Compostable Bio-Plastics vs. PET and what is Greenwashing?
I regularly research to see what's next on how to improve the sustainability efforts of Level Headed. We all have to walk the walk and there is a lot of work to be done to turn this planet around. Recently my pomade containers got a bad rap however. A member of a waste free group slammed me for using plastic while preaching sustainability, as if I was just pretending to care about green initiatives. Some companies pretend to care to generate sales. That's called "Greenwashing". At first glance our pomade containers just look like basic plastic. We've all seen video clips of the waves of plastic floating in a bay somewhere which is unfortunately happening all over the world (as close to the US as the Caribbean). So everyone wants to slam the use of plastic anywhere. This is a misconception. When you hear how long it takes plastic to decompose you are leaving out whether it is recyclable or not. If it is, it should never hit a landfill to begin decomposing at all. Our pomade containers are made out of PET. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate. It's a form of polyester (as in clothing fabric!) and its molded into plastic containers for packaging of all sorts. The benefit of using PET is that there is a large, well organized PET recycling infrastructure in the United States and 90% of PET is recyclable. So after you use your pomade just remove the labels and give it a good rinse to ensure it makes it back into the recycling stream and not a landfill! Below is a link to an article with more information and an image provided by AMCOR, whom we don't do business with but sells similar packaging products. Thanks! Bioplastics vs PET article Transparent Solar Panels
Maybe i'm going solar panel crazy but here's an example of how cool solar power is and will be in the future. Another reason for a second solar panel article here (I covered algae solar panels last month) is that it was first created by researchers in the mitten state at Michigan State University in 2014! Today this technology has achieved a fully transparent panel, pictured to the left, and 10% solar capture which may not seem like much but because of its wide area of application and deployment it could amount to an abundance of power. Research continues to improve efficiency. The future of this tech is bright! Pun definitely intended. Solar Magazine
Aftershave of Oats!
We're moving right along on the aftershave. Here's the label created by my very own client at the Berkley Chop Shop, Jeremy Wilson. I'm super pumped to have this available within a couple weeks!
Jeremy Wilson Design
How Can You Contribute to Sustainability Efforts at Home?
Stop buying cleaning products! Not only are they bottled in single use plastics that don't make their way back into use but they contain tons of harmful chemicals that can harm your eyes, throat and even cause cancer. When you finish off a bottle, keep it and fill it with this simple and SUPER cheap combination. 3 parts water, one part white vinegar and lemon juice to disinfect. A gallon of the main ingredient, white vinegar, is roughly $2 at most grocery stores. In some cases I have found it works better than most cleaning products even.
Thanks for reading!
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