Sustainable supplement packaging - I'm Green™ sugarcane plastic

As a B Corp Certified business, we’re committed to creating sustainable beauty products and wellness supplements. We know that one of the biggest challenges in the personal care and beauty industry is packaging. This is why we carried out a full review of our supplement packaging in 2020 which led us to replace our traditional plastic supplement containers with I’m Green™ sustainable supplement containers that are made from 100% Sugarcane Plastic. Sugarcane Plastic is a climate-positive raw material - using it helps us reduce the amount of plastic that’s made from non-renewable resources.

Why did we decide this is the best supplement packaging?

Traditional plastic is typically made from oil or natural gas which are non-renewable resources. Extracting the oil and gas and then the process of turning it into plastic, releases carbon which is contributing to climate change and global warming. We’re striving to be a sustainable beauty brand, so we knew we needed to minimise our environmental impact by decreasing the amount of traditional plastic being created through our supply chain.

We did lots of research and looked into other ethical beauty brands and supplement packaging design options and did a full review of all the packaging solutions available to us. What we found is that there is no perfect packaging! Every different type had pros and cons which we’ve outlined in the table at the bottom of this blog. For us, we decided to stick with plastic because we found a mush more sustainable supplement packaging option - plastic made entirely from sugarcane! This renewable resource has a climate-positive carbon footprint because sugarcane removes CO² from the air as it grows.

The sustainably and ethically-sourced sugarcane is sourced from Brazil as a byproduct of the sugarcane industry. It’s then milled and turned into sugarcane ethanol which is used to create the Sugarcane Plastic raw material. The processing facilities that make sugarcane ethanol operate nearly entirely on energy that comes from sugarcane by-products, and any surplus energy is sent to the grid. The raw material is delivered in bulk to our packaging manufacturer where it gets moulded into our sustainable supplement packaging.

How to recycle sugarcane plastic packaging

Although our supplement containers are made from 100% sugarcane, the plastic still performs in the same was as traditional #2 HDPE plastic. It’s sturdy, lightweight and food safe and can be recycled almost everywhere (unlike some other bio-based plastics).

As a sustainable beauty brand, we’re very aware that recycling is not always guaranteed - even though the plastic is accepted by nearly all council recycling programmes. In fact, up to 40% of all collected plastic still ends up in landfills and dumps. So, we created the Jeuneora Recycling Programme! This ensures that your empties will never see a landfill! Here’s how to get involved:

1. Get a free pre-addressed Jeuneora Return Bag from our online store. Click here to add one to your cart.

2. Collect your empty Jeuneora packaging over the next few months and pop it in the Return Bag.

3. In NZ: Drop your full Return Bag at your local post office. In Aus: Book a pick up for your full Return Bag with DHL from your location of choice - click here.

The plastic is then sorted before our recycling partners shred, wash and melt it down into raw materials that are used to create useful things like outdoor furniture, children's playgrounds and fence posts.

Which of our products use this sustainable supplement packaging?

Our supplement containers are made from Sugarcane Plastic. The lids are unable to be made from Sugarcane Plastic, so they’re made from traditional #2 HDPE. You can shop these I’m Green™ products here:

• Beauty Brain Super Powder
• Beauty Sleep Adapotgenic Super Powder
• Beauty Sleep Super Capsules
• Greens+ Super Powder
• Beauty Well Super Capsules
• Beauty Boost Vegan Collagen Activator Capsules
• Renew+ Marine Collagen Super Powder
• Naked Collagen Marine Collagen Powder
• Hair Skin Nails Marine Collagen Capsules

Sustainable supplements packaging comparisons

Here are a few of the pros and cons that we considered before deciding to stick with a sustainable plastic for our supplement containers.

More of our sustainable beauty initiatives

On our journey to be a sustainable and ethical beauty brand we’re committed to making continuous improvements to our sustainability practices - especially as a newly certified B Corp Here are just a few of the initiatives we’re most proud of:

• We carefully vet any suppliers and manufacturers that we work with to make sure they adhere to the highest standards when it comes to sustainable sourcing and business practices and protecting their employees through fair and safe labour practices.
• Our manufacturers are all GMP/MPI certified
• Saying no to animal testing for our skincare range
• Being a Living Wage certified employer
• Guaranteed recycling with the Jeuneora Recycling Programme
• Giving back $1 to charity with every order made
• Using Fairtrade Cocoa in Beauty Sleep
• Using 20% recycled plastic in skincare packaging