The new awards initiative was initially publicized at the 2018 Raise the Green Bar summit in New York City last November. Speaking at the full-day event, Birnur Aral, health, beauty, and environmental sciences director at the Good Housekeeping Institute, announced that “for the first year, we are going to focus on packaging, specifically toys, cosmetics, and home care.”
And she went on to explain that the institute’s latest consumer poll showed, “‘reusable’, ‘recycled’, or ‘recyclable’ resonated with consumers as the most tangible definition of ‘green’,” which makes packaging a understandable starting point for the awards program.
“Our survey showed that 90% of our audience is trying their best to be green by saving water and energy, and [by] recycling,” notes a recent email promoting the Sustainability Awards.
Criteria notes
The Awards aren’t necessarily looking to find brands that have reinvented packaging so much celebrate those who are putting existing materials to good use. A list of desirable packaging materials found on the Good Housekeeping Sustainability Awards site includes, sustainably sourced wood and paper, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), aluminum, and more.
“We’re going to look at the type and the origin, in terms of recycled content, for all the components of the product. We’re going to look at the product-to-package ratio, recyclability of the packaging….And, we’re also going to look at innovation,” Aral said at the Raise the Green Summit last November.
Application notes
The Sustainability Awards will be judged by the Good Housekeeping team; Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle; and Mike Brown, owner of the sustainability management consulting firm Brown Wilmanns Environmental.
The deadline for submissions to the Good Housekeeping Sustainability Awards is February 28. Find more information and a link to enter, here.
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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.
