Earth Day 2020: What Sustainability Means to Us

Earth Day 2020: What Sustainability Means to Us

At Moroccanoil, we have always believed that it's our responsibility to have a positive impact on the people around us—from our team and customers to the world as as whole. That belief has taken on new meaning over the past year. Now more than ever, it feels absolutely crucial to take the best possible care of ourselves, each other, and the planet. So this Earth Day, we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge a few things. First, the actions we’ve already taken to help protect and maintain the beauty of this planet. Second, that there’s always more we can do—and that we intend to do as much of it as possible. And third, that we’re all in this together. Read on to find out more about our sustainability journey (and it is a journey!) and how you can be a part of it.

How We Work

Everything starts somewhere, and for Moroccanoil, that somewhere is—quite literally—our factory. Ours holds something called the voluntary ISO 14001 certification. Haven’t heard of it? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Essentially, it’s a standard we choose to comply with that goes above and beyond what the law requires from a sustainability standpoint. Some of the steps we’ve taken to meet this standard include employing technology to remove oil from the water our factory uses (preventing soil and groundwater contamination), utilizing a sophisticated waste sorting system that ensures everything that can be recycled is recycled, and lighting the factory with energy-efficient bulbs. We also produce solar power at our primary factory, which helps curb greenhouse gas emissions. Last but not least, orders shipped from our warehouse now are now packed in recyclable paper rather than plastic bubble wrap. Every box counts!

What We Make

The tricky thing about the beauty industry and sustainability is that compared to other goods—say, clothes or electronics—beauty products have a fairly short lifespan. After all, it is our sincere hope that you love our products so much, you use them up! That’s why we’ve been taking a hard look at our product packaging (or, the stuff left behind after all the good hair days) to make sure it has the smallest possible environmental impact.

Some sustainable packaging innovations have always been in place—for instance, Moroccanoil Treatment bottles are made from 40% recycled glass. But we’re starting to look more carefully at all of our products to find opportunities to make the packaging for those more sustainable, too. An example? When we relaunched our Soap, we transitioned from a glossy box to 100% recycled paper. (In one year alone, this prevented 9 tons of cardboard waste!) And we’re working to make more and more products sustainable from the start. For instance, Color Depositing Mask tubes are made of 50% post-consumer recycled materials. In just six months, this reduced the tube’s carbon footprint by 35%.

Most of our product packaging is also recyclable. Want to recycle yours? Here are a few tips!

• Always check your local recycling rules to see what is accepted in your area.

• The glass bottle that holds our signature Moroccanoil Treatment is recyclable—just discard the pump and empty out any excess product.

• Recycle plastic bottles (think shampoo, conditioner, Hydrating Styling Cream, Curl Defining Cream, etc.) by discarding the pump and cleaning out any excess product.

• Aerosol cans (think hairspray and dry shampoo) can sometimes be recycled, but always make sure there’s no pressure left in the can—and check your local recycling rules.

Who We Work With

As company, we are beyond lucky to have an extensive network of beauty professionals that we work with each and every day. Recently, we partnered with Green Circle Salons to help make it easier for our salon partners to become more sustainable, too. Among other things, Green Circle collects the unique waste generated by salons—think used highlight foils, broken tools, leftover hair dye, and even hair—and correctly repurposes or recycles it. That way, it doesn't end up places it shouldn't.

What Comes Next

Well, hopefully, a lot! Becoming a more sustainable company isn’t totally unlike becoming a more sustainable individual—sometimes it comes in small steps, and sometimes it comes in major strides, but at the end of the day, we’re always moving toward a higher standard. While we’ve planned next steps for our operations, products, and community, we always want to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out to us to let us know what matters most to you when it comes to sustainability. You deserve to use brands that align with your values, and we want to do whatever we can to make that possible.

Curious about ways you can prioritize sustainability in your daily life? Check out these tips!

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