Post date: January 19, 2023 | Adventure
The Most Eco-Friendly Men’s Grooming Products
In today’s world, it’s important to consider the sustainability of the products we use. After all, we all share the same earth and use the same resources, so we owe it to ourselves and our future generations to think of how our efforts now will effect the future. That’s why we want to give you guys some info on how to keep your products eco-friendly and sustainable as well as introduce you to some of the best men’s grooming products on the market!
Being environmentally friendly is not what it seems, at least not nowadays. Unfortunately the “recyclable” label on lots of modern products are only there for show, and actually don’t guarantee that the product ends up being recycled by anyone, because recycling requires effort, and effort only follows the money. Here’s what we mean.
Before we dive in, feel free to check out this short informative video on the same subject! And don’t forget to Subscribe to Volt Grooming’s YouTube Channel!
Why You Should Stay Away From “Recyclable” Plastic
Just because plastic can be recycled, doesn’t mean it is. It takes a lot of money to recycle plastics and transform them back into a raw material that can be used for various goods. And because of these high costs compared to the relatively low market price of plastic, there isn’t much money to be made in recycling plastic.
That’s why the US has shipped trash and plastic to China, where it can be recycled more efficiently due to scale and labor costs, however, China is no longer accepting trash and plastics from outside the country, likely due to the environmental impact and costs associated with this burden.
Because of this, “recyclable plastics” really aren’t recyclable much at all. Simply because the money doesn’t follow the practice. Due to this, most plastics just end up in landfill the same with the rest of the trash we throw away.
The unfortunate thing is, like I mentioned earlier, plastic is still the cheapest material to make containers, bottles, and packagings with, meaning that any company that uses plastic can reduce their costs and increase profit or lower price to become more competitive in the marketplace, at the expense of better environmental sustainability.
In terms of men’s grooming products, most beard balms, beard/mustache waxes, beard butters, etc. are packaged in plastic containers or small tubs. Same goes with shampoos, body washes, and many more.
For reference, npr.org states that while 52% of recycling organizations accept plastic, 5% or less is actually repurposed and the rest heads to landfills.
What Materials Are Actually Recyclable?
The most recycled products (in no particular order) by percentage repurposed are typically paper, rubber (although in the same family as plastics use elastic polymers which greatly increase the recyclability), cardboard, glass, and various metals like aluminum and steel. These products, because of the higher market price for newly created raw materials, is still profitable to recycle, hence why we do it. These materials are, therefore, more eco-friendly.
You see, there must be a balance between the cost to create something from scratch and the cost to reuse or recycle something into a reusable form. The lower the cost to use materials made from scratch, the cheaper it has to be recycle that material or else you are losing money by recycling something that you can just buy more of.
Here’s an example, let’s say you buy a bottle of beard oil in a plastic container. After using the beard oil, you have the option of 1) Buying a brand new bottle from the company for $15, or 2) Sending your bottle back to them, have them refill the beard oil, and have them send it back to you. After the cost of shipping, materials (oil), and shipping back, it costs you $20. Despite reusing the original bottle, the cost was greater to do so, making it unviable for competitive business.
This is why it’s important to consider moving away from plastics when searching for your products and moving towards one of the materials mentioned above in an effort to be more eco-friendly.
Why Organic Material Matters
When you hear the word “organic” chances are your mind immediately goes to food. After all, organic foods have seen a huge spike in popularity due to their perceived health benefits, but there is more beneath the surface. Organic is defined as relating to or derived from living matter, whether that matter is soil, animals, etc. Put simply, organic things are not made by people, but only harvested by people without undue processing or tampering. Anything from foods to essential oils and more can be considered organic. And believe it or not, organic material is more eco-friendly.
Why is this? Well, with the minimal human involvement that defines organic material, how much environmental damage could there be? The answer is “not a lot.” And although it’s sad to think about, it’s true.
Organic materials are often more expensive to produce because they come in smaller batches. For example, without using pesticides, GMOs, and various other methods, lots of potential produce is lost. Causing scarcity which drives prices up against growing demand.
The same rings true with your mens grooming products. Many beard oils and beard balms out there use organic oils and waxes/butters derived from plants, fruits, and trees. Being organic helps the environment by reducing carbon emissions used by human processing plants, as well as keeping potentially harmful materials from killing off important insects (such as bees).
So, if possible, the best products out there in terms of being eco-friendly (whether for food or anything else) are made of organic materials and packaged in glass or aluminum containers.
Volt Grooming: Most Eco-Friendly Beard Products
We here at Volt are an active bunch. We love our hiking, surfing, biking, and more, especially with the beautiful natural scenery that comes along with these things. Which is why we hate seeing trash and debris just scattered carelessly by people throughout the world.
We also happen to create some awesome men’s grooming products, but we want to do so with a true emphasis on the sustainability of our products. So, here are some of our most environmentally friendly men’s grooming products should you happen to also believe in what we do.
Volt Beard Oil
Take a look at this photo of our beard oil and note that there are no plastics in sight! We take pride in our glass bottle, rubber dropper, and aluminum cap. Our Volt beard oil is vegan, preservative free, cruelty free and made with natural and organic oils.
Volt Beard Balm
We wanted a beard balm that gave you the hydrating benefits of beard oil combined with the styling benefits of bard and mustache wax! But, we wanted to do this without sacrificing the quality of materials we are known for. So, Volt Beard Balm is preservative, silicone, GMO, phthalate and cruelty free and made only with natural and organic ingredients like carnauba wax, shea and mango butter, and various natural oils. It also comes in an all-aluminum tin, one of the most recycled materials there is!
Volt Beard Wax
Volt Beard and Mustache Wax is very much the same to our beard balm, but with more emphasis on its styling and holding ability than hydrating. However, it is still made of all organic and natural waxes and is packaged in a fully recyclable aluminum tin with a 100% natural wooden spatula for scooping out the wax.
Volt Beard Comb
Volt’s beard comb is made of 100% natural pearwood and eliminates static electricity to provide excellent control and hold throughout your hair! It’s made to last and is as natural as a comb can get.
Volt Beard Brush
The Volt Octo Beard Brush is composed of a 100% natural pearwood handle and real boar bristles. Boar bristles are not only as natural as the hair in our beards, but are also amazing for exfoliating the skin underneath our beards and spreading beard oil/balm evenly. This brush is as eco-friendly as a brush can get.
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