Natural health brand BetterYou has unveiled The Better Planet Project – an initiative through which the brand is seeking to reduce its environmental footprint and reliance on non-sustainable resources.
Having invested over £700k in the project and devoted more than 18 months to research and planning, BetterYou’s first initiative will be to switch the packaging across its entire commercial range to either plant-based, carbon-negative plastic or plastic made from 100% recycled materials.
The brand claims it is one of the first companies globally to utilize 100% recycled, ocean-recovered and consumer kerbside plastic packaging for a whole product range. Made from 70% ocean waste plastic and 30% post-consumer recycling, the 100% recyclable plastic bottles will house BetterYou’s range of intra-oral vitamin sprays.
Plastic pollution is not simply an inevitable and unavoidable result of growing commercial demand. The problem is not plastic itself, it’s our mistaken belief that it has no further value once we have consumed it
The Better Planet Project also sees the brand utilize plant-based plastic, with sugarcane – rather than fossil fuels – used as an ethanol source to house its transdermal products. Accredited by the Carbon Trust, this innovative plastic production is carbon negative and the sugarcane harvesting has zero impact on animal habitat and rainforest.
The brand will target all aspects of its environmental footprint through the project, including the enterprises of suppliers and retail partners, including the avoidance of pesticides and harmful chemicals on its partner farms, as well as ensuring environmentally sensitive transport of produce.
“2019 sees our total and absolute commitment to reducing our impact on the environment,” explains Andrew Thomas, BetterYou founder and managing director. “Plastic pollution is not simply an inevitable and unavoidable result of growing commercial demand. The problem is not plastic itself, it’s our mistaken belief that it has no further value once we have consumed it.
“This has led us to explore not only ways to utilize plastic waste and reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the industry, but also to ensure we’re educating ourselves and our customers in the importance of recycling packaging once they have finished our products.
“As a brand whose use of plastic is fundamental, the packaging life cycle is something we’re incredibly passionate about and we hope that our actions will become a catalyst for change.”
The first product contained in a 100% recycled waste plastic bottle is the brand’s new Vegan Health Oral Spray, with the rest of the range to follow during 2019.
