It’s not an overstatement to say that the world is awash in plastic. The responsibility to address this situation falls on all companies, including ours, and we are taking steps to improve our sustainability efforts and minimize our environmental footprint. After all, SEEN is not just a beauty company; we’re also a group of people who want to leave our own communities and the world in better shape than we find them.
“Sustainability” gets a lot of extra attention when Earth Day rolls around each April, but the work that we’re doing goes on year-round. SEEN’s clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and dermatologist-designed formulas are crafted to be better for your hair and skin. As an extension of this mission, we are actively working on a matching sustainability agenda to ensure that our actions are also better for our community. It’s a broad program that will be implemented in stages. We view sustainability as more of a journey than a destination.
Our bottles, tubes, and boxes have always been recyclable, but we are in the process of shifting to tubes and bottles made of 25-50% post-consumer resin (PCR). You may notice a slight gray or yellow tint to our new packaging due to the inclusion of PCR. PCR is derived from previously used and recycled plastic and replaces the use of “virgin” plastics, which are first-time processed petrochemicals. PCR offers a double benefit: reducing both the demand for new plastics and the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and oceans. And as a bonus, PCR lowers the amount of energy needed to produce new plastics.
We are also excited to share that we will soon introduce SEEN Eco-Liters. These sustainable refill pouches use 75% less plastic (by weight) than traditional liter bottles, and you can decant them into your existing regular-size or liter SEEN bottles. First up will be the Conditioner and Deeper Conditioner Eco-Liters, with our Shampoo Eco-Liters coming shortly thereafter. All Eco-Liters will be available in scented and fragrance-free.
Reducing our consumption of plastic is one part of the strategy. Another is to gather plastic before it enters our oceans. To that end, we recently joined CleanHub, an organization that is building a global network of plastic collection projects to help reduce the volume of non-recyclable plastic that ultimately ends up in the ocean. SEEN will support a project called Green Worms, which collects household plastic waste door-to-door in South India since recycling is not an option in these communities. This plastic would otherwise end up in landfills, from where much of it eventually makes its way into the ocean. Collections are coordinated by women-led groups, and this project provides 300 people with much-needed employment.
In addition to focusing on our plastic usage, we will make our outer packaging more sustainable by only purchasing cartons that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC is a non-profit organization that ensures paper products come from responsibly-managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.
And lastly, you’ll soon be able to make your online shopping carbon-neutral as well. We have partnered with EcoCart, which funds a global network of projects that sequester, reduce, and offset carbon emissions. EcoCart’s algorithm calculates the cost of “neutralizing” the carbon emissions created by the manufacturing and shipping of each SEEN order and allows customers to choose to make their SEEN purchase carbon neutral. (The cost adds an incremental 1-2% to the order total—and we cover all other implementation fees associated with making this service available.)
As you can see, we are committed to more than just delivering stronger, smoother healthier hair and healthy skin. How we do is equally as important as what we do. If you have suggestions for how we can contribute to doing better for the community, please let us know by sending us an email to sustainability@helloseen.com.
