Privacy policy
Last updated: 19 October 2026
Earthy Crunch UK is a one-person business. I run it myself alongside my full-time job, so when this policy says "I", it really is just me. This page explains what personal information I collect, why I need it, who else handles it, how long I keep it and what you can do about it.
The short version: I collect what I need to get your order to you and run the shop. I only send marketing if you've said yes. I don't sell your data and never will. You can ask to see, correct or delete what I hold about you at any time.
Who I am
Earthy Crunch UK is a small hobby business run by me, based in England. Under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), I'm the controller of your personal information, which means I decide how it's used and I'm responsible for looking after it.
Email: info@earthycrunch.co.uk
What I collect and why
| What | Why I need it | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Order details: your name, email, phone number, delivery and billing address, what you bought and any delivery notes | To process, pack and post your order, handle returns and refunds, and send order and delivery updates | Contract |
| Payment details | To take payment. Card details go straight to the payment provider. I never see or store your full card number. | Contract |
| Your account, if you create one | So you can track orders and save your addresses | Contract |
| Messages you send me by email, contact form, social media or the chat on my website | To answer your questions and sort out any problems | Legitimate interests (helping customers) |
| Your email address and phone number for marketing | To send news, new products and offers by email or text | Consent |
| Back-in-stock alerts and wishlists | To tell you when something you want is back, and to save products for later | Consent (you asked for it) |
| Rewards account: points, purchase history, and your birthday if you choose to add it | To run the rewards scheme | Contract |
| Monthly surprise box subscription | To take recurring payments and post each box | Contract |
| Reviews: your name, what you wrote and any photos | To show reviews on my site and review platforms, and reply to them | Consent |
| Quiz answers and survey responses | To recommend products and work out what to stock next | Legitimate interests (improving the shop) |
| How you use the site: IP address, device and browser, pages viewed and how you found me | To keep the site working and secure, spot fraud, and understand what's working | Legitimate interests, and consent for non-essential cookies |
| Sales records | Tax and accounts | Legal obligation |
"Legitimate interests" means I've weighed up my reason for using the information against your rights and privacy, and decided it's fair. You can object to this at any time (see Your rights, below).
Health information
I know a lot of people who buy from me crunch because of pica, geophagia, pregnancy cravings or another health reason. I don't need to know any of that to sell you anything, and I'd rather you didn't send it to me.
If you do mention health details in a message, chat or survey, I'll only use them to reply to you. They're never used for marketing, I don't add them to your customer record, and I delete the message once your query is sorted. I don't use what you buy to make assumptions about your health, and I don't target adverts based on it.
If you have health questions about clay or chalk, please speak to your GP, midwife or a pharmacist.
Who else handles your information
I use other companies to run the shop. Each one only gets the information it needs for its job, and they're bound by contract to keep it secure and use it only to provide their service to me.
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| Shopify | Hosts my website and checkout, stores orders and customer records, processes card payments (Shopify Payments), and runs the website chat, contact forms, subscriptions and automated order emails |
| PayPal, Klarna and Apple Pay | Payments, if you choose them at checkout |
| Royal Mail (Click & Drop) | Printing postage labels and delivering parcels |
| Teemill | Printing and posting merch orders directly to you |
| Klaviyo and FlowSend | Sending emails and text messages |
| Swym | Back-in-stock alerts and wishlists |
| Essential Apps | The rewards scheme, pre-orders and checkout features |
| REVIEWS.io, Trustpilot and Google | Collecting and showing reviews |
| Quizify | The Find Your Perfect Crunch quiz |
| Google Analytics | Website statistics |
| Anthropic (Claude) | An AI assistant I use to help analyse sales and write product copy, which can read order information from my store. Under the terms I use, Anthropic doesn't use this information to train its models. |
| HMRC, and an accountant if I use one | Tax and accounts |
The chat on my website is Shopify Inbox, which uses AI to answer some questions. Shopify processes what you type to generate replies, and also uses it to improve the service. If you'd rather speak to a human, email me instead and it'll just be me reading it. You can read Shopify's privacy policy at shopify.com/legal/privacy.
If you buy from me on Etsy or eBay, the marketplace collects your details and passes me what I need to send your order. They're responsible for how they handle your information, so check their privacy policies too. I use sync apps (Shuttle, LionzApps, Digital Product Labs and Shopify Marketplace Connect) to keep stock and orders lined up between those shops and my website.
I'll also share information if the law requires it (for example with HMRC, the police or a court), to prevent fraud, or if I ever sell or transfer the business, in which case the new owner would have to protect your information in the same way.
I don't sell personal information, and I don't share it with other businesses for their own marketing.
Sending information outside the UK
Some of the companies above are based in, or store data in, the US, Canada, the EU and elsewhere. When your information leaves the UK, it's protected either because the UK government has approved that country's data protection standards (as it has for the EU, Canada, and US companies signed up to the UK extension of the Data Privacy Framework), or by contracts approved for that purpose, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.
How long I keep it
- Orders and payments: six years after the end of the tax year they relate to, because HMRC requires me to keep them.
- Your account: until you ask me to close it. Order records are then kept as above.
- Marketing: until you unsubscribe. After that I keep your email address on a do-not-contact list so you're never added again by mistake.
- Messages and chat: two years after your last message, unless they're needed for an unresolved order problem.
- Health information you've mentioned: deleted once your query is sorted.
- Back-in-stock alerts: until you've been notified, or 12 months, whichever comes first.
- Rewards account: until you close it, or after 24 months with no activity.
- Reviews: for as long as they're published. Ask me to remove yours any time. For Trustpilot and Google you may need to delete it on their site.
- Quiz and survey answers: 12 months.
- Website analytics: 14 months in Google Analytics.
Marketing
I only send marketing emails or texts if you've opted in, either at checkout or by signing up. Every email has an unsubscribe link, you can reply STOP to any text, or you can just email me. Unsubscribing won't stop emails about orders you've placed.
Cookies
My website uses cookies. Essential ones keep the site and your basket working. Everything else, including analytics and advertising cookies, is only used if you accept it through the cookie banner, and you can change your mind at any time. My Cookies policy has the full details.
Age
This website is for adults aged 18 and over. I don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you think someone under 18 has given me their details, let me know and I'll delete them.
Keeping your information safe
I'm one person, not an IT department, so I rely on well-established platforms and keep access tight. Shopify's checkout meets the card industry's security standard (PCI DSS), and I'm the only person with access to customer information. No system is completely secure, but if something ever went wrong that put your information at risk, I'd tell you, and the ICO, where the law requires it.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the information I hold about you
- ask me to correct anything that's wrong or incomplete
- ask me to delete your information
- ask me to limit how I use it
- object to how I use it, including an absolute right to stop marketing
- ask for your information in a format you can take elsewhere
- withdraw consent at any time, where that's what I'm relying on
- not be subject to decisions made only by automated means that significantly affect you (I don't make any)
To use any of these, email info@earthycrunch.co.uk. It's free, and I'll reply within one month. If a request is complicated I may need up to two more months, and I'll tell you if so. I might ask for something to confirm who you are before I share or delete anything. Some information I'm legally required to keep, such as sales records for HMRC, and if that applies I'll explain.
Complaints
If you're unhappy with how I've handled your information, please tell me first. Email info@earthycrunch.co.uk with "Data protection complaint" in the subject line, although I'll treat it as a complaint however you raise it. I'll acknowledge it within 30 days, look into it properly, and let you know the outcome without unnecessary delay.
If you're still not happy, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113. You can go to the ICO at any point, but they'll usually ask whether you've raised it with me first.
Changes to this policy
I'll update this page whenever something changes, like a new app or service that handles customer information, and the date at the top will show when. If a change makes a real difference to how your information is used, I'll email customers to let them know.
Get in touch
Any questions about this policy or your information, email me at info@earthycrunch.co.uk.