Circular, Compostable, and Clean: The Three C's of Sustainability

Come for the nutrient-rich ingredients, stay for the eco-conscious and multi-purpose packaging: at Marmelo, we keep things sustainable every step of the way.

Have you ever purchased small electronics? Maybe a USB cable or headphones? You probably had to grab your scissors to cut through multiple layers (and many inches) of excess plastic and cardboard to extract your purchase.

This is just one (of many) offenders in the wasteful packaging category.

We make purchases daily, and most items come with packaging. There’s a reason for this: packaging protects the contents, as well as helps consumers identify brands and other important information about the product (ingredients, instructions, etc.) 

If packaging is (usually) unavoidable, then choosing sustainable packaging is of vital importance. 

Sustainable packaging is manufactured from sustainable materials, remains safe and effective throughout its life cycle, and is efficiently and thoroughly compostable or recyclable when it’s no longer of use (while still meeting all requirements for performance and safety, of course).

At L’Anse, being a sustainable, conscious business means we see ourselves in equilibrium with the environment: we choose to consider our impact on our customers, our wider community, and the natural world. Our motto is that if a business decision (in this case, packaging) is good for the environment, it’s good for humans.

Why is eco-conscious packaging a priority, and how have we incorporated sustainable materials at L’Anse? When you’re as proud of your packaging choices as we are, it’s fun to be transparent.

Why is sustainable packaging important?

When it comes to understanding the importance of sustainability, it’s useful to see packaging as having a lifecycle. 

Like all things in our ecosystem, there is potential for environmental impact at many stages in a product’s life: the gathering of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, and finally, its eventual disposal. It’s the responsibility of both makers AND consumers to ensure they make safe and healthy decisions throughout the lifecycle of a product. 

But we understand the consumer can only do their part of the closed-loop bargain if makers do their part first!

When designing our products at the Marmelo laboratory, including packaging, we commit to the following values:

• Minimizing materials: An easy first sustainability step is using less. We aim to reduce packaging used with any product while keeping in mind that the point of packaging is to protect goods from damage and spoilage. We reduce (or eliminate) packaging where we can and remain conscious about what packaging is required to maintain the integrity and functionality of our business.
• Using previously recycled materials: Recycled material = smaller environmental footprint. Recycled materials generally use less energy than raw (new) materials, as resources and energy are conserved by using material previously refined and processed. 
• Avoiding toxic or hazardous materials: This one is a non-negotiable for us. We put a lot of time and effort into our product formulations (we choose clean ingredients and ensure that all our ingredients are not only bioactive and nutrient-rich but organic and/or wildcrafted whenever possible). Therefore, it’s imperative that our packaging is free of toxic or hazardous materials — we’re not going to contaminate our lovingly-crafted products in the 11th hour!
• Designing for reuse: We want it to be easy for our packaging to have a life after it’s done helping us! Packaging designed to be reused can make significant savings in energy and raw material, we totally encourage upcycling and creative reuse of our containers (repurposing our organic produce bags used to hold our bars. Think kids snacks, jewelry, trinkets, travel etc.).
• Designing for recovery: Our bar formulas are wrapped in compostable materials that easily biodegrade in the environment but also can be reused. When packaging cannot be repurposed, in the case of glass or aluminum bottles, we want it to be easy to recycle. Many “recyclable” items are either composite materials which cannot be recycled (paper coffee cups with a waxed lining, for example), or cannot be recycled after they’ve been used (cardboard pizza boxes cannot be recycled if there is food waste on it). Where compostable or zero waste options are not available, we aim to use easily (or infinitely) recyclable materials.
• Carbon neutral shipping: We support and donate to carbon removal and carbon capture technologies to achieve carbon neutral shipping. We also ship in 100% compostable packaging.

The three C’s of sustainable packaging at Marmelo

Move over Maybelline, there’s a new set of C’s in the beauty world!

When trying to find innovative and sustainable solutions for our packaging, we realized our best options are summarized in three categories:

• Circular;
• Compostable; and
• Clean.

At L’Anse, our packaging is manufactured in North America, and we’re proud to report that currently our packaging is 100% compostable or zero waste. 

“Circular”

Circular packaging uses materials that can be repurposed or recycled, meaning we are not adding any single-use waste to our closed-loop system. If you’re able to reuse it, fantastic! But if it’s not something you have use for, we want to make it easy for your municipal recycling program to give it a new life.

For liquid products, such as serums, we will be using recyclable/reusable glass and aluminum containers. Both glass and aluminum are infinitely recyclable without compromising the purity of the material — compare this to plastic, which can only be recycled once or twice, at best.

For our bar products (such as our shampoos, conditioners, and soaps), we protect them in an organic drawstring bag. Reusable, durable, lightweight, eco-friendly (and ultimately also compostable), these handy bags are actually sold as produce bags (which means they are food safe) — wash them in cold water and let them air dry, and they are endlessly repurposable!

Bar bag bonus: as your shampoo or soap bits get too small to use on their own, collect them in the drawstring bag and hang them in your shower! Add a little water, and the bar bits will foam through the bag, allowing you to get every bit of sudsy goodness from your bar. 

And if you come to see us at one of our market locations, our business cards are made from recycled 100% cotton waste scraps from the t-shirt industry! 

“Compostable”

Nothing says sustainable like safely feeding the soil with your packaging.

Our “tubed” products (such as our dry shampoos, makeup, and lip balms) are made of compostable paper. The tubes are made with FSC-certified paper, and the outer paper is 100% recycled and uses vegetable ink. Assembled with rice glue and lined with soybean wax, the tubes are fully compostable — toss them in your green bin or compost heap and move on with your day!

For the beautifully branded wrapping around our shampoo/conditioner bars, soaps, and deodorant bars, we use seed paper: compostable and previously recycled paper embedded with seeds. Simply plant it into a flower bed or pot of soil, et voila: the paper composts, leaving the seeds to grow into vibrant flowers, herbs, or vegetables. Zero waste AND a lovely addition to your garden. 

“Clean”

When we say “clean” at Marmelo, we’re talking squeaky clean.

We make sure the ingredients and formulas we use are clean but we want to extend this motto to our packaging as well by using organic plant material as packaging.

When it comes to packaging, you can’t get any cleaner or more environmentally friendly than zero packaging. Our current products are in bar form, and we will shortly offer an option of no packaging at all for these.

Summary

At Marmelo, being a sustainable, conscious business means we see ourselves in equilibrium with the environment, and a huge part of making conscious choices is to consider the entire lifecycle of our products, including our packaging.

Sustainable packaging is manufactured from sustainable materials, remains safe and effective throughout its life cycle, and is efficiently and thoroughly compostable or recyclable when it’s no longer of use. 

We hope that, by making business choices that place our values above convenience, we can support our customers and community in making easy, informed shifts toward a more sustainable way of living. 

We are always looking at alternative, more sustainable materials and designs. Do you have any new and innovative ideas for packaging? We’d love to hear from you!