined set of standards.

Why oats, in particular, made us think:

Our decision became even more important to us when we looked at research published by Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

Drawing on UK Government pesticide-residue testing, PAN UK reported that:

“In 2019, 94% of oats contained residues of more than one pesticide.”

That figure relates specifically to oats tested in 2019, so we would never present it as a measurement of every oat crop grown today. But it is a striking illustration of why we think the way an agricultural ingredient is grown deserves consideration.

PAN UK also reported that glyphosate and chlormequat residues were detected in the grain produce tested in both 2018 and 2019.

More recent government testing analysed by PAN UK suggests pesticide residues remain a wider issue within cereal production. In its 2025 Dirty Dozen report, based on 2024 testing, PAN UK found chlormequat in 97% of bread samples, glyphosate in 28%, and multiple pesticide residues in 47% of bread tested. These figures relate to bread rather than oats, but they provide useful contemporary context around pesticide use within arable crops.

More than one residue

One of the areas PAN UK continues to highlight is what it calls the “cocktail effect”, our potential exposure to combinations of different pesticide residues rather than individual substances in isolation.

As PAN UK explains:

“The government sets safety limits for just one pesticide at a time.”

PAN UK argues that this approach does not fully address the growing scientific concern around mixtures of different chemicals and their combined effects.

We think that is worth paying attention to.

Quality starts long before an ingredient reaches us

At F L Ō E, quality is not simply how something looks or feels when it arrives in the studio.

It begins much earlier.

In the field.
In the soil.
In the way a crop is grown.
In the standards its grower is asked to meet.

Choosing certified organic oats gives us greater confidence in that chain. It provides an independently defined standard behind an ingredient we use again and again, and encourages a system of farming designed to rely less heavily on synthetic chemical inputs.

The Soil Association describes certified organic products as complying with organic regulations set down in law, alongside additional standards where applicable.

For F L Ō E, that traceability matters.

Not because we believe everything needs to be complicated, but because when you make something very simple, there is nowhere for an ingredient to hide.

Oat is our material. We think it is worth choosing well.

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Why we choose Certified Organic Oats

Oat is our material.

Why oats, in particular, made us think:

More than one residue

Quality starts long before an ingredient reaches us

Further reading