A not-so-pretty statistic from the beauty industry is the thousands of tons of plastic waste produced and discarded by production every year. By design, beauty packaging is made to be striking on shelves while still being as temporary as the products inside. But all of that plastic waste has to go somewhere, and whether it ends up in a landfill or the ocean, it will remain there exponentially longer than its use cycle.

One-hundred companies are responsible for more than 90 percent of all global plastic waste, according to new research from The Plastic Waste Makers index. And twenty of those companies are responsible for a whopping 55 percent of the world’s plastic waste. 

The supply chain is becoming more sustainable, one innovative step at a time. Mercedes-Benz already announced plans to release ten new EV models by next year, in line with many other auto manufacturers committing to greener vehicles.

Imagine a shopping platform that directs consumers to products that are actually sustainable as they shop — Home Goods did just that with their new website called Shades of Green. 

According to Business Wire, Shades of Green uses a proprietary five-point evaluation system to screen products, only showcasing products that meet a minimum sustainability standard on their site. Each product is subject to evaluation based on sourcing, manufacturing, shipping, use and performance, and lifecycle. 

Bamboo is an amazingly versatile and renewable material, and we are just beginning to understand the potential implications and uses of this miracle plant. At Golden Arrow, our sustainably crafted packaging solutions are made with bamboo fibers that replace harmful plastic packaging. Here are a few of the reasons why we love working with bamboo. 

All change starts small and has the potential to ripple into a much larger movement. While large issues like climate change and plastic pollution require large solutions, starting small and locally can inspire the big waves needed to save the planet. This is precisely what happened with a group of five middle schoolers in 2015. 

You may have noticed that quarantine-cuisine and to-go coffee orders come with a lot of plastic utensils, single-use straws, and styrofoam containers. What were once sustainability sins are now quarantine commonplace as we navigate the realities of COVID-19. 

Efforts to reduce plastic consumption do not need to go out the window. There are still plenty of things you can do to reduce your own plastic intake and spread the socially-distant word to your friends and family. Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

Sustainability starts at home. With more and more of us working from home, now is as good an opportunity as ever to improve sustainability habits. 

Smarter Lighting

Harsh artificial lighting is one of the worst parts of working in an office — so why reproduce that at home? Save energy by positioning your desk near a sunny window and turning down the lights around your house. This study found that natural sunlight improves employee mood and productivity — aka energy-saving efforts plus an added boost to productivity. 

Bamboo, when used as a material for packaging, offers a high level of durability along with versatility. Bamboo has a rapid growth rate, making it an abundant and biodegradable renewable resource. This giant grass-type plant functions in many capacities from fabric to food to flooring.

As climate change increasingly becomes a problem, the world’s greatest minds are seeking creative solutions to clean our earth’s air. Some environmental scientists, architects, and designers are analyzing buildings to determine how to effectively use them for passively cleaning smoggy urban air.