So What Can We Do About This Plastic Problem

First of all, as someone born in the 40’s I would like to personally reject all blame for the mountains of plastic that are strangling our oceans and killing our wildlife.  When I was growing up all milk bottles and even lemonade bottles were emptied, collected, cleaned and re-cycled and today, with great initiatives happening in the US and France by outfits like  Loop https://loopstore.com/  it looks like this commonsense approach to recycling is on its way back.  But for a small company circular recycling is a logistical nightmare so I thought I would do some research and see if I could come up with some ‘out of the jar’ solutions to offer or at least to motivate you.

As an entrepreneur I have to point out that the inability of the packaging industry to move as quickly as they should with this issue offers a huge opportunity.  We know that certain plant fibres can be used in cosmetic packaging and that everybody in the biz is looking for a workable solution to sustainability so  instead of spending your time and creativity thinking up your next cosmetic formula why don’t you switch direction, partner with a plant fibre producer (or re-cycling depot) and think around coming up with something unique.  Where do you start ?  You start with Google.  If you are not inclined to spend your R&D budget in this way then consider buying eco friendly packaging in bulk from probably Chinese or Indonesian suppliers, splitting it up and selling it on.

To help you along the road of creativity take a look at mushrooms.  This company is producing some really interesting stuff using mycelium including eco friendly bottles and make up sponges.  https://ecovativedesign.com/

Bamboo and sugarcane also have potential although judging by the number of my clients packaging their organic creams in glass jars with a bamboo lids  I think we might get bored with this soon.   Bamboo can be used in other ways, lets come up with a new way to use it.  Look at companies like https://www.biofutura.com/en/ who have some ice cream pots with great body butter potential.

Then of course we have bio-plastics  made from plants but how soon before animal habitats will be stripped in order to grow them ?......And I just read that using paper and cardboard  as a plastic alternative actually increases the problem because paper packaging generally requires several times more mass to fulfill the same function as its plastic counterpart….and then of course we have to consider the forests that get cut down in order to make them…..and, oh Lord I haven’t mentioned carbon footprints.

But worry not, there are a number of alternatives still with in our grasp and the first of those is to provide our customers with precise instructions for re-purposing our product packaging.  Design boxes so they turn into gift tags or greetings cards or use seeded paper so they can be planted.  Offer storage labels so that jars can be used to keep pins in or other domestic paraphernalia… the critical point here is you need to precisely tell your customer what to use the jar for because statistics show a vast percentage of them will otherwise be thrown out.

Another option for you is to make most of your range solid  (what do you know, bar soaps are back ! )  They still have to be wrapped but  maybe you could do what one of my clients is doing and buy fabric bags from a third world country.

If you are a business selling to small retailers why not provide your products in dispensers and sell the concept of refilling to the retailer.  Not only will you look cool but their customers will think they are too and will have no real option other than to return to them when they run out of product.  You will of course have to collect the used jars and supply new sterile ones but if you are thinking small and personal it could be a great initiative.

Finally after a morning of Googling I think I could have found the most perfect solution and that is to only use packaging that is edible.  Check this out: http://www.doeat.com/en/boutique/uncategorized/dey-the-spoon/ At the moment these are being marketed for food products but I suspect it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to ply up what they are using here to make edible cartons for your jars.  Don’t forget to use edible inks for printing though.

Bon Appetite !