When I get asked where our ingredients for the Milk Paint are sourced, I think about our amazing network of vendors that are strewn all over the United States. While domestic manufacturing and self sustenance are hot button topics, I mostly see my decision to keep my sources domestic as a practical one.
This is how Sinopia celebrates 4th of July
I am well versed in importing products and while there may be savings in foreign procurement, the headaches of customs and projecting inventory needs over a long period of time are not worth the effort. Patriotism aside, I think it is important to support our domestic network of manufacturers, because it fosters innovation during the production process.
Much of our Milk Paint recipe was developed through years of trial and error. Our Milk Paint recipes from 2012 were a great start and could have been put into large scale production, but it was the repeated revamping of the recipes and scaling up the manufacturing slowly, that yielded a much more stable and user-friendly product.
Logistics aside, there is a romance to thinking about our ingredients. The Casein Powder is produced in New York State. The Borax comes from Boron Nevada (yes, that place actually exists, I've driven through it many times). Our Linseed Oil is a Non-GMO certified organic product from Montana. Our beeswax is refined in New York and the Pine Tree Resin is gained from trees in Georgia, both with eco-friendly processes. Our Olive Oil Soap is manufactured by an Olive Oil bottler in Northern California.
The pigments in our Milk Paint share domestic origins as well. The earth pigments in such rich shades as Roman Yellow and Andalucia Orange are mined throughout the Southeast and Southwest regions of the United States. The Mayan Pigments are manufactured by a company in Texas. Even our calcium carbonate and fossilized sea shell stabilizers are of domestic origin.
While I can never guarantee that our Milk Paint is made from 100% domestic ingredients, the endeavor to source our ingredients from the United States is always dear to my heart. It supports domestic manufacturing and innovation, while ensuring ecologically friendly production.
Alex Warren, owner Sinopia Pigments & Materials