Here’s How We’re Transforming Plastic Into An Economic Resource
We’re transforming plastic into an economic resource by partnering with Plastic Bank. These efforts work to clean up plastic waste and transform it into an economic resource for vulnerable communities. Did you know over 18 billion pounds of plastic pollute our oceans each year?
It’s a fact that beaches in areas that lack waste infrastructure are the most impacted, their once pristine shorelines completely covered in trash. We’re on a packaging journey to ensure our company provides solutions, and not contributions, to this global problem.
BANKING ON PLASTIC COLLECTION TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT
Plastic Bank works in communities most impacted by this pollution, empowering citizens to clean up waste and create economic opportunity. There are collection systems in Haiti, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil, which turn waste into currency to help lift people out of poverty. Collectors receive store credits or digital payment for the waste collected and can use the “plastic capital” to buy cook stoves, food, clean water, pay for tuition, and more. The collected refuse is recycled into Social Plastic® and made into new products that run the gamut from water bottles to surfboards.
We’ve calculated the full weight of the plastic we’ve produced over the last five years and pledged to support Plastic Bank to clean up the equivalent. But we didn’t stop there, we’re going one step further. By collecting more than we will produce in 2020, we are being completely plastic proactive. We’re the first organic beauty company to be proactive beyond our own footprint, helping leave the earth a little cleaner than we found it.
Bridging The Gap Between Pollution And Potential
Launched in 2013, Plastic Bank now has over 19,000 collectors worldwide that have recovered 10 million kilograms of ocean-bound plastic. That is equivalent to 500 million bottles, enough to cover Golden Gate Bridge 80-times over. Learn more about their work here.
8 Comments
Will you be looking to partner with organizations like Terracycle so that you’re customers are able to avoid purchasing plastic materials or are practicing a zero waste life?
Hi Melita,
We are always looking to better our environmental practices. We currently have partnered with Plastic Pollution Solutions, a sustainability consultant firm based in Charleston, SC. We are venturing into further sustainability practices with their guidance. As we learn and discover more we’ll have more of a clear, robust eco policy to announce to our community. For now I can tell you about our choices related to packaging, shipping practices and other areas we invest in sustainability and what efforts our community is aware of. Thank you so much for your comment as we continue to work on this effort. Sending you lots of hair love!
Will you be transitioning to glass at any point perhaps , as plastic can only be recycled to a certain point? It basically remains in the form of micro beads or micro plastics after multiple recycling cycles that forever accumulate in the environment, and our bodies. Even recycled plastics are huge problem. I know it’s challenging to get rid of all plastic components in some packaging like pump bottles, but if the vessels themselves were not plastic that would be a major improvement.
Hi Jo-Anna! Thank you so much for this question, as sustainability is a top priority here at Innersense Organic Beauty.
Currently our packaging utilizes HDPE, LDPE, PET and glass material. This is the biggest area we are working to evolve to be more sustainable. We are exploring materials such as PCR, BioResin (sugarcane), Glass, etc. with our consultants. The challenge we face in choosing a material or multiple materials is the nature of hair care itself. There are many forms in which hair care is delivered in, lotions,
creams, foams, oils, etc. Also, our formulas utilize emollient oils that can break down materials like certain plastics, biodegradable options, etc. If we swapped most of our ingredients out for man mades, synthetics, and artificials then we could go into virtually any packaging we like, but we maintain our formulas integrity to conscious, clean chemistry. As stated before, we are investigating sustainable alternatives and we are learning that EVERY material out there has environmental trade offs depending on which material you choose. Unfortunately our country and world as a whole has created a mess by prioritizing convenience and it’s up to all of us, manufacturers, consumers and local/federal government to turn our planet around. Hope this helps! Sending you lots of hair love!
Would you consider transitioning to glass in the future?
Hi Jo Anna! Thank you so much for this question, as sustainability is a top priority here at Innersense Organic Beauty.
Currently our packaging utilizes HDPE, LDPE, PET and glass material. This is the biggest area we are working to evolve to be more sustainable. We are exploring materials such as PCR, BioResin (sugarcane), Glass, etc. with our consultants. The challenge we face in choosing a material or multiple materials is the nature of hair care itself. There are many forms in which hair care is delivered in, lotions,
creams, foams, oils, etc. Also, our formulas utilize emollient oils that can break down materials like certain plastics, biodegradable options, etc. If we swapped most of our ingredients out for man mades, synthetics, and artificials then we could go into virtually any packaging we like, but we maintain our formulas integrity to conscious, clean chemistry. As stated before, we are investigating sustainable alternatives and we are learning that EVERY material out there has environmental trade offs depending on which material you choose. Unfortunately our country and world as a whole has created a mess by prioritizing convenience and it’s up to all of us, manufacturers, consumers and local/federal government to turn our planet around. Hope this helps! Sending you lots of hair love!
Perhaps, wherever possible, you could use smaller, recycleable packaging for refilling the containers we already have? I know glass has it’s drawbacks with increased weight, shipping costs and breakage in the shower. I also know my salon has larger containers of some products and will refill for us. Haven’t been there in a while due to distance and Covid but I reuse the containers as able.
Hi Austine! Great question and point you bring up, as sustainability is top of mind and priority at Innersense Organic Beauty. Currently our packaging utilizes HDPE, LDPE, PET and glass material. This is the biggest area we are working to evolve to be more sustainable. We have shifted to 100% PCR (post consumer recycled resin but continue to look into other types of materials such as BioResin (sugarcane), Glass, etc. with our consultants. The challenge we face in choosing a material or multiple materials is the nature of hair care itself. There are many forms in which hair care is delivered in, lotions, creams, foams, oils, etc. Also, our formulas utilize emollient oils that can break down materials like certain plastics, biodegradable options, etc. If we swapped most of our ingredients out for man mades, synthetics, and artificials then we could go into virtually any packaging we like, but we maintain our formulas integrity to conscious, clean chemistry. As stated before, we are investigating sustainable alternatives and we are learning that EVERY material out there has environmental trade offs depending on which material you choose. Unfortunately our country and world as a whole has created a mess by prioritizing convenience and it’s up to all of us, manufacturers, consumers and local/federal government to turn our planet around. Hope this helps! Find our more information here about all our sustainability practices 🙂 https://innersensebeauty.com/people-planet-earth/ Sending you lots of hair love!