When I visited the staff in Åre earlier this spring, Åreskutan and the surrounding area offered the finest weather and it quickly becomes clear why the hotel is so popular. Everyone is welcome here, but especially the family who is looking for activities in various formats. Not least skiing, guided kayak tours, SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboards), hiking, mountain running, yoga and children's yoga, swimming or just being in its lovely spa. In the spa you will find two solid spa rituals - one for the more active person and one that really gets you going. The choice is entirely yours, but we promise - they are both magical!

Meet Ellen, who has been acting as Spa Manager at Holiday Club Åre since 2017. Ellen is a lovely lady and is a trained spa and massage therapist with a background in the same for several years.

Why organic? How did it start and what made you switch to organic?
We have previously worked with non-organic products but noticed that more and more customers were asking for organic. In 2016, the entire hotel concept was changed to be adapted to families and the active life that Åre offers. We then felt that it was time to change products as well. Care of Gerd then became an obvious choice for us as we felt that it really fit in with its Nordic ingredients and the whole idea from packaging to content. It simply felt good in the heart!

In what way do you think you are making the biggest difference to a greener and more environmentally friendly world?
When we changed our concept, we also got a new restaurant Grow. Where greens take up the most space on the plate and protein is only an accessory. We serve smaller portions of protein, which in turn contributes to better health and less impact on the environment. We are also a Nordic Ecolabelled hotel. We carefully sort all our waste from plastic to food waste and we use environmentally friendly cleaning methods such as ultra-pure water when we clean our hotel rooms. Specifically at the spa, we constantly try to reduce our disposable items and also avoid plastic as much as possible. And of course via our organic products that have no negative impact when the residual product is released into nature.

What is your best advice for someone who wants to make good choices?
Eat less meat and more vegetables! At our restaurant we also try to use the whole vegetable as much as possible, for example the whole broccoli stem instead of just the broccoli head.

Go for a run or cycle to work! In Åre you can even kayak in the summer or cross-country ski across the lake to work in the winter. Good for both your health and the environment.

Plastic diet! Think about how much plastic you actually consume without even thinking about it. Like when you go shopping, take your own bag with you instead and ignore the bag for fruit. Of course, use organic products as much as possible. Also be critical when looking for your products, some products that are labeled organic can sometimes only contain one ingredient that is eco-certified. The packaging is also important to me when I'm looking for products where glass or sugarcane plastic is clearly preferable.

@holidayclubare Facebook: Holiday Club Åre

Stina Akerlund

Don't forget that you can order organic skin care , organic massage oil, organic hand sanitizer and more from Care of Gerd!