We’ve spoken about our standards before, and I happen to remember us saying something like, “we’re always working on furthering our approach to sustainability.” Well– this is us keeping you updated on that! Let’s re-up on what’s going on in function’s standards department on all things clean + sustainable.
What you receive
A formula made with very specific, clean ingredients. What makes them clean? Our laundry list of regulations make it hard for ingredients to pass. They have to follow the European Union regulations on safe cosmetics, (which bans nearly 1400 ingredients, vs only 11 by the FDA), get checked against 26* checklist items by 3 different departments**, pass review in formulation with other ingredients, help achieve results for someone’s unique hair/skin/body care needs, be 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and as often as we can help it, be responsibly sourced. Phew 😅
*what we mean by 26 checklist items: regulatory (product safety), environmental health and safety (the safety of our employees batching these ingredients), and quality (are these ingredients compatible with our ways of working, equipment etc? Do we have all the documents we need from the raw ingredient suppliers?)
**what departments we’re talking about: those that consider toxicological endpoints such as toxicity, potential for irritation, and potential for sensitization. Plus, brand departments focused on our brand pillars requirements, like staying vegan, cruelty free, and gluten free.
Fragrances that are either natural, naturally derived, or synthetic — we work to ensure these are responsibly sourced through our choice of suppliers, and our commitment to being vegan and cruelty-free. Want to learn about how differences in sourcing materials affects sustainability? Check out this interview with our Co-founder and CEO, Zahir Dossa on Byrdie: The Hard Truth: Natural Ingredients Aren’t Always the Most Sustainable
A regimen card that explains your formula + lists every single one of your unique ingredients and, in our most recent effort, this will be going completely digital!
Products that only exist because you created them. Individually filling bottles not only means that you get a one-of-a-kind formula that benefits you, it means a formula that was only created out of need, which benefits the planet!
Bottles that are 100% recyclable (including the caps). All of our hair care and body care bottles will be transitioned to be made of 100% PCR materials by mid-2021.
Pumps (or not) that are completely optional after your first order if you’d like to reduce plastic.
Boxes that are 100% recyclable, and made up of at least 30% post-consumer recycled materials (any material that’s been used and recycled can be repurposed to become PCR. It’s never made up of any ‘virgin plastics’). These PCR materials are sourced from environmentally-responsible paper suppliers and are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. We’ve also implemented size options for our boxes depending on how much you order, which allows for less material waste!
What’s going on behind the scenes
A consistent effort to stay on top of and lean into sustainability options in all areas of our business. Our goal is to have a longer list of what we mean by clean the next time we speak to you about it, and every time after that!
