Packaging
The beauty industry is the number one creator of plastic waste, contributing to 120 billion packaging units every year. Most of it is not recyclable.
The recycling rate of plastic packaging waste in the UK currently stands at only 44 per cent. (This is still one of the highest rates in Europe). There is also increasing controversy surrounding plastic waste exported to poorer countries for recycling, only to be burnt or dumped on arrival, devastating ecosystems and local communities.
We use glass bottles and jars to encourage customers to re-use or recycle them. The beauty of glass is its infinite recyclability, with the quality always remaining the same. But the recycled plastic does degrade, needing to be mixed with virgin plastic to increase durability, so the cycle continues. As they are responsible for such woeful levels of plastic pollution, the beauty industry needs to stop propagating the myth that recycling mitigates the problem. At best, this is naive, at worst, intentionally misleading.
Our cardboard delivery packaging is handmade in Cornwall by the Tiny Box Company, one of only ten hard box makers remaining in the UK. Also, from Cornwall, Flexi-Hex manufactures the protective sleeves for our glass packaging. Using a patented rigid paper technology, designed initially to pack new surfboards sustainably.