Earth friendly
We are serious about our environmental footprint, and do our best to keep our products, and its packaging as earth-friendly as possible, your packaging might not always look the best, but it is mostly recycled materials and materials that can be composted or re-used, please help us keep our environment as healthy as possible by recycling and choosing eco-friendly products. As an aspiring Zero-Waster I also urge people to buy in bulk, and try and find alternative uses for products before recycling or discarding.
Our soaps are some of the healthiest options for your skin and mother earth, it is glycerine based and very safe for personal use. It degrades very fast; in a Closed Bottle test (performed according to OECD 301) 92% biodegradation was reported after 30 days. When it comes to being environmentally responsible we step up to the plate, no 'secret formulas'. Information on ingredients can be found in descriptions, photos of products and on our FAQ page, feel free to drop us a mail if unsure about any product.
We offer 3 brush types namely boar (also known as bristle), badger, and synthetic, but we also offer horsehair in some sizes. Each person have their own views on protecting the environment, the use of animal products and our natural resources. Every living being consumes something and has an impact on the environment, our main focus must always be to minimize it. Synthetic brushes are animal products free, but plastic factories have a massive negative impact on our environment and rivers. Badger hair is harvested from the Hog Badger and European Badger, although considered vermin and controlled by government health and environmental policies, some folks might not support this industry, and understandably so. Boar hair is harvested from pigs and adds to the value of animals harvested for their meat. Horse hair is harvested from live animals, and is the best option for people preferring a natural hair brush where animals are not culled at all. Badger brushes are generally considered more superior that horse, boar and synthetic, as they offer the best combination of comfort, water retention, and ability to produce a good lather. Shaving brushes are very durable, they can easily last a lifetime when cared for properly.
Sleeperwood also known as Rhodesian Teak freshly off the bandsaw, this varied batch comes from a single sleeper.
Brush and razor handles come in wood, metal, resins, bone, horn and various other materials. Ones made from wood uses a natural resource in its raw form, but has a negligible effect on sweet 'ol mother earth when compared to the environmental impact that plastic/resin, and worse, mining and refining operations have on our planet. The bottom line is that a good quality brush and razor will last you a lifetime and more, and would eliminate a lifetime's worth of discarded plastic cartridges, shaving foam cans and plastic disposable razors, if only we could make all things that way! Our items are relatively small and we often use branches, trees cut to clear roadways, or similar finds to make our handles, sometimes we even find a few usable pieces in a bag of braai-wood. We source our materials as sustainable as possible, please feel assured of that.
Matumi or Mingerhout surprises every time on the lathe, reworked blanks ready to be made into brushes.
In our opinion, any product that will decrease the waste you create is better for mother earth, that is why we advocate a brush and soap as a priority switch, loosing the can will minimize your negative impact on the environment considerably. Our next suggestion would be to move to a safety razor, where blades are fully recyclable, biodegrades quicker, and have no plastic parts. The ultimate is a straight razor where no blades are consumed. Here is a quick look at the approximate amount of consumables required to set you up for a lifetimes worth of shaving, using 3 different setups.
1) Cutthroat, brush, and soap, 3 shoe boxes of biodegradable soap, our soap biodegrades in a few weeks to a year, conditions dependent. No inorganic waste is created.
2) Safety razor, brush and soap, 3 shoe boxes of biodegradable soap, 1 shoe box of blades. Soap biodegrades in a few weeks to a year and blades are fully recyclable, or degrades in around 50 years. If you recycle your stainless blades (approx. 2.6kg in a lifetime) you create zero inorganic waste.
50 years worth of razor blades, and it does not even fill a small shoebox...
3) Cartridge style razor and a can of foam, 66 shoe boxes of cans, and 10 shoe boxes of cartridges, the cans can be recycled, but they contain a vast amount of chemicals that eventually ends up spoiling our natural resources, and they add to plastic waste created in the form of caps and spouts made of plastic mounted on every can. Cartridges cannot be recycled, and the plastic will take around 450 years to degrade.
It is quite clear that we need to move away from plastics and minimize waste to both the landfill and our natural resources.
Disposable razors are simply put, damn nasty stuff, and not even an option for anyone who endorse a responsible lifestyle.
All our soaps are wrapped in PLA sheeting, a cellophane like material made of plant matter. The following extract from our suppliers website indicate some qualities and features of our packaging, so please go ahead and compost it, it is GOOD FOR THE GROUND!
PLA is fully compostable. In a correctly managed composting conditions (at 58ºC) PLA turns into water, and carbon dioxide, in just 45 days. PLA degrades twice as fast as newspaper and three times as fast as regenerated cellulose film and wood. Conventional petroleum-based plastics do not decompose at all. While CO2 is emitted during breakdown this is partially offset by the CO2 removed by the growth of the starch ingredient used to make PLA.
Good for the Ground film is certified as compostable by the European standard Din Certco (Reg No 7P0043, 7P0080, 7P0079)
Composting logo is internationally recognised.