We did not choose the world that we are born into, but we have a pretty big say in our everyday choices that impact our future.
At Nutricare, we’re about pushing those boundaries and challenging people to make better choices. Our goal is to educate and empower people to make conscious decisions about their everyday purchases whilst drawing attention to industries that have done little to address the plastic and other waste they incur. This includes first aid.
Many healthcare and first aid products are hidden contributors to plastic waste. From our estimates, on average each household buys one box of bandages per year. The average strip is three inches long, and, when placed end to end, produces 2.7 billion linear yards of material waste per year! This amount of plastic would wrap around the world 51 times!
The team at Nutricare launched PATCH Bamboo Bandages to provide a truly natural and eco-friendly alternative. When we create new products, they must fulfill two main objectives:
- They must be better for our bodies, with no hidden toxic elements known to irritate or cause sensitivities.
- They must be better for the planet, made from materials that will not leave a negative impact for future generations.
While some plastic is unfortunately unavoidable at the current moment, the majority is still used as a matter of convenience. We get it. But without a conscious shift in our behavior, this will not change, and the impact on our environment will continue to reverberate. Therefore, we choose to produce all our products with the most sustainable elements available, in fully compostable packaging, and commit to reducing plastic at every step of the supply chain. This includes the simplest of choices like removing plastic tape on our shipping boxes, minimizing the shipping of ‘air’ to impact our carbon footprint, and digitizing as much as we can so you are not left with a bunch of pamphlets you just throw away.
When people first start thinking about making changes in their lifestyle, it’s easy to be convinced that ‘natural’ or ‘eco-friendly’ products will not be as effective as their traditional counterparts. This is simply not true. There are endless ways to make changes to your personal environmental impact, and many we are sure you are already doing.
Here are our top suggestions for simple daily swaps or upgrades:
- Look out for products with compostable packaging or opt for solid forms of products that would usually be wrapped in plastic – such as shampoo and soap bars.
- Reduce your food waste by saving or freezing leftovers, repurposing scraps, or eating less meat. Challenge your family to finish your fruit and veg drawer scraps every week! See what inventive food creations you can come up with.
- Watch out for greenwashing. An unfortunate by-product of brands seeing “eco” as a trend is the production of more waste and products that may look environmentally friendly, but are not. Educate yourself on ingredients and materials, so that you can make informed decisions when purchasing.
- Carry reusable products with you like silicone baggies for your snacks and goodies, try metal/bamboo cutlery, and at the very least, always refuse plastic water bottles and opt for reusable alternatives (they look cooler too!)
- When in doubt – do bamboo. This marvelous plant, which abundantly grows and regenerates, is strong and makes for a great alternative for many products like fabrics, apparel, toothbrushes, first-aid (of course!), and more.
- Vote with your wallet. Every ‘greener choice’ you make, no matter how big or small – creates the demand that allows products like ours, and the important infrastructure that frames it, to grow. Retailers and e-commerce brands like Hive have an abundance of great products from partners with a sustainable mission!
These habit changes that individuals can undergo are reminiscent of what changes businesses can undergo. In looking forward to 2022 and beyond, the Nutricare team will be concentrating on sustainable innovation in other product categories and continue to grow our contributions with Trees for the Future. To date, we have planted over 45,000 trees and our goal is to double that in the next 2022 months. By working together as a team and with like-minded partners like Hive Bands, we have such a stronger impact – and one we know that can set the framework for a sustainable future for generations to come.
Sources: https://seedscientific.com/plastic-waste-statistics/