Waste Not: Innersense Organic’s new approach to the plastic beauty packaging problem
“We have seen the devastating amount of waste generated every day by our industry, so to us, the urgency of this crisis was impossible to ignore and we decided to step up,” says Greg Starkman, Co-Founder of the brand, adding, “Our planet needs us and Innersense Organic Beauty is taking strong strides to do our part.”
“Through our partnership with rePurpose Global, we will fund the recovery of plastic waste in the environment equivalent to the plastic footprint of our own packaging and operations,” explains Starkman in this month’s media release from the brand.
The Innersense Organic Beauty approach to business
Innersense Organic Beauty has been a conscious and conscientious brand from the start, when Greg and Joanne Starkman founded the business in 2005. Innersense was launched as a safe, sustainable hair care brand and today is partnered with social and environmental organizations including 1% for the Planet, Plastic Bank, Women’s Voices for the Earth, the California Coastkeeper Alliance, Breast Caner Preventative Partners, the Counteract Coalition, and (since April of this year) Climate Neutral.
Announcing the brand’s plastic neutral initiative and new partnership with rePurpose Global, Greg Starkman affirms that the Innersense Organic Beauty “mission has always been to offer our customers the highest quality of product experience while positively impacting society.”
In partnership with rePurpose Global Innersense is now “[funding] the recovery of as much plastic as it uses across its production, packaging, distribution, and operations,” according to this month’s media release. The initiative helps improve the working conditions of informal waste workers in Aurangabad, India and creates value for hard to recycle flexible packaging. The particular rePurpose Global initiative, called Project Anant Pranay, that Innersense is a part of “…helps reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change by coprocessing the collected waste as an alternative to coal.”
Future-forward plastic waste solutions helping people and planet
rePurpose Global is a plastic credit platform similar to carbon credit or carbon offset programs like Climate Neutral, Native Energy, and 3Degrees. Among its initiatives, rePurpose Global helps brands achieve certification as Plastic Neutral, Plastic Negative, or guarantee the elimination of 1lb or plastic for every product sold.
Founded by Svanika Balasubramanian (CEO), Aditya Siroya (Chief Impact Officer), and Peter Wang Hjemdahl (Chief Advocacy Officer), rePurpose Global is focused on the future: “As young, passionate millennials and future custodians of the planet, environmental preservation is personal to us. As digital natives ourselves, we understand what today's consumers want. Our empathy is a powerful tool, enabling a generation of changemakers to lead the world in the right direction,” according to the non-profit’s About page.
Commenting on the organization’s new partnership with Innersense, Siroya points out that, “Environmental protection is at the core of Innersense Organic Beauty. It's so refreshing to see them push the boundaries on tackling the plastic waste problem.”
“Forward-thinking brands like Innersense Organic Beauty are the need of the hour,” he says, “We hope this pioneering move pushes more brands to take responsibility for their own plastic waste.”
