Plastic razors are the new plastic straws!
This is our wakeup call and your change challenge!
Let’s influence our retail giants to stop stocking plastic disposable razors and stock 100% biodegradable razors like BeauRaze!
Follow, share and tag #BeauRazeChangeChallenge, #woolworths_sa, #clicks_sa, #dischem_pharmacies, #picknpay, #my_spar, #checkers_sa
The backstory
Think of the music that plays during a thriller scene, the frightening eek, eek, eek… These are the dreaded sounds you should imagine when you are tossing that rusted old blade from your shower or bath after use. Eek, eek, eek. Where does that razor and millions like these land up?
Do they land up in our precious oceans? Are they dumped in landfills? Do they ever decompose? Are they recycled, reusable? Should they be? Especially if majority of each razor is plastic.
The frightening truth is that there are no recycling plants in Africa that accept and recycle disposable razors! The blades will rust away into nothing, leaving behind the plastic handle and casing for dozens, perhaps hundreds of years. The sad reality is that at this time, there is simply no straightforward way to dispose of plastic razors in an eco-friendly way.
The American Academy of Dermatology states that you should change your blade or throw away disposable razors every five to seven shaves. This will help minimize irritation and the spread of bacteria.
Let’s do the math. There are almost 60 million people in South Africa. Let’s say half the population shave using disposable razors and they use 3 razors a month. That’s 90 million disposable razors a month and 108 million a year.
A horror is an understatement!
Is panic starting to set in? When we thought this through, we started to panic too! This is just one example of a product humankind use regularly that is destroying planet earth. Why are most organisations not worried about their carbon footprint? Why are they not making drastic changes and quicker?
Only this morning (7 Dec 2021) on BBC we watched how South Sudan has severe flooding, again! Displacing thousands of people. Sudan has suffered these severe floods 3 consecutive years in a row.
Temperatures are rising world-wide due to greenhouse gases trapping more heat in the atmosphere. Droughts are becoming longer and more extreme around the world. Tropical storms becoming more severe due to warmer ocean water temperatures. This list goes on and on…
The reality is that large organisation’s take too long to change. From their red tape, too many department heads, too many hoops to jump through, too many people need to buy in and sign off before anything starts happening.
Every living being consumes something and has an impact on the environment, our main focus must always be to minimize it and to put pressure on larger organisations to change. Only when customers put pressure on large organizations, will change be expedited.
COVID and lockdown has helped humankind us press the reset button to some extent. We need to make sure we make the necessary lifestyle changes now, before a few years pass and COVID-19 is a pandemic we once lived through and these important topics get lost again.
According to the official Stats SA website, 90% of an estimated 59 million tonnes of general waste produced in South Africa in 2011 ended up in landfills, while only 10% was recycled. Studies reported in 2016 showed that as little as 12.9% of households recycle compared to one year before of only 5.2%. With the chaos of Covid, what are the chances that these statistics have improved?
Although in recent years certain municipalities initiated some kind of recycling program, the municipalities struggled with the implementation due to a lack of capacity or infrastructure. That means that South Africa is running out of space for waste disposal despite the small acts of recycling introduced.
This is all scary stuff but now that we have rambled on quite a bit about the problems, let’s get to a solution every single one of us can be a part of because there is hope, if we all do our part. Strength in numbers.
SMEs and individuals like you and me can make change, demand change and put pressure on each other and large companies to make necessary changes. It takes one viral video, one viral tweet to create a domino effect of positive ripples that will be felt globally.
To make a difference we need each and every one of us to take responsibility and live consciously. Take the initiative to do better, be better and create a better world for future generations. We challenge you as a human, a business owner, employee or student. No one is too young or too old.
We caught up with Tzvia Hermann, co-founder of The Laser Beautique. Let us tell you her story and how she got started. Give you a little inspiration to join the TLBchangechallenge and/or create your very own #changechallenge.
At home Tzvia Hermann, founder of The Laser Beautique started small. She started by simply reducing her waste by composting food waste. Tzvia uses a simple solution called Bokashi https://www.bokashishop.co.za. This system can be used by anyone regardless of whether you have a garden. The Hermann’s then decided to get their very own worm farm. This may sound like a slimy situation, less than ideal and hard work. But the reality is, the worms live in tiered buckets in the garage. You don’t see, hear or smell them. They are magical little creatures that are low maintenance. So low that you can go away for a month and they will eat through cardboard and be waiting for you on your return. No pet sitter needed. These magical worms eat through food waste, paper, cardboard and leave their valuable worm castings and worm tea which you use in your garden. Worm castings are like probiotics for the earth. This gives the saying “one’s man garbage is another man’s gold” a whole new meaning. The entire Hermann household got going and they save every pip and seed to either grow in their vegi garden or to donate. The family are committed to find new and wonderful ways to live with as little carbon footprint without having to turn their lives upside down or spend thousands of rands. You can read all about worm farms by clicking here https://deepgreenpermaculture.com
Today Tzvia’s home includes recycling glass, plastic, paper and a vegetable garden that boasts fruit, veggies and flowers that feed bees and butterflies as well as abovementioned bokashi compost as well as a worm farm. Zero waste is the aim. “and this doesn’t take much effort and can cost zero rand to set up. Just google DIY ways. My veggie garden grows from pips and seeds we get from fruit and veg we eat” says Tzvia.
At work, the Hermann’s have looked into how The Beautique Group (The Laser Beautique, Beautique Academy and Beautique Brands) can operate and how best they can:
- Reduce the groups carbon footprint
- Help all in their industry reduce their footprint and
- Create a domino effect so their clients and even their competitors can reduce their footprint.
The group investigated how they can make the most impactful change and they decided to launch the very first disposable, bio-degradable razor called BeauRaze. Unlike most plastic disposable razors, this razor comes with one handle and boasts 3 replacement triple blade heads. Have you noticed how most disposable razors don’t come with changeable heads? Why? We believe it’s all bottom line driven. The companies that manufacture these disposable plastic razors can make more profit selling more plastic. They would rather sell more razors regardless of the negative impact on the world.
Looking at BeauRaze, you would never know that this razor is made from 100% degradable wheat material.
If you have never heard of The Beautique Group, they the company that brought South Africa the very first pain-free, permanent laser hair removal that is safe for all skin types. Since then, Sept 2009, many more laser clinics have popped up all over South Africa. Shortly after the launch of The Laser Beautique, Beautique Academy and an import and distribution arm called Beautique Brands was launched. Today the group are industry leaders in permanent hair removal, aesthetic treatments devices and training.
When we caught up with Tzvia Hermann, founder of The Laser Beautique and asked her what inspired her at home and at work to make such impactful changes. “COVID-19 and lock down changed me for the better.” Says Tzvia
She watched two documentaries that inspired her and sparked not just a big change in her home but in business too. Documentaries Tzvia referred to:
- Down to earth with the Zack Efron
- David Attenborough’s “A life on our planet”
- My Octopus teacher
In business Tzvias new favourite motto is ” planet earth and people before profit”. So why the bio-degradable, disposable razor you may ask? Before and between laser hair removal, one needs to shave. Every laser hair removal clinic uses at least one single use, 2 blade razor per client which is thrown away. No sharps bin, no recycling, just tossed. Eek eek eek. That’s at least 15 razors day, 105 razors a week, 420 razors a month and a whopping 5040 razors a year, per branch.
When Tzvia did the math of how many people use disposable razors and found out that they are not recycled or can be recycled, she freaked out. This is not the type of carbon footprint Tzvia wants The Beautique Group, her industry and South Africans to leave behind.
So let us all welcome Beautique Brands BeauRaze with open arms. Say hello to a natural shaving solution. Beau-Raze has the following benefits:
– 100% biodegradable
– 3 premium blades
– 3 replaceable razor heads
– Natural and comfortable non-slip grip
– Bio-material from wheat straw, used for the handle and blade holder
– Cost is not much more than a non-degradable plastic disposable razor
Lets not kid, a razor might not be as sexy as Mr Efron, but this nifty razor is certainly impressive and we can all help (s)have our planet one razor at a time.
Best of all The Beautique Group will not only be using and retailing BeauRaze at The Laser Beautique but will also be wholesaling BeauRaze to other laser clinics, home salons, medical institutions, pharmacies, and other retail stores.
BeauRaze will be available in Jan 2022. How can you help? How can you make a difference?
- Share this article to encourage everyone to achieve an eco-friendly shave regimen.
- Like, share and add hash tags of South African giant retailers to stop stocking plastic razors and only stock 100% biodegradable disposable razors. Whether its BeauRaze or other brand off degradable razor
Remember, if each and every one of us makes a small change in all that we do, can you imagine the change? We hope this article inspires you and your households to at least make a change to degradable razors.
If you would like to start your own composting journey and turn your kitchen food waste into compost, you can visit TLB online store to purchase your very own bokashi: https://the-laser-beautique.myshopify.com/collections/earth-probiotic/products/earth-bokashi-bins.