Unfortunately, many believe that eco-friendly alternatives are inherently more expensive. But that’s a harmful myth, since reducing plastic use is becoming increasingly imperative. In order to tackle plastic pollution, we must demand alternatives from product manufacturers, and equally importantly, we must all begin to change our daily habits. It’s time we begin integrating products into our routines and lifestyles that provide alternatives to single-use plastics. At the very least, we need to begin consciously selecting products that significantly reduce plastic waste in some way. Giving up plastic straws and plastic grocery bags is a great first step. But what about your hair care routine? For many of us, shampoo and conditioner bottles have long been a source of a constant stream of plastic waste. (In the U.S., half a billion shampoo and conditioner bottles get tossed every year.) The good news is there’s a growing crop of businesses that want to help people to become more conscious consumers, providing shampoo and conditioner refills in pouches that massively reduce plastic usage and waste. Many of these same manufacturers are also creating bottles designed to be long-lasting, and thus used again and again. Here are some of the notable new developments to consider when it comes to shampoo and conditioner refills that reduce the plastic waste of your hair care routine—and in many cases, also save you money. All of the bottles that Public Goods uses to package its products are made from sugarcane-based bio-plastics. Sugarcane is a form of packaging that does not come from fossil fuels, while traditional plastics do. (Traditional plastics are not only a major contributor to climate change; they also sit in landfills for decades before decomposing into substances that poison the earth.) “We wanted to create a healthy product, not just for the human beings using it, but for the planet,” says Ninah Jackson, Public Goods product expert. “Sugar cane plastic is considered carbon neutral. In addition to not being made from fossil fuels, sugar cane plastics are made from sugar cane plants grown specifically to create plastic products. So it’s not being harvested from the wild. It’s also a very fast-growing plant, so it’s considered sustainable to harvest.” What’s more, these non-petroleum-based bottles break down much faster than typical plastic in a landfill. But you won’t want to toss them, because they’re meant to be used again and again with Public Goods refill pouches. “As long as you keep them clean, the bottles can be refilled indefinitely,” continues Jackson. “You can refill them forever, and reuse them for whatever you want.” Refill pouches are another big step forward for your budget and the environment. The cost for a whopping 34-ounce pouch of shampoo (which is meant to refill your bottle three times) is just $11. The same is true for the conditioner—34 ounces for $11, which will refill your bottle three times. Meanwhile, by purchasing refill pouches instead of bottle after bottle, the amount of plastic you’ll be tossing into landfills will be significantly reduced. In addition, the refill pouches are made from flexible PET, which consumes less energy, natural resources, and carbon emissions to produce than rigid PET. The one caveat about Public Goods is that it requires membership with a yearly fee. You can buy any product on the site with a free, two-week trial. After the trial, the annual membership fee is $79. Membership can be cancelled at any time. The cardboard used for Attitude’s bulk refills is 100 percent recyclable and eco-friendly. The minimal amount of plastic used for the bag inside the box and the spigot is BPA-free. A generous 67 ounces of eco-refill shampoo is just $29.95 no matter which option you select—moisture-rich shampoo, volume and shine shampoo, clarifying shampoo or color protection shampoo. Like many of the trailblazers in this space, Attitude has set out to change the daily habits of consumers everywhere, and is focused on creating “clean products, less plastic, more trees.” “We believe that change starts with our daily choices and that together we have the power to lead to a better future—one product at a time,” says the company website. The downside? Attitude does not offer bulk-sized, eco-friendly conditioners. “The ingredients that give your hair that slick, frictionless silky feeling—and which are used in 95 percent or more of the conditioners out there—are silicone and dimethicone. They aren’t bad for you, but they accumulate in the environment, in water, and in oceans, and do not break down or biodegrade. So, we set out to solve that,” says Puracy founder and CEO Sean Busch. In addition to removing these environmentally harmful ingredients from its formulations, Puracy offers plastic pouch refills for its shampoos and conditioners, which has translated into major reduction of plastic waste. The company has crunched the numbers to track just how big an impact they are making. “By introducing pouches over bottles, we saved over 300 tons of plastic waste from hitting on landfills. That’s since we introduced the first pouch…up through the beginning of this year,” says Busch. “That’s a huge number, and it’s accurate. We ran the numbers a few times to make sure it’s correct.” In fact, Puracy’s emphasis on refill pouches, as well as reusable glass bottles and biodegradable formulas, is having a major impact—to the tune of more than 5 million bottles prevented from entering the environment, 1.4 million hectares of forest protected, and four tons of CO2 offset every month. The price of Puracy shampoo and conditioner is also worth a bit of praise. Customers who opt for subscribe-and-save get not only a 16-ounce bottle of shampoo or conditioner, but also a 64-ounce refill pouch, all for just $39. That’s a lot of eco-friendly hair care product for a very budget-friendly price. For those who may be ready to take another step forward, HiBAR’s shampoo and conditioner in a bar, for instance, has zero plastic packaging. And the company has created bars for all hair types, meaning those with color-treated hair, or dry hair, or greasy hair don’t have to sacrifice in order to go green. Product options include: Maintain, Volumize, Moisturize, and Soothe. Each bar costs $13.95, which is a bargain compared to how much some of us drop on high-end brands like Kerastase, Oribe, or Kevin Murphy, many of which set you back anywhere from $30 to upwards of $70 to $80 a bottle. And finally, like many of the other laudable companies already mentioned, HiBAR’s founders are on a mission to help save the planet by changing our daily routines for the better. “We really, truly wanted to make an impact, and by impact we mean not just having an option out there that’s maybe available only in natural food stores, or only available from our website,” says HiBAR co-founder Dion Hughes. “Those options are terrific, but we wanted to create a product that has the potential of being popular and widely available—not just because we want to have a successful business, but because that’s the only way we could see it having a meaningful impact on reducing plastic waste.” Hughes is alluding to what has become widely understood by many of those fighting the battle against plastic pollution: The only way to make a big difference is through critical mass and widespread adoption. That means making these eco-friendly products readily available. HiBAR is currently sold at Whole Foods, Sprouts, REI, and Kroger, among other locations. However, the company has its sights set on significant expansion. “At your local CVS, Ulta, or Target there are hundreds of different brands in plastic bottles. In 10 years’ time, we want that to be hundreds of brands not in plastic. We want non-plastic to be the norm—and plastic to be the niche,” says Hughes.
