the unwash • innovation
Often, the products you don’t even realize need innovation leave us with the best results. Many brands have launched new products to support a more sustainable future. Single-use plastics are becoming a thing of the past while companies find new and improved alternatives that do better for the environment. Many products are also becoming more user-friendly with more accessible designs and reachable price points. These brands have been blazing a trail to find sustainable solutions to everyday problems. We’re honoring some of our favorite and most innovative products of 2022 that are also simple product swaps to try out.
Conserving Beauty InstaMelt Makeup Wipes & Sheet Masks
This year, Australian Brand Conserving Beauty launched the first-ever dissolving makeup wipes, InstaMelt. Traditional makeup wipes end up in landfills as they are composed of 90% plastic and create unnecessary waste. InstaMelt makes taking off your makeup a breeze with its oil-based wipe formula that easily dissolves in water. Following the success of this product, the brand launched a dissolving sheet mask. Similar to makeup wipes, sheet masks are single-use products that do not decompose quickly. These sheet masks help you lock in moisture leaving your skin feeling refreshed. The brand and its founder Natassia Nicolao are committed to reducing as much waste as possible in the beauty industry with their water-free products. Now you can use your makeup wipes and sheet masks guilt-free as they dissolve easily down the drain leaving no microplastics behind. Conserving Beauty recently partnered with Cult Beauty to provide worldwide shipping for their products.
Julie Schott is no stranger to creating innovative products, and Plus is no different. Plus is revolutionizing personal care products with its line of dissolvable body wash sheets. Most personal care products, such as body wash, cleansers, and shampoo, are mainly water and packaged in large plastic bottles that typically cannot be recycled. Plus are changing this with their body wash sheets that dissolve into a wash when added to water. Even the packaging dissolves right down the drain. The brand offers a reliable dispenser to keep in your shower and single-use travel packs that are great for on-the-go use. Plus is innovating personal care products and changing the way we think about zero waste products that typically come in bar form.
In response to the increased use of cleaning products amid the Coronavirus pandemic, Biom launched refillable and compostable wipes to help keep clean more manageable. The brand offers all-purpose cleaning wipes and alcohol sanitizing wipes that are skin safe. Their wipes are plant-based and completely biodegradable. The sleek refillable design looks great sitting on your kitchen counter, so much so that you wouldn’t even guess they’re wipes. The refillable dispenser comes in four colors, with the occasional limited edition color releases. The brand offers a subscription service at a discounted price and one-time purchases, depending on your needs. Biom created these wipes with people and the planet in mind by making everyday tasks easier while not contributing to additional waste.
Ohhcean, a new sex toy line backed by Sinful, the largest adult intimate retailer in Scandinavia, launched the world’s first vibrators manufactured from outbound recycled ocean plastic. The brand wanted to find a solution for plastic waste and expand the ways we can upcycle ocean plastic. Ohhcean offers three vibrators in different shades of blue to represent the ocean from which the materials came. The collection launched in Europe, with further international expansion planned for the near future. Occhean marks a moment of being environmentally mindful in all areas, including sexual wellness, which may have been an afterthought prior. This collection aims to reduce the environmental impact of intimate products. These are products made to not only create fun and intimacy but inspire the possibilities of change.
Everist Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash Concentrates
Instead of creating a shampoo and condition bar, Everist found another way to ditch water in our personal care products without losing the traditional lather feeling. Everist offers shampoo, conditioner, and body wash concentrates packaged in a recyclable aluminum tube. These highly concentrated products lather like conventional shampoo or body wash when wet. A little goes a long way, and Everist wants you to get all the products, so each concentrate comes with an aluminum turnkey to ensure you get the most out of your purchase. The brand uses ingredients that naturally break down over time and do not pollute water systems. Everist gives you a traditional shampoo and conditioner feel without additional waste. These concentrates are revolutionizing a notably wasteful industry and are a force for positive
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Eauso Vert
Eauso Vert is hoping to create a new standard in the luxury fragrance industry. Launched with six scents that range from fresh to woody and warm, there is a scent perfect for anyone. The founders reminisce on their memories with fragrance, whether childhood stories or travel, and wanted to create a fragrance line that helps the consumer tell a story.
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Krave Beauty
Founded by Liah Yoo, this adored skincare brand offers a handful of products designed to target various skincare needs. Focusing on providing fewer products that will work for more people allows the brand to cut down on waste and decrease confusion for consumers when choosing items. Their products make creating a skincare routine simple with needing no more than six products and even have your body care needs covered, hence their mission of ‘slowing down skincare.’
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Haeckels
Skincare is only one part of the Haeckles ethos. The brand has a wide range of candles, fragrances, and hair care products. Initially launched in 2012 as a men’s skincare line, the brand diversified and found a large following outside its male products. The UK-based fan-favorite brand plans a more extensive international expansion due to high demand and interest in its products. With products for everyone and every need, Haeckles holds true to its values and continues to adapt to the needs of its consumers as they grow. The brand is steadfast in its position as a sustainable staple.
