We know these words. We hear them more and more. And we see new eco-friendly certifications every day.
And thank goddess.
It’s relieving and delightful to witness the increasing efforts to support the planet and take responsibility for our actions as humans.
In fact, many well-known beauty brands have switched to eco-friendly cosmetic packaging such as:
- Burt’s Bees
- Lush
- Aveda
However, smaller-business see the value and responsibility in becoming eco-friendly as well. Here are a few:
- Little Danube
- Herbivore Botanicals
- Maple Holistics
With that said, it’s undeniable biodegradable packaging materials are on the rise and becoming mainstreamwithin the beauty industry.
However, you might not be sure how to support this cause. Or perhaps, you’re on the lookout for new ways to perform sustainability.
At Little Danube, our business is built upon sustainable practices. And we want to share them with you so you can incorporate more sustainability in your life too.
So, how does Little Danube achieve sustainability?
For starters, ditch the plastic.
Many eco-friendly skincare brands are making the switch to sustainable packaging because they cannot deny the negative effects of plastic packaging.
And there’s a myriad of negative effects. For example, it’s:
- Increasing the garbage in landfills
- Non-compostable
- Expensive to create and compress
- Highly toxic
- Perpetuating our ocean’s plastic problem
- Non-recyclable
As a result, we use biodegradable corn-based packaging instead of plastic.
Little Danube Uses Biodegradable Packaging Materials Made of Corn. But Why?
We consider corn-based packaging to be one of the best plastic alternatives. We use it to cover our products, keep them safe during transportation, and provide an overall successful delivery.
More specifically, Little Danube uses eco-friendly:
- Boxes
- Tissue paper
- Delivery bags
Plus, we use soy-based ink and acid-free paper. But we’ll get to that later.
First, let’s understand why plastic is bad for the environment (and why corn is sustainable).
Plastic Permeates Our Oceans While Corn-Based Packaging Decomposes Within Months
Previously, plastic packaging was popular and commonplace.
However, sustainable beauty brands are searching for and implementing eco-friendly cosmetic packaging due to the negative consequences of plastic such as:
- Increased ocean pollution
- Landfill overgrowth
At Little Danube, we use sustainable packaging materials made of corn. However, even though it’s corn-based, our packaging is:
- Durable
- Protective
- High-quality
Furthermore, corn-based materials protect beauty products during transportation and get them delivered in one piece.
But let’s get to the important part. Why is it considered eco-friendly?
To start, corn-based packaging materials are:
- Biodegradable
- Cheap
- Easy to produce
More specifically, corn-based products are made of cornstarch.
Yep. You know that powder you use for thickening jams and soap?
That’s the stuff.
But cornstarch is made from extracting the endosperm from corn kernels. Then, the endosperms are ground up into that white powder we know as cornstarch.
Compared to non-compostable plastic, corn packaging breaks down into carbon dioxide and water within several months.
But that’s not all corn-based materials have to offer.
It can also be reground and thus reused to live a “second life” — making it recyclable.
Take that single-use plastic!
But we don’t produce our own corn-based packaging. We receive it from the leading eco-friendly packaging company - noissue.
What’s the Best Eco-Friendly Packaging Company For Beauty Brands? We Recommend noissue
We didn't choose our packaging suppliers at random. In fact, it took a lot of time and research to find a company that shares similar goals and motives.
Goals of supporting the planet and making a change in the way beauty companies package their products.
That’s why we are extremely happy to work with noissue for our sustainable cosmetic packaging. They offer packaging that's:
- Biodegradable
- Made with soy-based ink
- Acid-free
Remember, how we mentioned our packaging is made with soy-based ink and is acid-free?
Along with our corn-based packaging materials, our soy ink designs and acid-free paper comes from noissue as well.
Soy-Based Ink
Instead of the unprogressive and toxic petroleum-based ink, noissue uses eco-friendly and non-toxic soy-based ink. The benefits of soy-based ink are plentiful such as:
- Creating bright colors on your packaging
- Emits low VOCs
- Doesn’t leave toxins behind when decomposing
On the opposite spectrum, the negative effects of petroleum-based ink are numerous. For example, it’s:
- Made from non-renewable resources
- Highly-toxic
- Extremely flammable
- VOC emissions are extremely high
In a nutshell, not only is soy-based ink better for the environment but it creates vivid imagery as well (just take a peek at Little Danube's soapboxes above).
Acid-Free Tissue Paper
Did you know it’s common for your tissue (wrapping) paper to contain acid?
Shocking, right? But the acidic nature is derived from wood pulp.
That said, it’s vital to look for the acid-free symbol (above) when buying paper or tissue paper.
Because when acid-free paper decomposes, it doesn’t leave behind any chemicals — unlike acidic paper. Moreover, the acidic paper contains:
- Sulfur
- Lignin
- Acid
And both sulfur and acid are known for their corrosive characteristics. In fact, they remove nutrients and minerals from the dirt.
Plus, it poses a threat to us and wildlife by contaminating our food, environment, and water.
In addition to that, lignin is wood pulp that’s immensely hard to break down. As a result, factories use highly toxic chemicals in order to force lignin to break down. Thus, creating paper.
Unfortunately, not only does the massive production of acidic paper cause air pollution but the paper itself is contaminated with these toxic chemicals.
In other words, we can avoid leaking unnecessary chemicals into our environment and polluting our air by choosingacidic-free paper.
Join Little Danube and Support the Rise Of Eco-Friendly Cosmetic Packaging
Little Danube is committed to only using eco-friendly cosmetic packaging. And we know you are too.
So, if you’re looking to support sustainable beauty brands that use biodegradable packaging for cosmetics, we urge you to come on over to Little Danube today.
“SUSTAINABLY is how we package everything.
We use beautiful eco-friendly tissue which is made from acid-free paper and soy-based ink. Our soapboxes are recyclable and our delivery bags are fully compostable.”