In the wake of climate change and the pollution crisis, Burt's Bee partnered with TerraCycle to launch a national recycling initiative titled the 'Recycle On Us' program. This program is completely free to consumers and allows them to recycle all Burt's Bees personal care, lip care, and beauty care packaging to TerraCycle to recycle. Once the packaging is collected, it's cleaned and melted and turned into new products. “Sustainability is one of Burt’s Bees’ core values,” explains Paula Alexander, Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation. “Burt’s Bees strives to formulate with natural ingredients and design our packaging with mindful materials, such as post-consumer recycled content, but we don’t stop there. Now, through our partnership with TerraCycle, we can not only minimize the material used to create our packaging but through nationwide recycling access, minimize or even eliminate used packaging entering the waste stream.” The Burt’s Bees Recycle On Us program is available to individuals, schools, offices, and community organizations.

Ethical beauty brand Burt’s Bees is a trusted label when it comes to natural-focused skincare and cosmetics, and while they’ve been a major advocate for pollinator health for over a decade, the brand recently took a very public stance on climate change to protest the widespread dismissal of such environmental issues during the UN Climate Summit last month. On September 26, the brand blacked out their content across social media channels as a part of their new campaign to raise awareness to the harmful effects and to spread the idea that our future relies heavily on nature, and how we take care of her. Burt’s Bees partnered with National Geographic to launch the Burt’s Bees #ChangeForNature campaign, and when the social media “lights” turned back on, the brand encouraged consumers to make a pledge to embark on their endeavor to cut down on food waste and single-use plastics for the sake of well, our environment’s vitality. According to Burt’s Bees’ co-founder, Roxanne Quinbly,“we take from nature, and so we must protect it. We believe people and organizations – large and small – have the power to take action and make a difference. That’s why Burt’s Bees is donating $10 to the National Geographic Society for each person who makes a ChangeForNature commitment.   13 Reasons Why actress Alisha Boe also joined Burt’s Bees for their campaign, by becoming their new spokesperson and using her platform to spread awareness. She encourages her followers to make their pledge to Burt’s Bees, who donates a $10 to the National Geographic Society for each pledge they receive. Taking on this role was a natural move for Boe, who plays her part in protecting mother nature by eating a plant-based diet, avoiding single-use plastics, and remaining committed to raising awareness to maintain a thoughtful dialogue about environment and climate change. “Climate change is incredibly important because it affects our future and the generations to come. I feel like it’s been ignored for a very long time and it’s important for us, my generation and younger people, because it’s our future and we don’t to be limited by the repercussions of generations before us neglecting our environment. Which is why it’s important for us, collectively, to make a change,” she says. Aside from Burt’s Bees campaign, the brand also has major plans to help fight climate change, as well as to help beauty enthusiasts reduce their footprints. “While we’ve passed many milestones in sustainability over the brand’s 35-year journey, Burt’s Bees is always striving to do more. For example, we send zero waste-to-landfill through our composting and waste sorting process, and still aim to reduce our waste-to-energy to less than 10% of our overall waste. With 18.5% waste-to-energy in 2019, this means aggressively seeking new ways to recycle or divert waste,” says the brand. They’re also looking to refine their sourcing process as an area of growth because “we strive to care for both the natural world and people our sources originate.” In addition to your pledge, there are also several other ways that you too can help spread awareness and cut down on the carbon footprint as a thoughtful consumer. For instance, Boe takes her sustainable practices on-set — not just in her personal life. “On-set, we are environmentally friendly because everything is paperless, script wise. They also installed dispensers for reusable water bottles. There have been fires in Northern California for the last two years and that’s a direct result of climate change and temperatures rising, so our set is very environmentally aware and mindful to try to not attribute to that.” Burt’s Bees also offered us a few tips for responsible consumerism.

Look for products that avoid over-packaging and use mixed-materials

 

Beauty brand Burt's Bees has teamed up with National Geographic on an initiative to draw attention to the issue of climate change. The US beauty label and the media giant have announced a social media blackout dubbed #NatureBlackout, timed to coincide with the UN Climate Summit. Following the blackout, the brand will appeal to its followers to make a #ChangeforNature pledge on September 26, with each new habit triggering a $10 donation to the National Geographic Society to focus on the reduction of plastic waste in the ocean. "As a brand founded to connect people to nature, we must protect it," said Paula Alexander, Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Burt's Bees, in a statement.   "National Geographic is committed to generating solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future," added Valerie Craig, Vice President of Impact Initiatives at the National Geographic Society. "To date, we've awarded more than 14,000 grants for bold, innovative and transformative projects. One of our current priorities is researching solutions to prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean. We're thrilled that for each #ChangeforNature pledge, Burt's Bees will donate $10 to support our efforts to reduce individual plastic consumption and the flow of plastics into watersheds." The beauty industry has seen a wave of sustainable initiatives recently. Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble-owned hair care brand Herbal Essences joined forces with waste management giant TerraCycle to launch a series of bottles comprising 25% beach plastic, while REN Clean Skincare has pledged to become completely "zero waste" by the year 2021. The personal care conglomerate Unilever recently unveiled a three-part plan to target plastic use in the US, including a pledge for 50% of its plastic packaging to be made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) content by the end of 2019, and Lush Cosmetics marked World Oceans Day this year with a limited-edition ‘Shark Fin Soap' that saw 100% of its sales proceeds directed to the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation, which fights for the protection of the underwater predators.

Beauty brand Burt's Bees has teamed up with National Geographic on an initiative to draw attention to the issue of climate change.       The US beauty label and the media giant have announced a social media blackout dubbed #NatureBlackout, timed to coincide with the UN Climate Summit. Following the blackout, the brand will appeal to its followers to make a #ChangeforNature pledge on September 26, with each new habit triggering a $10 donation to the National Geographic Society to focus on the reduction of plastic waste in the ocean. "As a brand founded to connect people to nature, we must protect it," said Paula Alexander, Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Burt's Bees, in a statement. "National Geographic is committed to generating solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future," added Valerie Craig, Vice President of Impact Initiatives at the National Geographic Society. "To date, we've awarded more than 14,000 grants for bold, innovative and transformative projects. One of our current priorities is researching solutions to prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean. We're thrilled that for each #ChangeforNature pledge, Burt's Bees will donate $10 to support our efforts to reduce individual plastic consumption and the flow of plastics into watersheds." The beauty industry has seen a wave of sustainable initiatives recently. Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble-owned hair care brand Herbal Essences joined forces with waste management giant TerraCycle to launch a series of bottles comprising 25% beach plastic, while REN Clean Skincare has pledged to become completely "zero waste" by the year 2021. The personal care conglomerate Unilever recently unveiled a three-part plan to target plastic use in the US, including a pledge for 50% of its plastic packaging to be made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) content by the end of 2019, and Lush Cosmetics marked World Oceans Day this year with a limited-edition ‘Shark Fin Soap' that saw 100% of its sales proceeds directed to the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation, which fights for the protection of the underwater predators.

Beauty brand Burt's Bees has teamed up with National Geographic on an initiative to draw attention to the issue of climate change.       The US beauty label and the media giant have announced a social media blackout dubbed #NatureBlackout, timed to coincide with the UN Climate Summit. Following the blackout, the brand will appeal to its followers to make a #ChangeforNature pledge on September 26, with each new habit triggering a $10 donation to the National Geographic Society to focus on the reduction of plastic waste in the ocean. "As a brand founded to connect people to nature, we must protect it," said Paula Alexander, Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Burt's Bees, in a statement. "National Geographic is committed to generating solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future," added Valerie Craig, Vice President of Impact Initiatives at the National Geographic Society. "To date, we've awarded more than 14,000 grants for bold, innovative and transformative projects. One of our current priorities is researching solutions to prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean. We're thrilled that for each #ChangeforNature pledge, Burt's Bees will donate $10 to support our efforts to reduce individual plastic consumption and the flow of plastics into watersheds." The beauty industry has seen a wave of sustainable initiatives recently. Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble-owned hair care brand Herbal Essences joined forces with waste management giant TerraCycle to launch a series of bottles comprising 25% beach plastic, while REN Clean Skincare has pledged to become completely "zero waste" by the year 2021. The personal care conglomerate Unilever recently unveiled a three-part plan to target plastic use in the US, including a pledge for 50% of its plastic packaging to be made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) content by the end of 2019, and Lush Cosmetics marked World Oceans Day this year with a limited-edition ‘Shark Fin Soap' that saw 100% of its sales proceeds directed to the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation, which fights for the protection of the underwater predators.

Beauty brand Burt's Bees has teamed up with National Geographic on an initiative to draw attention to the issue of climate change.       The US beauty label and the media giant have announced a social media blackout dubbed #NatureBlackout, timed to coincide with the UN Climate Summit. Following the blackout, the brand will appeal to its followers to make a #ChangeforNature pledge on September 26, with each new habit triggering a $10 donation to the National Geographic Society to focus on the reduction of plastic waste in the ocean. "As a brand founded to connect people to nature, we must protect it," said Paula Alexander, Director of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Burt's Bees, in a statement. "National Geographic is committed to generating solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future," added Valerie Craig, Vice President of Impact Initiatives at the National Geographic Society. "To date, we've awarded more than 14,000 grants for bold, innovative and transformative projects. One of our current priorities is researching solutions to prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean. We're thrilled that for each #ChangeforNature pledge, Burt's Bees will donate $10 to support our efforts to reduce individual plastic consumption and the flow of plastics into watersheds." The beauty industry has seen a wave of sustainable initiatives recently. Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble-owned hair care brand Herbal Essences joined forces with waste management giant TerraCycle to launch a series of bottles comprising 25% beach plastic, while REN Clean Skincare has pledged to become completely "zero waste" by the year 2021. The personal care conglomerate Unilever recently unveiled a three-part plan to target plastic use in the US, including a pledge for 50% of its plastic packaging to be made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) content by the end of 2019, and Lush Cosmetics marked World Oceans Day this year with a limited-edition ‘Shark Fin Soap' that saw 100% of its sales proceeds directed to the Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation, which fights for the protection of the underwater predators.

Companies are still fighting to go green, and Kroger and Walgreens are the latest to join in on a new recycling project. This state-of-the-art circular shopping system, named Loop, officially launched their pilot program in May of 2019 in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. to lessen the world’s reliance on single-use packaging, according to a TerraCycle press release. First announced at the World Economic Forum in January, Loop enables consumers to purchase a variety of commonly used products from leading consumer brands in customized, brand-specific durable packaging that is delivered in a specially designed reusable shipping tote. When finished with the product, the packaging is collected, cleaned, refilled and reused, creating a revolutionary circular shopping system. Loop is an initiative from TerraCycle, an innovative waste management company whose mission is to eliminate the idea of waste. Operating nationally across 21 countries, TerraCycle partners with leading consumer companies, retailers, cities and facilities to recycle hard-to-recycle waste. Loop provides customers this circular shopping platform while encouraging manufacturers to own and take responsibility for their packaging on the long term. “Loop was designed from the ground-up to reinvent the way we consume by leveraging the sustainable, circular milkman model of yesterday with the convenience of e-commerce,” said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of Loop and TerraCycle, in the press release. “TerraCycle came together with dozens of major consumer product companies from P&G to Nestle to Unilever, the World Economic Forum Future of Consumption Platform, logistics and transportation company UPS and leading retailers Kroger and Walgreens to create a simple and convenient way to enjoy a wide range of products, customized in brand-specific durable and reusable packaging.”

How It Works

Consumers can go to www.loopstore.com, www.thekrogerco.com/loop or www.walgreens.com/loop to place an order. The shipment will then come in Loop’s exclusively designed shipping tote. After use, buyers place the empty containers into their Loop totes and go online to schedule a pickup from their home. Loop will clean the packaging so that each product may be safely reused to replenish products for more customers. There are also a number of completely free recycling programs on TerraCycle’s website, www.terracycle.com/en-US, where consumers can sign up for an account. Once the account is created, customers can collect the hard-to-recycle materials and either ship it or drop it off at a participating location. There are numerous different free programs that can be used and each one is for a specific product. For example, one of the programs is the ARM & HAMMER^® and OXICLEAN^® pouch recycling program, which only allows participants to ship these used materials. Other programs include products for Barilla Ready Pasta, Beech-Nut, Burt’s Bees and Brita, which can only be recycled in their specific programs. Being able to ship recycled materials or drop them off depends on each program.

How Retailers Can Participate

Right now, the Loop pilot program is available in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C. If you are interested in creating a collection and recycling program for your non-recyclable products or packaging, TerraCycle has a wide variety of platform options. Typically, TerraCycle collects post-consumer waste from your key target consumers, cleans the waste, and then works with your brand to drive equity and value. Some of the consumer product companies that are currently working with Loop include Unilever, Nature’s Path, Nestle, SC Johnson, The Body Shop and Colgate-Palmolive, among others.

The Zero Waste Box Program

Another great way to participate in this go-green initiative includes the opportunity to recycle almost anything — for both your business and your customers. This special program helps you to recycle almost any type of waste, such as coffee capsules from your morning coffee or complex laboratory waste from your business, sending nothing to landfill or incineration. To open the door for your customers into this program, you can order a permanent collection unit to house your Zero Waste Box. A permanent unit protects your box, can be styled to fit your environment or store, and offers an organized place to maintain your collections. TerraCycle can work with you to understand and accommodate your budget, styling, quantity and timeline needs. No matter your recycling needs as a business, TerraCycle is willing to work with you. They also help with recycling at events in the case your store is holding a pop-up or other related events. Global warming is becoming a larger concern, and with these recycling programs, you can feel better about your impact on the environment as well as create customer loyalty if they can come back and recycle their products at your store. Happy recycling!  

Did you know that 91% of plastics don’t actually get recycled? Or that your feel-goodrecycling program doesn’t necessarily (or most likely) recycle the items you set out to your curb each month? As efforts for plastic free July ramped up, I took a hard look at what we used in our household, and what waste we were personally contributing to the environment. The results were nauseating - so I dedicated the month to trying more sustainable products and reducing plastic waste from our household. We all know that using reusable grocery bags instead of plastic ones, eliminating plastic straws, and using glass or aluminum water bottles instead of their single-use counterparts can make a big difference, but it can get trickier to sort through other ways to be more sustainable and use less plastic. That's why I’m so excited to share the results - some of which really surprised me. Along the way, I found some products that worked, some that didn’t, and (sadly) moved away from purchasing one of our previously-favorite brands because they don’t appear to have any intentions of recognizing the moral imperative that brands have when it comes to social good.

My favorite find: Getting clean while not dirtying the earth

By far, the find I’m wildest about is Plaine Products. Between myself and my daughters, we were using *a lot* of hair care and bath products - all of them in plastic. After some copious searching to replace our beloved tried-and-true products in the bathroom, I’m here to tell you that Plaine knocks it out of the park when it comes to sustainability, elimination of plastic waste, AND products that are incredible. The concept is simple, but brilliant: You select the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, etc. that you’d like, and they mail them to you, along with a pump for each, in aluminum bottles. Once you’re running low, you let them know (or subscribe), and they’ll mail you out a replacement, along with a label for you to send your used bottle back in, and you keep the pump and reuse it. Not kidding: The Rosemary-mint-vanilla line is amazing, and the conditioner leaves your hair feeling like silk. If you decide to purchase from them, you can use the code: SAPForbes and receive 20% off on your order.

Household cleaning reimagined

With the personal care items off the list, household cleaning was next up. I discovered an incredible company making a big difference in reducing plastic waste: Blueland. Their site points out some of the most troubling aspects of plastic use: We’re eating and drinking plastic: 90% of the water we drink, and 75% of the fish we eat contains microplastics. We’re harming animals and sea creatures: Plastic has been found in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals, and 40% of seabird species examined. We’re polluting our oceans: By 2050, scientists predict that our oceans will contain more plastic than fish. Blueland has created a nearly indestructible bottle, and - this is the amazing part - the cleaning solution is actually contained within a tablet. You add the tablet to water, and viola - you have cleaning solutions for each area of your home. The cleaning tablets are sent in compostable, biodegradable packaging, and they work great. The products smell great and they have three solutions: multi-surface, bathroom, and glass + mirror. Tip: Leave the nozzles off the bottles until the tablets are completely dissolved, and plan to use a couple of extra wipes on the glass surfaces. It cleans very well - it just seems like it’s a few seconds slower to dry than what we were used to.

Oral care: Every toothbrush you've ever used is still on this earth

Recognizing that each toothbrush that's ever touched any of the teeth in our family is still sitting in a landfill or heap somewhere is unnerving. Clearly, brushing our teeth is important, so how can we do it in a way that doesn't leave waste behind? First, Moso bamboo toothbrushes are a great alternative, and they break down naturally in a composter within 4-6 months, and if you just throw them out, they take about 5-10 years to biodegrade, which is still better than never breaking down at all. (We tried these toothbrushes at our house, and everyone loved them.) Next up, toothpaste. This proved really difficult for us. Essentially, trying to balance the thought of our kids using toothpaste tablets with knowing them didn't sit well, so I researched oral care products that offered recycling. In theory, Terracycle is a fantastic site to find recycling programs with brands. What I found, though, was that I was wait-listed for nearly every item I wanted to recycle in my area. I ordered a zero-waste box, but really wanted to figure out how to go plastic-free with toothpaste. After some sleuthing, I discovered that Burt's Bees Oral Care will send you a pre-paid mailing label so that you can mail them back your used toothpaste products. They'll recycle them, or work with organizations that will.

The Twitters: Accounts with great advice on going plastic-free

When I started really going down the checklist to go plastic-free, Twitter proved to be a great asset. Thanks to the SAP4Good account, I discovered a co-worker who offered fantastic personal insights into going plastic-free. She helped me find the following products that we're now using in our kitchen to replace single use plastics: Beeswax food wraps to replace traditional plastic wraps. The warmth from your hands creates a great seal on these re-usable wraps, and after a year or so, you can compost them when it's time for a replacement. These silicone storage bags to replace single-use plastic bags. In our household, I had a subscription for plastic bags - not anymore. These are durable, BPA-free, and the company ethos is in line with the values of my family. The Plaine Products Twitter feed offers tons of ways to go plastic-free, as does PlasticFreeJuly. Sadly, Twitter was also where one of my favorite brands lost me as a consumer. I'd tweeted out, asking about using less plastic, and the brand ignored me, but engaged with all of the replies telling me to repurpose the containers. Indeed, I've repurposed the containers, but it's rather crazy to hope that everyone else does, and at some point, how many plastic containers do you need? (Narrator: No more plastic containers were needed). We're living in a time where brand purpose and ethics drive sales and loyalty more than prices do, and it's time for brands to act as responsible stewards of our environment, which is why I'm so proud to work where I do.

Recycling used to be so simple: aluminum cans, glass bottles, newspapers and paper bags. But the sheer amount of disposable items has turned a garbage problem into a garbage crisis, says Tom Szaky, founder and chief executive of TerraCycle. The company’s mission is recycling the previously unrecyclable, such as cigarette butts, contact lenses and chewing gum.

Recycling used to be so simple: aluminum cans, glass bottles, newspapers and paper bags. The sheer amount of disposable items has turned a garbage problem into a garbage crisis, says Tom Szaky, founder and chief executive of TerraCycle. The company’s mission is recycling the previously unrecyclable, such as cigarette butts, contact lenses and chewing gum.