Do you really care about the product packaging that ends up in your home? We do too, and we aim to be as transparent as we can about our packaging choices.
In this post, we explain why we favour some packaging types over others.
Our packaging types
So that you can always trust that we are using the best materials available to us, all Green People packaging materials are assessed as part of the processes we go through when seeking organic certification for our products.
As of 2024, we use the following recyclable packaging materials:
- glass
- sugar cane plastic
- post-consumer plastic
- FSC wood & cardboard
- PP & PE plastic
Except for our SPF sachets and some of our toothpaste tubes, all our packaging materials can be recycled and need never make their way to landfill.
Green People is also proud to offer a choice of plastic-free shampoo bars and One Balm, our low-waste beauty balm. This balm comes in a biodegradable pot which is made using sawdust, a by-product of the wood-felling industry.
Why has Green People chosen these packaging types?
When looking for new options we take into consideration the following factors:
- The environmental impact of producing the packaging materials
- The environmental impact of shipping the packaging from our door to yours
- The ease and environmental impact of disposing of the packaging
- How secure the product is inside the packaging
- The packaging’s ease of use
- The contamination risk of the packaging/the packaging’s reliance on preservatives
- How we feature the information we are legally required to include with the product in the most eco-friendly way
- The cost of the material and how this impacts the overall price of our products
- The longevity of the packaging and its ease of storage
We love the luxurious look of our glass packaging and how easy it is to recycle, but because glass products are more vulnerable to spoilage, require a lot of energy to produce, and need additional packaging materials to keep them safe during transit, we don’t use glass for everything.
In comparison, plastic effectively protects against spoilage without the need for lots of preservatives, requires little energy to make and is lightweight to ship.
Most of our squeezy tubes use sugar cane plastic and we choose to use this eco-plastic because it keeps our formulations safe and has a favourable carbon emissions profile.
For every 1 kilo of sugar cane plastic produced, 3 kilos of CO2 is removed from our atmosphere. This exchange can be described as being climate-positive.
We are also increasing our use of recycled plastic and now use Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastic to package many of our products, including our organic roll-on deodorants and hand washes.
Did you know that it is a condition of our COSMOS Organic Certification that our packaging is renewable, refillable or recyclable? To secure certification we must also review and improve on our packaging choices every 3 years.
What’s the future of Green People packaging?
Our plastic-free shampoo bars have proven a popular choice with our customers looking to minimise their plastic use, and whilst it isn’t yet possible for us to remove plastic from all of our product packaging, exploring alternative solutions is something we are very much engaged in.
We’re excited to see innovations in cosmetics packaging, and we continue to look into these so that we can deliver our products to you in a safe, energy-efficient and eco-friendly way.
Shop packaging-light products
We hope that this answered any questions you may have had around the packaging of our natural and organic beauty products.
Should you have any more questions about our packaging, our UK customer care team can be contacted at organic@greenpeople.co.uk or on 01403 740350.
If you wish to republish this content, please credit Green People as the original creator with a link to "A guide to Green People’s packaging." Please do not use an affiliate link.
