Viewpoint: The Best That You Can Be
Focus on making the right choices based on the information available today.
By Gina GarrubboCofounder
Natural Beauty Innovations LLC
Do you dare go down the rabbit hole for environmentally friendly packaging? A lot of companies are asking themselves this question.
Even before my business partner, Patricia, and I launched Terralina, our line of natural skin care products, we had decided early on that it would be essential for our packaging to match the values and integrity of our products. Our quest for environmentally friendly packaging was longer, more complex, and more expensive than it would have been had we gone with conventional, non-eco-friendly alternatives. Often, we felt like we were going down a rabbit hole, because the more we learned, the more we realized how much we still had to know.
One thing we have learned is that it is impossible to be perfect. The landscape of environmentally friendly packaging is constantly changing. In this field, as in others, it’s best to be transparent with your intentions and readily admit to your customers that your efforts may not be perfect. For example, we proudly packaged our products in biodegradable non-genetically modified corn-based foam. Recently, however, there have been headlines about a global food shortage, so perhaps using corn crops for packaging will not be the best practice in the future. It is what we are sticking with for now, however, while we study viable alternatives. Again, it will be impossible to be perfect, but you have to make choices, and you must be comfortable with your decisions.
Educating yourself is key in your quest to go green. In the process of exploring postconsumer recycled (PCR) materials, we hired Pure Strategies, a consulting firm, to vet the quality of the PCR we wanted to use. In addition to consulting firms, there are a number of good information resources out there, including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (www.sustainablepackaging.org) and Green Seal (www.greenseal.org). These groups are all committed to educating and helping corporations understand what it means to use environmentally friendly business practices. We learned a great deal from these organizations, and they can help you to arm yourself with the information you need when making decisions about which green packaging options to choose.
There are also things that you will learn along the way. For instance, we think that it’s very important to use PCR material when possible, especially because only about one-third of plastic containers get recycled by consumers. We use 100% PCR HDPE for our Terralina cleanser and toner packaging. One of the things that we learned through our research is that PCR cannot be recycled if things like adhesive or metallic overlays are added. If we hadn’t traveled further down the rabbit hole, we wouldn’t have learned this, and our PCR components, which are recyclable, might not have ended up being so.
Using responsible business practices in packaging is not just the right thing to do for the environment; it will eventually be better for your business, as consumers are increasingly rewarding companies for being environmentally friendly. This fact was recently confirmed at a recent Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) conference, during which many speakers noted that consumers will forgive imperfections as long as companies’ intentions and efforts are sincere.
So go ahead—dare to go down the rabbit hole. It’s not as scary as you think. We are proof that companies can find options that are right for them. Now, figure out what environmentally friendly practices make sense for your company.
Gina Garrubbo is the CEO and cofounder of Natural Beauty Innovations LLC and natural personal care product brand Terralina (www.terralina.com). Garrubbo and her business partner, her cousin Patricia Bazan Garrubbo, aim to use as many eco-friendly packaging materials as possible in their line.