Pinoy personal care brand reduces plastic packaging

FILIPINO personal and home care brand Human Heart Nature has released a feminine wash bar as part of its ongoing mission to reduce plastic packaging in their products.

“One of the best ways to manage our plastic problem is to battle the bottle: go plastic bottle-free. By moving towards plastic-free, sustainable options through breakthrough waterless formulations such as bars and concentrated powders, consumers can now truly start breaking free from plastic themselves,” the brand said in a statement.

The Feminine Wash Bar (P139.75/35gm), said to contain mangosteen extract, chamomile, and virgin coconut oil, was formulated to be gentle and contain “no harmful chemicals” like parabens, PEGs, and synthetic fragrances. It was launched in October and followed the release of a shampoo bar in 2019.

The new product is one of the ways the product is trying to combat plastic pollution — the brand has been using recyclable plastic for its packaging, instituted a Balik Bote (bottle return) program where returned bottles are turned into eco-bricks, and, in 2018, introduced efforts to encourage upsizing and refilling.

“The concept started in 2018 when we realized that despite the fact that we use recyclable plastic for our products, only 9% of all recyclable plastic actually undergoes that process and the majority still end up in landfills,” Anna Meloto-Wilk, president and co-founder of Human Heart Nature, told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview.

Upsizing means encouraging customers to buy bigger containers because the practice results in 73% less plastic use.

Ms. Meloto-Wilk said that their efforts successfully prevented over 17 tons of plastic waste from ending up in landfills and eventually the ocean as of Oct. 2021.

“You can see the progression of our sustainability efforts from using recyclable bottles to upsizing and refilling efforts to lessen our plastic usage, but we still weren’t satisfied with the impact we were making, especially since not everyone was adapting to these new ways of product delivery due to convenience or budget constraints,” she explained before adding that they are looking to create more “waterless formulations” to eliminate plastic bottle packaging together with its new product development team.

Human Heart Nature is looking to convert its facial washes, conditioners, and other categories to plastic bottle-free versions in the coming months.

Ms. Meloto-Wilk said they are hoping to prevent 20 tons of plastic bottles from ending up in landfills by the end of 2021. — contributed by Zsarlene B. Chua