We’re incredibly proud to call cocokind a sustainable clean beauty brand. However, working to become as earth-friendly and waste-free as possible is a constant process - we’re always learning and working on becoming more sustainable and we always will be!
Our work on sustainability has been a journey, albeit one we’re more than happy to be on. Here’s a little lowdown on what we’ve been working on.
packaging
bottles
As of this April, we’ve begun the process of sourcing our bottles from a domestic manufacturer instead of an international one! Though the cost of the actual bottles is significantly higher in the US, its transportation creates a much smaller carbon footprint, which is extremely important to us.
flint glass
Our clear glass bottles and jars are made exclusively out of flint glass, which is one of the purest forms of glass. It requires fewer materials and processes to produce, which effectively cuts down on carbon emissions, waste, and cost to the consumer.
coatings
We’ve also made the transition into using exclusively powder coating for our opaque white bottles. We use these bottles specifically for products like our vitamin c serum with sea grape caviar, which stays fresh and stable for longer in an opaque component.
For our opaque bottles, we had the option of having them “intrinsically colored” or powder coated. “Intrinsically colored” bottles are covered using paint and solvents, which can release harmful fumes, carcinogens, and sometimes VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the air. Powder coated bottles, on the other hand, are made by applying fine grade compounds to electrically charged objects, which are then heated to melt the compounds. This process is virtually pollution-free as well as low energy-consuming. Additionally, unused or oversprayed powder can be easily recovered and reused, minimizing waste.
cartons
Moving forward, you’ll start to notice a small tree icon labeled ‘FSC’ on all of the boxes that our products come in. FSC stands for Forestry Stewardship Council, which is an organization that works to support environmentally conscious and responsible forest management, to ensure healthy, thriving forests for future generations. We’re proud to announce that we're transitioning into using only FSC certified materials to make our boxes. You can read more about what that certification means here.
Additionally, all of the ink we use on our boxes is derived from soy, instead of petroleum or other fossil fuels.
tubes
Our tubes, like the ones we use to house our sea kale clay mask, are domestically-produced using sugarcane materials. The colorants used to decorate the tubes are mineral and plant-based and are FDA-approved as safe enough for food contact, which is the standard we’d like to set for all skincare packaging.
Our tubes are made from sugarcane pellets sourced from Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugarcane. The tubes themselves are completely BPA-free, heavy metal-free, and FDA-approved for food contact safety. We're also currently transitioning into using a domestic manufacturer to help reduce our carbon footprint.
We also made the conscious decision to print all of the necessary information directly onto the tube, instead of onto a label that would be placed onto the tube - this helps us avoid unnecessary extra production, and makes recyclability as easy as possible.
formulas
We work hard to make sure that the formulas inside the packaging are as sustainable as possible too! You might notice that many of our formulas are anhydrous, or waterless, because water is less renewable than we think - it’s an extremely precious resource! When possible, we always aim to use nutrient or vitamin-rich alternatives, like fruit and vegetal waters, steamed right out of plants!
ingredients
We use organic ingredients whenever possible, although ingredients of this caliber are far more difficult to source. We’re committed to preserving sustainability throughout our entire supply chain, which includes our ingredient suppliers.
For example, we source our vegan sea grape caviar from a supplier who practices eco-responsible standards, including ISO 14000, and harvests only reasonable quantities.
future plans
And we’re just getting started! We have so many hopes for the future of sustainability, within our company, and in general.
One of our goals is use OWP (ocean waste plastic) and OBP (ocean bound plastic) to package our new products. OWP is literally plastic collected from beaches, rivers, lakes, and other natural bodies of water that is then transformed into pellets that can be repurposed. OBP is plastic collected from developing countries that don’t have waste management. Said plastic is collected before it gets to the ocean.
We’re also exploring the idea of offering product refills, so you can reuse your old bottles and reduce waste. In the past, we tested a recycling program that allowed consumers to mail their empty bottles back to cocokind in hopes that we could reuse them. Unfortunately, we realized that the process of shipping these bottles all over America was creating a carbon footprint large enough to offset the benefits of the actual recycling.
Just another step in our sustainability journey! As we’ve said, it’s a process - a never-ending one, to be exact. There will always be work to do, ways to do better, ways to waste less. We’ll never reach a point where we’ll feel like we’re sustainable enough and can stop trying.
But we’ve never been more excited or optimistic about the future of sustainability in skincare, especially within our company. Exciting things ahead!
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