Getting a Greener Clean: Shampoo - an earth911 report

 

Getting a Greener Clean: Shampoo

ByGemma Alexander

Dec 10, 2021 personal care

It’s an unfortunate irony that the things we do to keep ourselves clean can pollute the planet and even harm our own health. It’s also discouraging that something as simple as a shower requires you to research multiple categories of cleaning product from shampoo to body wash. But let’s start at the top; you can adopt a green hair care routine without giving up your hygiene or your health.

No-poo

But you might give up your hair. You could shave your head and simply use regular soap on your scalp. Most of us aren’t ready to make such a bold style statement in service to the environment. But unlike most other hygiene products, simply going without shampoo is an option.

The no-poo (or unpoo) movement encourages people to ditch the shampoo and simply rinse their hair with water. When that’s not enough, no-pooers may use a DIY method involving baking soda and apple cider vinegar. These materials are certainly environmentally friendly and are effective for cleaning. However, depending on your hair type, they may not be very good for your hair. While some people have used this method successfully for years, after a few months, my hair began to resemble the hay under a scarecrow’s hat. It took deep conditioning treatments to avoid the first method suggested – shaving it all off.

Detergent-Free Shampoos

Most shampoos are basically liquid cleansers made from synthetic detergents. Additional chemicals are added for the aesthetics of the product, to create a pleasing color, scent, and texture. Although raw materials only account for about 9% of the product’s environmental footprint, many people avoid synthetic, petroleum-based products on principle.

In particular, many of us want to avoid the detergent SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate or sometimes sodium laureth sulfate) that makes shampoos foamy. Rumors that SLS is a carcinogen seem to be unfounded; however, there may be other health issues. Sulfates like SLS are known skin irritants. They can also remove oils too effectively, leading to dry hair. There are some biodegradable products, like Hairstory New Wash that use essential oils and fatty alcohols instead of detergents.

There is another reason to look for biodegradable shampoo. According to a European life cycle analysis of more than 10,000 personal products (referenced throughout this article), disposal accounts for 20% of the environmental footprint of shampoo. That’s because shampoo is not consumed when you use it; all that product rinses off of your hair and ends up in wastewater. Wastewater treatment uses a lot of energy and chemicals, and does not necessarily remove all of the ingredients in shampoo before the water is released into the environment.

Other Chemical Concerns

Surprisingly, shampoo and other common personal care products are significant sources of volatile organic compounds contributing to air pollution. Many shampoos also contain parabens and phthalates. Because the most problematic ingredients are usually found in the perfumes used to scent shampoo, unscented shampoos like Free & Clear or No Nothing Very Sensitive are less likely to contain many of the most harmful chemicals. You can also find more natural, safer shampoos using the Environmental Working Group Verified list. The list includes inexpensive, familiar brands like Herbal Essences as well as less common options like Korean beauty brand Whamisa.

Packaging

Plastic bottles dominate among shampoo packaging options. Those bottles account for 22% of shampoos’ environmental impact. Depending on where you live, the plastic from shampoo bottles might be recyclable, but in many places it is not. There are some shampoo brands that use recycled plastic – even recycled beach plastic – to manufacture their bottles. The polyethylene pouches used by Hairstory require much less plastic than bottles and are recyclable where facilities exist.

But there are also plastic-free packaging options. Brands like Alpine Provisions and Plaine Products sell shampoo in aluminum bottles. Lush estimates that their solid shampoo bars prevented 100 metric tons of plastic waste in a year. EWG Verified Soap for Goodness Sake makes a combined shampoo and body bar that comes wrapped in FSC paper.

In fact, most solid shampoo bars are advertised for use on both hair and skin. Many environmentalists follow a rule of thumb that using fewer products creates fewer environmental impacts. There is no specific data in this case to support the principle. But if you find a single cleanser that works for both your hair and body, you will have simplified your life a little.

Clean Technique

No matter what you choose to clean your hair (or shaved scalp), keep in mind that use accounts for 28% of shampoos’ environmental impact. Most of that impact comes from the water you use for washing and the energy needed to heat that water. Use a low-flow showerhead and an efficient water heater. You might also use homemade dry shampoo to stretch the time between washes.

 As I have mentioned previously, I became so annoyed and exasperated at trying to buy products that ticked all the boxes that I now make my own.  Here is my web page address:suubio The whole family is benefitting from my switch! Less pollution, less waste, kinder to the environment and our bodies, no plastic,  not tested on animals need I say more.  My soap is only available on Menorca at the moment, carriage costs are a problem and the postal system at the moment is quite poor.

The blog song for today is: "Surrender" by Cheap Trick

TTFN

 

Time for Restaurants to Shift to Sustainable Takeout Packaging - earth911 report

 

Time for Restaurants to Shift to Sustainable Takeout Packaging

ByEarth911

Dec 3, 2021 

by Paul Kradin, Chief Sustainability Officer, JYBE

Customers are complaining loudly that takeout and food delivery packaging is unsustainable. Yet the transition to recyclable and biodegradable takeout packaging is not only imperative, but it’s also easier and more cost-effective than most restaurant companies think.

A large and growing number of diners repeatedly assert they would gladly pay more for meals if they knew it would support more sustainable practices. And yet, restaurants tend to stick to deeply rooted sourcing habits, accepting greenwashing by suppliers, and a pandemic-driven focus on hygienic-seeming plastic. Identifying and alleviating these obstacles has become JYBE’s business model as much as its mission — helping diners, chefs and restaurant owners discover an easier eco-friendly path.

Restaurants’ chronic reach toward plastic had already become a problem prior to COVID-19 and its subsequent impact. Delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and others reported quarterly revenue increases of 100% during 2020, and most of those new sales were delivered using a flood of plastic containers. Although grassroots movements encouraged diners to decline cutlery sets, straws, or plastic beverage bottles given that most meals were eaten at home, that was a patchwork approach that didn’t get to the root of the problem — the industry’s overuse of harmful plastic and unsustainable takeout packaging.

It’s time for restaurants to ditch the plastic takeout packaging.

Lack of Information

On the restaurant side, there was no central and credible information source to advise on truly sustainable materials, equivalent to what you find on a consumer products site that provides product environmental impact information, like Patagonia and EWG.org. Chefs and restaurant managers were at the mercy of a misleading marketing bombardment from retailers pushing bioplastics and non-recyclable petroleum products.

Somehow, the internet’s aptitude for eliminating market friction and increasing transparency had evaded the takeout business. By 2020, there was no way for diners to check in advance on restaurants’ takeout food packaging policy. Websites like Yelp — and eventually some of the delivery platforms —added an option to rate “packaging sustainability.” But with no clear definition of what they construed as sustainable, the results were as vague and varied as the users providing the reviews — and barely registered as footnotes to the food reviews.

Photo credit: Andriy Blokhin – stock.adobe.com

The Crisis Is Here, the Answers, Too

Humanity will shortly surpass 400 million tons of plastic manufactured in a year. That’s about 100 pounds of plastic for each of the 8 billion people on Earth. Some will go for durable products like car bumpers or computer screens. But nearly half will be used to make single-use items that will barely be used for 30 minutes — and about 45% of that material goes to food packaging.

The materials in takeout packaging should not be harmful regardless of how they’re discarded. They should be recyclable, biodegradable, or backyard compostable (many compostables require a commercial composter). The materials should have a realistic chance of being properly processed no matter what jurisdiction they end up in.

Image: JYBE

Where a closed-loop reusables system is not possible, the following materials are the best options for restaurant takeout packaging:

• Paper and cardboard: Potentially recyclable in many cases and able to rapidly degrade in nature; little threat to wildlife if improperly discarded. Butcher and deli paper; kraft boxes, straws, cold cups, coffee cups, coffee lids (yep, thank you Naeco!), and paper bags.
• Glass: Infinitely recyclable, offers a redemption value if brought to a collection center in many states, little danger to wildlife if improperly discarded. Beverage bottles and jars.
• Aluminum: Infinitely recyclable with significant energy savings when reprocessed, superior to plastic in temperature retention, little risk to wildlife except in certain marine environments. Beverage cans and bottles, round and rectangular aluminum pans with foil board lids, foil sheets, and foil pouches.
• Birch: One of the fastest-growing and hearty trees — can reach maturity in 20 years in most areas of the country; compostable. Cutlery sets.
• Bamboo: Hearty and fast-growing, bamboo can regenerate several times per year from the same root system. Once its growth cycle starts it can mature in just a few months; compostable. Cutlery sets and napkins.

A Crowdsourced Solution for Transparency

We created the JYBE app to connect diners to restaurants that use Earth-friendly takeout packaging. It relies on its users to photograph and describe the packaging materials they receive in to-go and delivery orders so we can assign a rating of 1 through 4 (4 being best) to highlight the local restaurants with the best practices. Uploading a photo of your order and answering a few verifiable questions through our app allows us to know how much plastic, bioplastic, and Styrofoam were supplied, and if you received non-requested cutlery. On the flip side, we ask our users to check JYBE scores before choosing a restaurant.

JYBE app

Our results to date show clearly that sustainable materials are not more expensive and less performant than unrecyclable or uncompostable alternatives. In repeated cases, we can consistently show restaurants viable alternatives for each product they normally use. There’s one exception — namely, those pesky 1-oz. to 2-oz. ramekins used for sauces and dips.  For everything else, there’s an easy swap to match the dimensions, performance, and price of what they are used to.

A Sustainable Shift for Restaurants

Restaurants need to embrace this cultural shift and work to capitalize on their mastery of more sustainable practices; sustainable packaging is becoming a must-have item for consumers. While changing yet another pillar of their takeout business does not appeal to most chefs and owners, the situation with plastic is undeniably dire.

If I was trying to grow my restaurant’s business, I would be angling for customers in eco-affinity groups who are energetic, social media-savvy, and hungry three times a day. And I’d be showing them how the takeout and delivery packaging my restaurant uses supports the environment.

About the Author

Paul Kradin is co-founder and chief sustainability officer of JYBE, an LA-based startup finding innovative solutions to the restaurant industry’s single-use plastic crisis. He ensures every aspect of the company honors JYBE’s sustainability values and works with partners to educate and help them transition to more Earth-friendly practices. Read more about Kradin at gojybe.com/team.

We all agree that takeways contribute to a lot of rubbish in the streets, cardboard containers are always best but over the years plastic has taken over and we are all paying the price for it. At least there are people out there who are attempting to reduce this amount of waste!  One of the other type of plastic containers are those in the supermarkets for those speciality salads,they say on the container that they are recyclable, maybe they are but are they really necessary? All of those prepared meals are the same, where does it end? In Lidl they have a few prepared meals not in plastic and they are great, but as of yesterday there were only three of them, a vegetable lasagne, normal lasagne and canellonis. Its a start but compared to the others a mere drop in the ocean, but something is better than nothing.

The war against plastic continues, but without everyone doing their part, it will be very slow going and difficult.

The blog song for today is: " Tiger Feet" by MUD

TTFN