Zero waste:How you can create less rubbish in personal hygiene

Let that work for you: In Germany we produce per year and per capita! 226.5 kg of garbage according to the Federal Environment Agency. How could it come so far and more importantly, what can we do about it? Zero waste is one of the big movements towards less waste and we looked at where we and you can do a lot better in terms of cosmetics and care.nnen. 

Let's take our own nose: why do we produce so much waste? 

It is almost enough if we monitor our own consumption more closely over a few days. We quickly find that we are constantly creating garbage. For example:

• The small plastic container with coffee cream and the sugar cone at the café
• The plastic packaging for the cheese, margarine and packaged bread
• Vegetables and pasta packed in plastic and canned tomatoes
• Online orders come with filling material and lots of cardboard around the already packaged product
• Dinner by delivery service: in polystyrene containers and wrapped in aluminum foil
• Beer opened, bottle cap remains
• … 

And alsoit doesn't stop in the bathroom: Shower gel, shampoo and liquid soap all often have packaging made of or with plastic. 

There is no question that this is a real problem. We think of plastic in the ocean, or contaminated soil. And we are masters at transferring the problem to others: The mountains of garbage are created in poorer countries because we are world champions in Germany when it comes to wealth waste, of course. 

However, it is also clear that the problem does not disappear in thin air because we sweep our waste under the carpet or ship it to another place.

It is time that we all became aware of it and much more! To take responsibility. This applies on the one hand to politics and the market, but also to us as consumers.n. 

Zero waste: The goal is not waste

In 2020, of course, we are not the first to think and worry about our waste production. The Zero Waste International Alliance ZWIA has been around since 2002 and is committed to ensuring that people around the world produce significantly less waste.. 

Theofficial understanding of the ZWIA reads:

“Zero Waste: The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health. 

Zero Waste translates to the preservation or preservation of all resources by producing, reusing and recovering products, packaging and materials responsibly, without being burned or separated into land, water or air and the health of Threaten the environment and people.

With this definition, zero waste does not necessarily mean that you are not allowed to produce a gram of waste. It's more about producing significantly less waste and recycling things before they are recycled.

“Yes, but how is that supposed to work, you ask now. Not without reason, after all, we produce garbage in our everyday life on almost every occasion.. 

And with your question you have already taken the first important step and started looking for opportunities. Zero Waste's five principles will help you:

Zero waste explained in 5 Rs 

The philosophy behind Zero Waste does not require that you no longer have a life worth living. Perhaps we can also look at it this way: The more we orient ourselves on the recommendations of the movement, the more worth living in the future.

There are five maxims the five Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Red.. 

Refuse: Reject what is unnecessary

There are products and production chains that are harmful to the climate and the environment, but also to the exploitation of humans and other living beings. Make yourself aware of when your consumer behavior supports this and change it accordingly. Possible examples would be to do without meat or own a car.

Reduce: Reduce the damage

Do less of what is not good. At Zero Waste this means concretely: cause less waste and fewer pollutants. Examples are trips by bike instead of by car or packing fruit and vegetables in textile bags instead of plastic bags. It can also mean that you no longer travel by air every year or several times a year.. 

Reuse: Repair, reuse and reuse

You do not have to throw away disposable glasses if you reuse them as storage containers. The same applies to the shopping bags that you have made of textile or plastic at home. Also think about the packaging for toilet paper: it is still suitable as a garbage bag.

And it doesn't stop there: Your T-shirt has holes. You can sew it up to protect your mouth and nose or use it as a cleaning rag. Or your smartphone may be getting old, but it will still work until it is really broken.. 

And of course an object is far from broken just because it suddenly doesn't work as it did before. Often only a simple repair is necessary and it lives on for many more years.

Recycle

Ideally, there is not much left to recycle if you have already rejected and reduced unnecessary items and are reusing and reusing things. Recycling means that a material is changed in such a way that it can be used for other purposes. However, this also leads to ecological damage.

Red: composting

Household waste in particular can be easily recycled: In the compost, your egg and potato peelings and other biological waste are turned back into soil or fertilizer.

Interim conclusion: it is doable

If we look at the 5 Rs, we notice that we can do a lot of it very well: In reality, doing without and reducing is often not difficult. Repairing or reusing things also makes sense and can even be fun. 

However, we continue to create waste in things that are difficult to avoid, here recycling plays an important role, even if it is not a perfect solution. 

And with that we are slowly arriving at the topic of cosmetics and personal care: is it necessary or not necessary and how can it be implemented in such a way that the ecological costs are as low as possible? 

Zero waste and personal care: goes cosmetics without garbage 

The answer is yes and no.

We have four simple tips for you at the start:

1. Be economical. For example, many people overdo it in the shower and use endless amounts of soap unnecessarily. The less you use, the less you have to buy more, the less waste you produce. 
2. You can easily make many things for your body yourself with simple home remedies. For example, we found a guide like youproduce deodorant themselves can. And we have that a facial peeling does not have to come out of the tubealready described here.
3. A very simple means of reducing waste is thatChange from liquid soap to bar soap. The reason: Liquid soap is typically packaged in plastic so that it does not go flat. Bar soap, on the other hand, is dry and only has to be packed for transport and that works on a paper basis like ours Body and face soap and oursHand soap.
4. Use a safety razor to shave. It is much more environmentally friendly than the system razor, shaves much better and has no harmful gels on the blade. We haveexplored here in detail the environmental benefits of the safety razor.
5. When buying care products, make sure that the manufacturers do not use microplastics or silicones. These substances are unnecessary for the skin and a real problem for the environment.

As a cosmetics manufacturer, we are also aware that wea special responsibility for our customers and for the environment. And we also know that awareness is far from enough. So we act: 

sober products are neutral in carbon and plastic

We want you to be able to buy our products with a clear conscience. After all, they should not only be sober for you, but also for the environment. That is why the following applies to sober :

• In our products you will not find any ingredients such asMicroplastics orSiliconesthat are harmful to you or the environment.
• Shipping is implemented free of CO2 and plastic
• Packaging is only used when it is really necessary
• Plastic is only suitable as packaging if there is no alternative made from 100 recycled materials 
• … and then we only use recyclable plastic
• With every product sold, we plant together with theEden Reforestation Projects a tree to further compensate for CO2

Your first step in the right direction 

… is to question and test your consumption habits. Use the 5 Rs as a guide to reduce garbage. That probably means that in the future you will do something differently than before. But it's worth it! 

You also take responsibility and #staysober

Simon