For us, “people-friendly” means more than avoiding harmful chemicals in cleaning products. It means prioritizing better outcomes for people in every decision we make, from sourcing and manufacturing to supporting our team and advocating for better policies. We work with people, organizations, and companies every step of the way, relying on their support and expertise to help us be the best company we can be.
Our Partners We Love series highlights the people we work with to make cleaning better for everyone. This entry features Century Sun Oil, which supplies the organic sunflower oil we use to make our dish soap, hand soap, and body soap.
Who is Century Sun Oil?
Century Sun Oil is a producer of organic sunflower oil based in Pulaski, Wisconsin. The company was founded in 2009 by Pam and Dale Johnson and is now operated by current ownership including Mike Kroll on a 140-year-old family farm.
“We had some land that we wanted to experiment with growing seeds, possibly for biodiesel, after talking to several people we determined since we had a state-certified facility and plenty of room to expand, we decided that a higher value cooking, cosmetic oil would better suit our vision,” said founder Pam Johnson. “A healthy cooking oil was our first vision, and we soon discovered that our oil was great for cosmetics as well.”
Century Sun Oil oversees the entire process of producing sunflower oil, from planting the sunflower seeds, monitoring soil nutrition and crops with partner farmers, harvesting, cold pressing, filtration, bottling, packaging, and shipping.
They specialize in producing organic, cold-pressed, high oleic oil:
Organic refers to products that are produced and certified according to USDA organic standards. “Organically produced sunflower oil doesn’t contain the residues of herbicides and pesticides that conventionally grown sunflowers may contain and that could lead to an increased risk of health concerns,“ explains current owner Mike Kroll.
Cold pressing is a method of mechanically extracting oil that uses slower speeds and lower pressure to reduce heat and retain the natural nutrients and aroma of sunflower seeds. Cold pressing “preserves essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins which make a healthier choice for everyday use,” Mike says.
High oleic is a type of sunflower oil that contains more than 80% oleic acid. It is produced from specialized high oleic sunflower seeds that have been developed recently through seed hybridization. High oleic sunflower oil is similar to olive oil and has numerous health benefits as a cooking oil, according to Century Sun Oil.
How does Century Sun Oil help us make better cleaning products?
Century Sun Oil supplies the organic sunflower oil we use to make our dish soap, hand soap, and body soap. These soaps are often made with olive oil because the high concentration of oleic acid yields a softer soap that’s gentle on skin. We were thrilled to discover Century Sun Oil, whose high oleic sunflower oil is a perfect substitute for olive oil that we can source from our neighboring state of Wisconsin.
Better yet, Century Sun Oil shares many of our values, like putting people and the planet first. “Local systems are important to us because they produce partnerships and friends that build a strong, sustainable network of people, help lower costs, and provide a full circle of cash flow that stays in that community,” Mike says.
Through our partnership, we’ve created a closed-loop supply chain for our sunflower oil. Century Sun Oil ships oil from their facility to our factory using a trucking company with a route that passes both locations. When full drums of oil are delivered to us, the trucking company also picks up empty drums that we’ve saved from the previous shipment and returns them to Century Sun Oil to be reused. This cycle eliminates waste by keeping the barrels in circulation.
Century Sun Oil is committed to sustainability
Century Sun Oil prioritizes sustainability throughout its operations. It all starts with the special high oleic seeds: “Our sunflower seeds are sourced from hand-picked local farms in the Midwest, with the majority being from Wisconsin,” Mike says. In addition to being locally grown, the seeds are also grown following USDA organic standards. This includes practices like natural pest control, crop rotation, and minimal use of fertilizers and pesticides—all of which help mitigate the environmental impact of sunflower crops.
The seeds they use also support their mission to put people first by providing a healthy, high-quality cooking oil. High oleic sunflower oil is a great alternative to olive oil, both in performance and health benefits, that can be grown and produced here in the United States. Century Sun Oil’s cold pressing and filtration processes preserve the natural nutrients, flavors, and aroma of Midwest-grown sunflower seeds.
They’re also committed to reducing waste through their facility and production:
“We strive to reduce waste in repurposing and design,” Mike explains. “Our facility uses many pieces of repurposed equipment ranging from the building which was originally a functional dairy barn that was converted into a food grade facility, the silo which was converted into a grain bin, to the tanks and pipes that were repurposed from dairy farms and cheese factories. Our facility is also designed to have minimal water use, which still is able to maintain a clean food-grade environment.”
They also have an animal feed division specifically for farmers and feed mills. Their cold pressing method creates solid residue from the crushed sunflower seeds that gets reused as a nutritious feed for animals. Selling residual meal from processing to local organic animal farmers is the biggest reducer of waste in the product production cycle.
We love working with nearby companies to ensure a healthy supply chain for the manufacturing of all of our products!
Learn more about Century Sun Oil
Here is a collection of useful links about Century Sun Oil.