The booming $500 billion per year global personal care industry relies on plastic. When not recycled properly, it pours into our landfills, causing all sorts of detrimental effects on the environment... and can even travel up the food chain and into our bellies (think: microplastics in our fish - yuck.)
Today, it’s as important as ever for us to stop and consider the environmental impacts of the beauty and skincare products we’re choosing to purchase - from it's packaging to ingredient sourcing to the brand's ethical practices. When hand selecting the products we offer at Shop Good, we take these factors into account.
Today, we're *oh so* excited to spotlight a few of our brands that truly value sustainability on all fronts. Read on to hear from the Founders of some of our top brands on their sustainability initiatives + practices!
Justine Kahn, Botnia - "For us, sustainability goes hand in hand with the holistic approach we take in our skincare. We see treating the skin as it relates to a whole system (your body) as akin to designing our operations at Botnia as they relate to the earth as part of the whole system. On our micro-farm we try to work with natural mechanisms that enhance the natural functions of the earth as much as we can. We have chickens that lovingly fertilize and aerate our soil. We plant nitrogen inducing botanicals, such as comfrey under our fruit trees to nourish them. For the things we can't grow ourselves, we look to our local community first for ingredient sourcing. All of our products are made by our team in our own lab less than a mile from our farm. We do our best to keep our connection to the ingredients as close as possible, and this is extremely unique! Unique and extremely important, as it requires less shipping, less time on freighters and trucks, and fewer carbon emissions.
One of the more exciting initiatives we have taken on recently is introducing an aluminum refill bottle option ( available at shop good) to our customers who use our foaming face washes. These are the only plastic bottles that remain in our line! Bringing a completely upcycled bottle that you can refill your plastic face wash container with as many times as you want, enables us to help create the world we want to live in. One where people (and large companies especially) look at plastics like multiple-use containers and truly act as stewards of the earth by taking account of our planet's ecosystems at large and see the gaps to be filled where we can be creative and have the health of it in mind." Shop Botnia.
Omosefe Ozigbo, Noshaba Apothecary - "By creating formulations using what solely comes from nature is how I am able to honor both earth and sustainability. Growing some of the botanics that go into the current and upcoming formulations allows me to be even more connected to my products. I am able to bond with earth and people from across the globe that make it possible for me to bring my creations to life. With Noshaba, I want those who experience each formula to always remember, 'living with less, because nature has so much more.'” Shop Noshaba Apothecary.
Monica Watson, Berlin Skin - "Since day one, we have been committed to sustainable practices and materials. To us, a sustainable business means one that is not harming people, animals, or the planet — and encouraging consumers to buy and use less. We are a minimalist line, with all of our products being multi-use and mixable: we encourage our customers to share with their partner, eliminating the need for an excess amount of products on their bathroom shelves. We choose glass over plastic, carefully source our ingredients (many of which are wildcrafted and organic), and are certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny. Lastly, we are launching an exciting new initiative this Fall where we are switching to eco-friendly shipping materials — and nearly all of them can be reused by the consumer." Shop Berlin Skin.
Kayla Clements, Luna Volta - "Luna Volta's hero product NOVA, a premium wellness hemp oil, supports organic & regenerative agriculture to sequester carbon and rebuild our soils, comes packaged in PREcycled glass bottles screenprinted with UV inks and 100% biodegradable + plantable packaging embedded with wildflower seeds beneficial to the declining bee population. THE PLANETS, our luxurious microgravity CBD bath bombs are sealed in a plant-based compostable alternative to plastic shrink wrap called NatureFlex (at home certified compostable material made from renewable wood pulp) and are nestled in a biodegradable HEMP hexagon-shaped box inspired by beehives and turtle shells. To learn more about sustainable supply chain here." Shop Luna Volta.
Tiila Abbit, Aether Beauty - "Āether Beauty is the first fully recyclable makeup brand in the beauty industry. Aether Beauty launched the first completely recyclable palette in 2018. By removing the mirrors and magnets (which are completely unrecyclable and contribute to rare earth mining) we save another palette from going into the landfill- and with over 120 Billion of cosmetic packaging that ends up in the landfill every year, we are happy to be leading this change! Aether Beauty is also vegan, cruelty-free and clean (we ban over 2700 ingredients) and always source, organic, fair wage and child labor free ingredients. Truly #goodvibesbeauty."
Shop Aether Beauty