In the United States alone, 550 million empty shampoo bottles are thrown away every year, enough to fill 1,164 football fields. This number does not include conditioner, body wash or other bathing products – only shampoo bottles.

In the United Kingdom, meanwhile, there are 520 million plastic bottles. Consumed worldwide every year 1,4 milijard disposable body wash bottles. This number is based on an average of 6 bottles of body wash per year, excluding shampoo or conditioner bottles.

As the world’s population grows (the number of people on the planet is projected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030), these numbers will also only increase.
2016 Euromonitor census data show that only 50% of all plastic bottles are collected for recycling and only 7% of those bottles are actually recycled into new bottles. While we feel much better throwing something in a sorting container rather than in the trash, the sad reality is that these products often end up in the same place.

Did you know that You can help reduce waste from plastic bottles too?

You just can:

• Replace liquid soap, shower gel, or shampoo with solid soap or shampoo. There are many creators in Lithuania that produce handcrafted soaps with natural ingredients. It is a luxury at hand – handcrafted natural soap

  instead of a mass-produced product in a plastic bottle. Sounds good, right?

• Replace liquid products packaging with reusable dispensers that adorn the interior of your home, and can be supplemented with coconut-based soap flakes– free of animal fats, mineral oils, parabens and SLES.

This option shoots “multiple bunnies in one shot”:

• You won’t have to pay for plastic packaging when you buy a new top-up;
• There is no plastic waste left because soap packaging is usually made of paper or recycled paper and can be sorted or decomposed naturally;
• The dispenser decorates the interior – currently there is a really large selection of dispensers in stores, both in terms of color and materiality. So you can find the right one for all your tastes and interiors;
• The skin enjoys a natural cleanser – the handmade soaps we sell are made in Lithuania using natural oils and dried herbs, self-grown or harvested, and seasoned from the most remote corners of the country from the lavender fields of rural Provence to the Indian cinnamon groves. tropical islands overgrown with palm trees. These ingredients are carefully selected for their beneficial properties: protection of the skin from the environment, moisturizing, nourishing, rejuvenating, firming. The addition of 100% natural essential oils gives the soap a delicate aroma and properties for healthy skin.

– Soap is natural and safe for humans and the environment.
– The materials from which the soaps are made are of the highest quality.
– You will not find dyes, synthetic fragrances, preservatives or other harmful ingredients in the soap.

So maybe you should try replacing one plastic bottle of shower gel with an environmentally friendly, body-friendly natural soap shampoo or soap flakes?

Let’s change habits together.

Bathing With Plastics

Our shower & bathing routines have developed an enormous plastics problem. From shampoos, conditioners, soaps, facewashes, and scrubs to even most sponges, they are all packaged with or contain plastics. This was not always the case, but rising demand in the personal care market and changes in how we bathe have helped create this new plastic landscape. What began as a well-intentioned effort to improve personal hygiene and access to cleaning products quickly transformed into a booming market segment.

The twentieth century saw tremendous growth in the personal care industry, with the U.S. market alone estimated to be a $90 billion industry.

The twentieth century saw tremendous growth in the personal care industry, with the U.S. market alone estimated to be a $90 billion industry. Consumers were presented with continually evolving options, and supermarket shelves quickly burst at the seams expanding into entire aisles dedicated to the myriad of products on offer. Yet, with the exponential growth in demand for shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and more also came the rise in plastic packaging. What had been previously sold as bars, or in glass jars, or tins shifted to being “conveniently” delivered in plastic containers. Shampoos and conditioners were early adopters of new plastic containers. These changes laid the groundwork for the problems we now face.

Impact of Shower Products

So how big is our plastics problem in our bathrooms? For context, in the United States alone, 550 million empty shampoo bottles are thrown away each year. This figure does not include conditioner, body wash, or other bathing products -just shampoo bottles. Compounding this problem is the fact that only a fraction of these bottles are recycled. Instead, most end up directly into our rubbish bins. Most people don’t keep separate recycling bins in their bathroom, so empty plastic containers from the bathroom tend to miss out on recycling. With the average American using 11 bottles of shampoo a year, these large, bulky plastic containers are a significant contributor to many households’ annual waste.

In the United States alone, 550 million empty shampoo bottles are thrown away each year. 

Shampoo or Bottle of Water? 

Would you like some shampoo with your bottle of water? Yes, you read that correctly - the majority of your shampoos and conditioners are water, with only about 10% being actual products. When cleaning products changed from solid bars to liquids, water was added and thus creating the need to be stored in a plastic container.  While shampoo bottles are not quite single-use plastic bottles, they are not far off. 

In addition to the plastic waste produced by the bottles, the increased carbon footprint also needs to be considered. Larger and heavier bottles that need to be shipped create a bigger carbon footprint than lighter weight smaller bars and solid products.

Addressing The Problem

The global demand for personal care products is only going to continue to increase. However, the good news is that there are now a number of zero-waste shampoos and conditioners available. These sustainable products eliminate plastic bottles, reduce carbon emissions from shipping, and provide an equivalent (and arguably better) cleaning experience. Eco-friendly products like HiBAR go a step further and eliminate all unnecessary and potentially harmful chemicals and produce a plastic-free shampoo and conditioner bar with 100% natural ingredients that leave your hair and the environment thanking you. 

The developments in shampoos and conditioners during the 20th century was, without a doubt, a great step forward for personal hygiene and cleanliness. We learned a tremendous about along the way, but what is clear now is that we need to actively address how these products are packaged and the environmental impact they have. The positive news is that we can have zero-waste shampoos and conditioners that help reduce needless the amount of plastic waste while simultaneously meeting our high personal care standards.

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