04/18/2023
Biodegradable vs. compostable? As we think about the upcoming Earth Day, here's what we, at GEMMM Soaps, are doing to reduce our carbon footprint. Our long-term goal is to be more sustainable and eco-friendly. In a step towards this goal, we made a change to our packaging. We were using typical plastic based shrink wrap for our bath bombs and steamers and waxed bags for our shower melts. This year, we moved to compostable packaging from , which uses sustainable materials like tree fibers and sugar cane. We went with this packaging instead of those advertised as "biodegradable" because we learned that biodegradable simply means it breaks down faster. Though this helps reduce waste in landfills, at the end of the process, you simply helped create micro plastics faster. These micro plastics then have the potential to live in the soil for generations or leak into water or end up in our food. Whereas compostable means you can put it in your compost pile and use end product in our garden. This is a major pro, and ultimately, we accept the cons in order to help our mother Earth.
Cons:
1. Cost more
2. Takes longer to heat seal
3. The end product is not as "pretty." Wrapped products look like they're in a pouch/bag. The green compostable line doesn't go with our color theme 😆
