In the US, the new pouch will be available exclusively on TheGerberStore.com for Gerber’s Organic Banana Mango Puree beginning in May 2020.   It will be 100% recyclable through Gerber’s national recycling program with TerraCycle. In Finland, the pouch will be available for Piltti’s Apple Pear Blueberry Raspberry widely sold in supermarkets.   Thierry Philardeau, head of the Nutrition Strategic Business Unit, Nestle, said, “We are proud to have found a solution for the recyclability of baby food pouches.   We began in the US and Finland for two product variants, and we aim to gradually extend the use of single-material pouch to our baby food pouches range globally.”   This is in line with Nestle’s commitment to making 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.   The newly designed-to-be-recyclable pouch is made from polypropylene (PP), a versatile form of plastic available commercially.   This switch is expected to make more plastics infinitely recyclable and increase the value of the material for the recycling industry.   “This launch is an important milestone in how we execute our ambition to create a wider market for recycled plastics that are safe for food.   We will continue to work with other stakeholders to ensure that the infrastructure needed to recycle matches material innovation,” added Thierry Philardeau.

Do you know how to recycle an empty shampoo bottle or an old razor blade? Most of us do not and that is why it is estimated that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Learn how to reduce your environmental footprint by starting in the bathroom . The cosmetics industry produces around 120 billion packages a year and most are not recycled, says Alex Payne , a spokesperson for TerraCycle, an organization specializing in salvaging difficult-to-recycle products and giving them a second life away from the landfill.   Throwing things in the recycling container without knowing what they are and if they are recyclable or not in your city is a phenomenon known as wish-cycling and that unfortunately is more common than you think. Another big mistake is not to empty and clean the containers before throwing them away. If you don't rinse them they can't be recycled! "Many products contain plastic microbeads that end up in the sea when they go down the drain," Payne explains. Look for natural and biodegradable alternatives, like this one with jojoba grain. Bia Exfoliating Wash, by Codex Beauty. $ 45. codexbeauty.com   If you want to contribute your grain of sand, pay extra attention to the materials from which your cosmetics are made, choose recycled and recyclable containers, and try to reduce the amount of plastic in your dressing table. For more information on how and where to throw your products, visit the TerraCycle website . Venus Embrace Swirl Color Blocked by Gillette. $ 12.99. In pharmacies.   Razor blades are one of the most difficult products to recycle because they combine plastic and metal, and we use so many! TerraCycle collaborates with brands like Gillette through programs where consumers can mail in their used blades or drop them off at gyms, stores and institutions that are part of the program and they take care of recycling.

Do you know how to recycle an empty shampoo bottle or an old razor blade? Most of us do not and that is why it is estimated that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Learn how to reduce your environmental footprint by starting in the bathroom . The cosmetics industry produces around 120 billion packages a year and most are not recycled, says Alex Payne , a spokesperson for TerraCycle, an organization specializing in salvaging difficult-to-recycle products and giving them a second life away from the landfill. Throwing things in the recycling container without knowing what they are and if they are recyclable or not in your city is a phenomenon known as wish-cycling and that unfortunately is more common than you think. Another big mistake is not to empty and clean the containers before throwing them away. If you don't rinse them they can't be recycled! "Many products contain plastic microbeads that end up in the sea when they go down the drain," Payne explains. Look for natural and biodegradable alternatives, like this one with jojoba grain. Bia Exfoliating Wash, by Codex Beauty. $ 45. codexbeauty.com If you want to contribute your grain of sand, pay extra attention to the materials from which your cosmetics are made, choose recycled and recyclable containers, and try to reduce the amount of plastic in your dressing table. For more information on how and where to throw your products, visit the TerraCycle website. Venus Embrace Swirl Color Blocked by Gillette. $ 12.99. In pharmacies. Razor blades are one of the most difficult products to recycle because they combine plastic and metal, and we use so many! TerraCycle collaborates with brands like Gillette through programs where consumers can mail in their used blades or drop them off at gyms, stores and institutions that are part of the program and they take care of recycling.

I've never been a minimalist, and I never will be. I love color, live in patterns, and in general just like having options - lots of them. What I don't like, however, is clutter. As a self-proclaimed "beauty girl" and collector for over 12 years (three of which were spent as a beauty editor), it's no surprise I amassed quite the product stash. Sure, I'd done several purges over the years, dividing some products between friends and throwing old ones in the trash. I'd also made my way through quite a few, using them up until the last drop or swipe. All that being said, I still had more than I would ever need. A massive beauty declutter was definitely overdue. Long bubble baths, massages, and indulgent skincare routines are often touted as popular forms of beauty self-care. But I'm arguing that purging your excess products - and reorganizing, cleaning, and maybe even donating in the process - trumps them all. So if you're looking for an excuse to get productive and take a much-needed internet break, this might be the perfect activity. Keep reading as I share my approach to decluttering, including a handful of tips, organizer recommendations, and the final results.

A couple of years ago, luxury retailer Nordstrom collected data from its customers to get a better sense of their actions and sentiments about circularity, shopping and its impact on the environment. Seventy percent of those surveyed said they would drop off items for resale or donation, and 35 percent said they worried about the environmental impact of the clothing they owned. Nordstrom used these data points and others to inform its sustainability efforts. "We’re seeing circularity as an opportunity as well as an impact area for us to think about," said Chelsea Evans, sustainability lead at Nordstrom, during this week's GreenBiz Group webcast about how retailers can embrace the circular economy.  (You can watch the discussion on demand by signing up here.) There is no one perfect approach for a retailer to embrace circular business models or practices. There’s also no one way to prove the return on investment that comes from shifting to this mode of doing business. But there are plenty of compelling reasons to explore it — from doing less damage to the environment to meeting consumers’ growing desires to support businesses that are sustainable. We’re seeing circularity as an opportunity as well as an impact area for us to think about. In Nordstrom’s case, the retailer is using several approaches to embed circularity into its business model. One way it is doing so is by driving demand for products that are made or sourced from recycled materials. It is also getting everyone — including consumers — "on the same page with language" about what it means for a garment to be made of recycled materials. For example, when a company says a piece of apparel is made from recycled plastic bottles, what that really means is that the garment is made from recycled polyester. The retailer has created a section on its site to help customers filter through products that are sustainably sourced. As part of this resource, it includes brands that use at least 50 percent sustainably sourced materials — organic cotton, recycled polyester and materials that are Fair Trade Certified. The decision to create this guide was informed by the 59 percent of customers that said their purchasing decisions had been influenced by information about a company’s social or environmental policies, Evans said. Additionally, Nordstrom recently has launched a recommerce shop through a partnership with Trove (formerly Yerdle) where it takes back products and refurbishes damaged items for resale. "We’re excited to show our customers another way Nordstrom is striving to leave the world better than we found it, and circular fashion is another piece to this puzzle," said Pete Nordstrom, co-president at Nordstrom, in a statement.

Connecting circularity to emissions

Retailer IKEA, which sells an entirely different portfolio of products from Nordstrom and therefore has different needs when it comes to circularity, likewise started with the data to inform its priorities. In 2016, IKEA measured and cataloged the main source of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to its operations. It found that more than 60 percent came from raw materials and consumer product use — at 38 percent and 23 percent, respectively. Lisa Davis, sustainability manager at IKEA, said one of the biggest challenges the company is trying to tackle is unsustainable consumption. "That brings us to how we connected those emissions to our strategy," Davis said, noting that one of IKEA's commitments is promoting circular and sustainable consumption to its customers. In 2016, IKEA collaborated with Goodwill to run a pilot take-back program in Charlotte, North Carolina, inviting customers to bring back furniture that was no longer of use to them. Workers from both organizations inspected the furniture and determined whether it would be taken to a Goodwill store to be resold or broken down and recycled. The following year, IKEA expanded the pilot to 41 stores. Davis said success for the program varied across sites, but IKEA is using its findings to inform future programs and has been working to implement circular economy principles in other parts of its business. Two places where strategies are under development: eliminating food waste and revamping its reverse logistics protocols.

The allure of reuse

Walgreens is another retailer that is embracing circular economy ideals, in partnership with Loop. Loop, a shopping service created by parent company Terracycle, enables customers to buy everyday products  — from deodorant to ice cream — that are packaged in reusable containers. "They’re basically operating off of the milkman model from the 1950s and a little after that but really looking at this very wide variety of products that people are using on a daily basis," said Lauren Stone, director of corporate social responsibility at Walgreens, during this week's webcast. In Loop's current, launch iteration, customers must ship back or find a UPS location to drop off the totes that are used to deliver products. Now in partnership with The Kroger Co. and Walgreens, customers will be able to drop off packaging in person at return kiosks that located are in physical stores. The launch is aimed for fall 2020 in Walgreens stores. Stone said that the Walgreens-Loop partnership will help customers who want to make more sustainable decisions about the retail products they purchase. While the concept of reuse is still novel to many people, by including exclusive, reusable options in stores, Walgreens is seeking to resolve consumer confusion while adding a layer of convenience for consumers who aren't comfortable with an entirely online experience. Don’t wait for a perfect solution because it doesn’t exist ... Take a first step in an area that is of importance to you, learn from that scenario... Walgreens acknowledges both the opportunities and challenges that come with implementing a reuse model in stores. The benefits include the chance for Walgreens to offer exclusive products and improve the sustainability of its operations, while the challenges include educating consumers about the process and making accommodations for the space that the return kiosks and merchandise will take up in stores. Each of these retailers on this week's webcast is implementing different strategies for embedding circular economy processes, and those initiatives will continue to adjust along the way. When the webinar wrapped up, each speaker offered advice to people working in other businesses thinking about embedding circularity into their work. They all echoed the line of thinking that you have to just start. "Don’t wait for a perfect solution because it doesn’t exist," Davis said. "Take a first step in an area that is of importance to you, learn from that scenario, get the data from consumers, get the results and use that to look at how you move forward."

With a large portion of storefronts shuttered across the country, the retail business is being slammed by the fight against COVID-19. In this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions relevant to beauty entrepreneurs, we ask 12 retailers: What can beauty brands do to help you get through this crisis?

Local musicians are invited to attend a free recycle and restring event at Mountain Music Parlor in Reno on April 25, 2020 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Sponsored by D’Addario® and international recycling company TerraCycle®, musicians can bring any old instrument strings for recycling and get their electric or acoustic guitars restrung with D’Addario NYXL or Nickel Bronze Acoustic strings. Old strings collected during the event will be recycled through Playback, D’Addario’s free, national recycling program.

There’s a lot of talk about pro and prebiotics right now, but what does that mean for personal care? Tom’s of Maine created the first-of-its-kind Prebiotic Personal Care line, and today I am partnering with them to share a few of my favorites, but first I want to chat a bit about why I love the brand. Tom’s of Maine is a Certified B Corp and at the core of their brand is their Stewardship Model, which guides their standards for balancing natural, sustainable and responsible. They’ve also partnered with Terracycle to create the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Recycling Program, so anyone can recycle their natural care products and packaging free of cost. You can sign up here and then start collecting your waste. Basically everything I’m sharing in this post can be recycled, for free through Terracycle!   So what are prebiotics? Essentially they are nutrients that promote the growth of good bacteria in and on your body. It helps create a healthy balance, so there’s more good bacteria and less of the bad (which is what causes things like bad breath and body odor, ew). My personal favorites from the Tom’s of Maine Prebiotic Personal Care line are the Prebiotic Liquid Hand Soap (the Blood Orange scent is heavenly), Prebiotic Deodorant, and the Prebiotic Body Wash & Prebiotic Bar Soap (love the Soft Rose scent).   I think we can all relate to the reality of constantly washing our hands the last few weeks. The Prebiotic hand soap and bar soap have no sulfate based surfactants, parabens or phthalates, are cruelty free and helps retain skin’s natural moisture. They cleanse the skin without stripping it of beneficial bacteria. The Prebiotic Deodorant (I’ve been using Soft Rose, it’s really subtle but smells amazing) has the prebiotic ingredient xylitol and a vegan yogurt extract which promotes healthy bacteria and helps eliminate odors. You can shop the Prebiotic Personal Care line here.

Schwarzkopf is the latest beauty brand to team up with TerraCycle on a large-scale recycling initiative.   The Henkel-owned haircare giant has partnered with the waste management company to make its retail hair care, colour and styling products recyclable across the US. The sustainability push will see shoppers invited to collect their empty packaging from Schwarzkopf products, and send them to TerraCycle. Empties will then be recycled and transformed into new products such as park benches, bike racks, pet food bowls and recycling bins.   "We're proud that 100% of Schwarzkopf retail product packaging will now be recyclable," Manuela Emmrich, marketing director, Hair US, Henkel Beauty Care, said in a statement. "Through the TerraCycle/Schwarzkopf program, there is now a solution for hair product packaging that has historically been difficult to recycle, due to a myriad of curb-side recycling program requirements."   "The expansion of Henkel's partnership with TerraCycle is an important part of Henkel's commitment to a circular economy for plastic and sustainable packaging, and our target of ensuring 100 percent of our Beauty and Laundry & Home Care packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025," added Martina Spinatsch, vice president, R&D, Beauty Care, Henkel North America.   Three different Schwarzkopf Recycling Programs have been established to deal with aerosols, hair colouration products and all other packaging, with individuals, schools, offices and community organisations all encouraged to participate. Collectors can be rewarded for their efforts by earning points that can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the non-profit, school; or charitable organisation of their choice.   Schwarzkopf is not the only beauty brand turning to TerraCycle to up its recycling game -- Herbal Essences, Garnier USA and Gillette have all recently launched initiatives with the company. -- AFP Relaxnews