Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 26 July 2026
Last Updated: 26 July 2026

Forest Clay respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your Personal Data.

Forest Clay is a brand owned and operated by Qort Inc., having its business address at:

Qort Inc.
E 42, Phase VIII
Industrial Area
Mohali, Punjab 160071
India

This Privacy Policy explains how Qort Inc., operating under the Forest Clay brand, collects, uses, stores, shares and protects your Personal Data when you:

Visit or use https://forestclay.com;
Create an account;
Purchase or enquire about our products;
Subscribe to our newsletters or promotional communications;
Submit a product review;
Contact our customer care team;
Interact with Forest Clay through email, telephone, WhatsApp, social media or another communication channel; or
Otherwise use any service provided through the Forest Clay website.

In this Privacy Policy, the terms “Forest Clay,” “Qort Inc.,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Qort Inc. and the Forest Clay brand. The terms “you,” “your,” “customer” and “user” refer to the person accessing the Website or providing Personal Data to us.

By using the Website or voluntarily providing your Personal Data, you acknowledge that your Personal Data will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable Indian law.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to Personal Data processed by Forest Clay through:

The Forest Clay website;
Our WordPress and WooCommerce storefront;
Customer accounts and checkout pages;
Contact forms and customer-support channels;
Email, SMS and WhatsApp communications;
Social-media pages operated by Forest Clay;
Product reviews, surveys and feedback forms;
Advertising, analytics and marketing platforms used by us; and
Offline interactions connected with an online order, enquiry, complaint or business relationship.

This Privacy Policy does not govern independent websites, applications, payment gateways, social-media platforms or services operated by third parties. Their processing of Personal Data is governed by their own privacy policies.

2. Applicable Privacy Framework

We process Personal Data in accordance with applicable laws and regulations in India, including, to the extent applicable and in force:

The Information Technology Act, 2000;
The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011;
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023;
The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025;
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019;
The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020; and
Other applicable tax, accounting, payment, cybersecurity, consumer-protection and electronic-commerce requirements.

Where provisions of a law or regulation come into force in stages, this Privacy Policy will be interpreted and applied in accordance with the provisions that are legally effective at the relevant time.

3. Meaning of Personal Data

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Personal Data” means data about an identifiable individual, including information through which an individual may be identified directly or indirectly.

Personal Data may include:

Name;
Postal address;
Billing and delivery address;
Email address;
Telephone or mobile number;
Account login information;
Order and transaction details;
Payment-related information;
Device identifiers;
Internet Protocol address;
Browser and device information;
Website activity;
Location information derived from an IP address;
Customer-support communications;
Product reviews and feedback; and
Any other information that relates to an identifiable individual.

Where applicable, references to Personal Data also include sensitive personal data or information recognised under applicable Indian law.

4. Personal Data We Collect

4.1 Information you provide directly

We may collect Personal Data when you:

Create or update a customer account;
Place an order;
Enter billing or delivery information;
Request an invoice;
Contact customer care;
Request a return, replacement, cancellation or refund;
Subscribe to promotional communications;
Submit a product review, rating or testimonial;
Complete a survey or feedback form;
Participate in a promotion, contest or loyalty programme;
Apply for a wholesale, distribution or business relationship; or
Communicate with us by email, telephone, WhatsApp, social media or another channel.

This information may include your name, telephone number, email address, postal address, order information, account information, communication preferences and the contents of your correspondence.

4.2 Order and transaction information

When you purchase a product, we may collect:

Products ordered;
Quantity and price;
Order number;
Order date and status;
Billing and delivery address;
Shipping method;
Payment status;
Refund and cancellation details;
Tax and invoice information;
Discount or promotional code information; and
Records of communications relating to the order.

4.3 Payment information

Payments are generally processed through independent third-party payment gateways, banks, card networks, UPI service providers or other authorised payment service providers.

Forest Clay does not intentionally collect or store your complete payment-card number, CVV, UPI PIN, internet-banking password or similar confidential payment credentials.

We may receive limited payment-related information from the payment provider, such as:

Payment status;
Transaction reference number;
Payment method;
Partial or masked account or card information;
Refund status; and
Fraud-screening results.

Your payment provider will process your payment information in accordance with its own privacy policy, terms and regulatory obligations.

4.4 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Website, certain information may be collected automatically through cookies, server logs, pixels, software development tools and similar technologies.

This information may include:

Internet Protocol address;
Browser type and version;
Device type;
Operating system;
Language and time-zone settings;
Referring website;
Pages visited;
Links clicked;
Products viewed;
Products added to or removed from the cart;
Checkout activity;
Date, time and duration of visits;
General geographic location derived from an IP address;
Website errors and performance information; and
Cookie and advertising identifiers.

4.5 Information from third parties

We may receive Personal Data from:

Payment gateways;
Courier and logistics providers;
Marketing and advertising platforms;
Analytics providers;
Social-media platforms;
Fraud-prevention providers;
Business partners;
Customer-referral sources; and
Publicly available sources where lawful.

For example, a courier company may provide us with a delivery-status update, or a payment gateway may confirm whether a transaction was successful.

4.6 Information contained in product reviews

When you submit a rating, review, image, testimonial or other product-related content, we may collect and publish:

Your display name;
Review title;
Review text;
Rating;
Submitted photographs or videos;
Product purchased;
Country or general location, where provided; and
Submission date.

Reviews submitted for publication should not contain telephone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, medical records or other information you do not wish to make public.

5. How We Use Personal Data

We may process Personal Data for the following purposes.

5.1 Providing products and services

We use Personal Data to:

Create and manage customer accounts;
Receive and process orders;
Verify order details;
Process payments and refunds;
Prepare invoices;
Pack and dispatch products;
Coordinate delivery;
Provide order confirmations and delivery updates;
Handle returns, replacements, cancellations and refunds; and
Provide post-purchase support.

5.2 Customer service

We may use Personal Data to:

Respond to enquiries;
Resolve complaints;
Investigate missing or damaged deliveries;
Address product-quality concerns;
Verify identity before discussing an account or order;
Maintain records of customer communications; and
Improve customer-service procedures.

5.3 Website administration and personalisation

We may use Personal Data to:

Maintain and operate the Website;
Remember your preferences;
Maintain your shopping cart;
Display relevant products;
Improve navigation and usability;
Diagnose technical problems;
Monitor website performance;
Prevent misuse of the Website; and
Improve the customer experience.

5.4 Marketing and promotional communications

Where you have consented, or where otherwise permitted by applicable law, we may use your contact information to send:

Product information;
Promotional offers;
Discount codes;
New-product announcements;
Abandoned-cart reminders;
Back-in-stock notifications;
Newsletters;
Surveys; and
Other Forest Clay marketing communications.

You may unsubscribe from promotional emails by using the unsubscribe option included in the communication or by contacting us at care@forestclay.com.

Service-related communications, such as order confirmations, security alerts, delivery notifications and responses to customer-service enquiries, are not promotional communications and may continue where necessary to provide the requested service.

5.5 Analytics and business improvement

We may use Personal Data and aggregated data to:

Understand how visitors use the Website;
Measure website traffic;
Evaluate advertising performance;
Identify popular products;
Improve product descriptions and content;
Forecast inventory requirements;
Analyse sales and customer-service trends; and
Develop and improve Forest Clay products and services.

Where practicable, analytics and reporting may be performed using aggregated or de-identified information.

5.6 Security and fraud prevention

We may process Personal Data to:

Verify transactions;
Detect suspicious activity;
Prevent payment fraud;
Protect customer accounts;
Prevent unauthorised access;
Investigate security incidents;
Enforce Website terms;
Protect our rights, property and systems; and
Protect customers, employees and business partners.

5.7 Legal and regulatory compliance

We may use and retain Personal Data to:

Comply with tax and accounting obligations;
Maintain transaction and invoice records;
Respond to lawful government requests;
Comply with court orders;
Assist authorised law-enforcement agencies;
Establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
Resolve consumer disputes; and
Meet other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

6. Grounds for Processing Personal Data

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, we may process Personal Data:

With your consent;
When you voluntarily provide Personal Data for a specified purpose, such as placing an order or requesting customer support;
To fulfil an order or provide a service requested by you;
To comply with a legal obligation;
To respond to a medical emergency or threat to life or health where permitted by law;
To prevent fraud, misuse or cybersecurity incidents;
For employment-related purposes where applicable; or
For another lawful purpose permitted under applicable Indian law.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent through the method specified at the time of collection or by contacting us. Withdrawal will not affect processing lawfully undertaken before consent was withdrawn.

Withdrawal of consent may prevent us from providing a service that requires the relevant Personal Data. For example, we cannot deliver an order without a valid delivery address.

7. Data Minimisation

We seek to collect only the Personal Data reasonably necessary for the specified purpose.

You should not provide us with:

UPI PINs;
Card CVVs;
Internet-banking passwords;
One-time passwords;
Unnecessary identity documents;
Detailed medical records; or
Other confidential information that we have not specifically requested through an authorised channel.

Forest Clay representatives will not ask you to disclose your UPI PIN, card CVV, banking password or one-time password.

8. Medical or Health Information

Forest Clay sells essential oils, aromatherapy products and related items. Our customer-service channels are not medical-consultation services.

You may voluntarily provide limited health-related information while asking about allergies, sensitivities or product use. We request that you do not send medical reports, diagnoses or other detailed health information.

Any voluntarily submitted information will be used only as reasonably necessary to respond to your enquiry, maintain a record of the communication, comply with law or protect against a legal claim.

Information provided by Forest Clay is general product information and is not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Website may use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage and similar technologies.

A cookie is a small data file stored on your browser or device when you visit a website.

9.1 Types of cookies we may use

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are necessary for core Website functions, such as:

Maintaining the shopping cart;
Processing checkout;
Enabling secure login;
Remembering privacy choices;
Preventing fraud; and
Maintaining Website security.

Functional cookies

These cookies may remember preferences such as your language, region, account details or previously viewed products.

Analytics cookies

These cookies help us understand Website usage, visitor numbers, navigation patterns, technical performance and customer interactions.

Advertising and marketing cookies

Where used, these cookies may help us measure advertisements, limit repeated advertisements, create relevant audiences and display advertising based on Website interactions.

9.2 Managing cookies

Where a cookie-consent tool is available, you may use it to accept, reject or modify your preferences for non-essential cookies.

You may also control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the availability or operation of Website functions, including login, shopping-cart and checkout features.

Some browsers offer “Do Not Track” signals. Because there is no universally accepted technical standard for responding to these signals, the Website may not respond to every Do Not Track request.

10. Disclosure of Personal Data

We may disclose Personal Data only where reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

10.1 Service providers

We may share Personal Data with service providers that assist us with:

Website hosting;
WordPress and WooCommerce functionality;
Cloud storage;
Payment processing;
Fraud prevention;
Order fulfilment;
Warehousing;
Courier and logistics services;
Email, SMS and WhatsApp communication;
Customer-support software;
Website analytics;
Advertising;
Product-review management;
Accounting and taxation;
Cybersecurity; and
Professional legal or technical services.

These providers may process Personal Data only for the services they provide, subject to applicable contractual, confidentiality, security and legal requirements.

10.2 Payment providers

Payment information may be shared directly with or collected by banks, payment gateways, UPI providers, card networks and other payment processors.

Forest Clay is not responsible for the independent privacy practices of payment providers. You should review the privacy policy of the payment service you choose to use.

10.3 Courier and logistics providers

We may share your name, address, telephone number, order reference and other necessary delivery information with courier, postal, shipping, fulfilment and logistics providers.

Courier representatives should use this information only for delivery, verification, customer communication, return pickup and related logistics purposes.

10.4 Professional advisers

We may disclose Personal Data to accountants, auditors, insurers, legal advisers, consultants and other professional advisers where reasonably required for business operations, compliance or legal claims.

10.5 Government and legal authorities

We may disclose Personal Data where required or authorised by law, including in response to:

A court order;
A lawful request from a government authority;
A request from a law-enforcement agency;
A tax or regulatory enquiry;
An investigation into fraud or cybercrime; or
A requirement to protect the rights, safety or property of Forest Clay, our customers or another person.

10.6 Business restructuring

If Qort Inc. or the Forest Clay business undergoes a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing, transfer of business, insolvency proceeding or sale of assets, Personal Data may be disclosed to advisers, potential purchasers or successor entities, subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal protections.

10.7 Aggregated and de-identified information

We may use or disclose aggregated, statistical or de-identified information that does not reasonably identify an individual.

11. Sale of Personal Data

Forest Clay does not sell or rent Personal Data to third parties for monetary consideration.

We may use advertising and analytics providers as described in this Privacy Policy. Such providers may use cookies or similar technologies where permitted by your preferences and applicable law.

12. International Processing and Transfers

Some service providers used for website hosting, cloud services, analytics, communications, advertising or technical support may process or store Personal Data outside India.

Where Personal Data is transferred outside India, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is undertaken in accordance with applicable Indian law and any restrictions, notifications or directions issued by the Government of India.

We may also require service providers to implement appropriate contractual, organisational and technical safeguards.

13. Retention of Personal Data

We retain Personal Data only for as long as reasonably necessary for:

The purpose for which it was collected;
Completing orders and providing support;
Maintaining customer accounts;
Handling returns, warranties, complaints and disputes;
Meeting tax, accounting and record-keeping obligations;
Preventing fraud and misuse;
Maintaining security logs;
Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims; and
Complying with applicable law.

Retention periods may vary according to the category of information and the applicable legal requirement.

When Personal Data is no longer required, we may securely delete, destroy, anonymise or de-identify it, unless further retention is required or permitted by law.

Backup systems may retain residual copies for a limited period until they are overwritten or securely deleted in accordance with our backup procedures.

14. Data Accuracy

We rely on you to provide accurate, complete and current Personal Data.

You may update certain information through your customer account, where that functionality is available. You may also request correction or updating of your information by contacting us at care@forestclay.com.

We may ask you to verify your identity before making a correction or disclosing account-related information.

15. Security Measures

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the nature of the Personal Data and the risks involved.

These safeguards may include:

Secure network connections;
Encryption in transit;
Access controls;
Strong authentication;
Restricted administrative access;
Secure password handling;
Security monitoring;
Malware protection;
Software updates;
Data backups;
Vendor due diligence;
Confidentiality obligations;
Incident-response procedures; and
Periodic review of security practices.

No website, internet transmission, storage system or electronic communication can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You therefore provide information and use the Website at your own reasonable risk.

You are responsible for keeping your account password confidential and for notifying us promptly if you suspect unauthorised use of your account.

16. Personal Data Breaches

If we become aware of a Personal Data breach, we will investigate and take reasonable measures to contain, mitigate and remedy the incident.

Where required by applicable law, we may notify affected individuals, the Data Protection Board of India, CERT-In or another competent authority.

Any notification may include:

The nature and extent of the incident;
The categories of information affected;
The likely consequences;
Measures taken or proposed by us;
Steps the affected individual may take; and
Contact information for further assistance.

17. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law, identity verification and lawful exceptions, you may have the right to:

17.1 Access or obtain information

You may request information about the Personal Data we process about you, the purposes of processing and the persons or categories of persons with whom it has been shared, where applicable.

17.2 Correction and completion

You may request correction of inaccurate or misleading Personal Data and completion or updating of incomplete Personal Data.

17.3 Erasure

You may request erasure of Personal Data that is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected.

We may retain information where necessary to:

Complete an existing order;
Comply with tax or accounting law;
Resolve a dispute;
Prevent fraud;
Maintain security;
Enforce legal rights; or
Meet another legal obligation.

17.4 Withdrawal of consent

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent.

Withdrawal does not affect the legality of processing undertaken before the withdrawal. We may continue processing where another lawful ground applies.

17.5 Marketing preferences

You may unsubscribe from promotional communications at any time by:

Selecting the unsubscribe option in a promotional email;
Adjusting available account or cookie settings; or
Contacting us at care@forestclay.com.

17.6 Grievance redressal

You may raise a complaint regarding our handling of your Personal Data through the contact details provided in this Privacy Policy.

17.7 Nomination

Where applicable under Indian data-protection law, you may nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity.

17.8 Complaint to the Data Protection Board

Where applicable and after using our grievance-redressal process, you may have the right to make a complaint to the Data Protection Board of India in accordance with applicable law.

18. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise a privacy right, email us at:

care@forestclay.com

Please use the subject line:

Privacy Rights Request – Forest Clay

Your request should include:

Your full name;
Email address or telephone number associated with your account or order;
Relevant order number, where applicable;
A clear description of the request; and
Any information reasonably necessary to verify your identity.

For your protection, we may verify your identity before processing the request. We will not request your account password, UPI PIN, banking password, CVV or one-time password for verification.

We will respond within the period prescribed by applicable law or, where no statutory period applies, within a reasonable period.

19. Children’s Privacy

The Website and online purchasing facilities are intended for individuals who are at least 18 years old and legally competent to enter into a contract.

We do not knowingly invite children to create customer accounts, make purchases or submit Personal Data independently.

A parent or lawful guardian must place an order on behalf of a person below 18 years of age.

Where we become aware that Personal Data of a child has been collected without appropriate authorisation or verifiable parental consent, where required, we may delete or restrict the information.

We do not knowingly undertake tracking, behavioural monitoring or targeted advertising directed specifically at children.

Parents or guardians who believe that a child has submitted Personal Data to us may contact care@forestclay.com.

20. Public Reviews and User-Generated Content

Product reviews, comments, testimonials, images and similar content submitted for publication may be visible to other Website visitors.

Do not include confidential Personal Data in publicly submitted content.

By submitting content for publication, you acknowledge that the display name and content selected for publication may become publicly accessible.

We may moderate, reject, remove or edit content to prevent disclosure of Personal Data, fraud, abuse, unlawful content, spam or violations of our terms.

21. Social Media

Forest Clay may maintain pages or accounts on social-media platforms.

When you interact with us through a social-media platform, the platform may collect and process information independently under its own privacy policy.

Information you post publicly, tag, comment on or send through a social-media platform may be visible to Forest Clay, the platform and other users, depending on your privacy settings.

We recommend that you avoid sending payment credentials, identity documents or sensitive information through public social-media comments.

22. External Links

The Website may contain links to third-party websites, services, social-media pages, payment providers or other external resources.

We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of independent third parties.

You should review the privacy policy of any third-party website or service before providing Personal Data.

23. Automated Decision-Making

We may use automated tools for limited purposes such as:

Fraud screening;
Payment-risk assessment;
Spam detection;
Website security;
Product recommendations;
Advertising measurement; and
Identifying unusual account or transaction activity.

We do not intend to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce significant legal effects for customers, unless such processing is lawful, reasonably necessary and subject to appropriate safeguards.

24. Communications Monitoring

Customer-service calls, emails, chats or messages may be recorded, stored or reviewed where permitted by law for:

Quality assurance;
Staff training;
Complaint resolution;
Fraud prevention;
Security;
Maintaining transaction records; and
Establishing or defending legal claims.

Where a call is recorded, we may provide an appropriate notice at the beginning of the call.

25. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect:

Changes to applicable law;
New regulatory requirements;
Changes to Website functionality;
New services or business processes;
Changes to service providers; or
Improvements to privacy and security practices.

The revised Privacy Policy will be published on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date.

Where a change materially affects the way we process Personal Data, we may provide additional notice through the Website, customer account, email or another appropriate communication channel.

Your continued use of the Website after an update does not override any requirement to obtain fresh consent where fresh consent is required by applicable law.

26. Privacy and Grievance Officer

Questions, concerns, complaints and requests relating to Personal Data may be addressed to:

Privacy and Grievance Officer
Qort Inc. – Forest Clay
E 42, Phase VIII
Industrial Area
Mohali, Punjab 160071
India

Email: care@forestclay.com
Telephone: +91 172 4632099
Website: https://forestclay.com

Please use the email subject line:

Privacy Complaint – Forest Clay

We will acknowledge and address privacy grievances within the period required by applicable law or, where no specific period applies, within a reasonable period.

27. Contact Us

For general questions about this Privacy Policy or Forest Clay’s privacy practices, contact:

Forest Clay – Qort Inc.
E 42, Phase VIII
Industrial Area
Mohali, Punjab 160071
India