What is it made from?
Packaging: 100% recycled cardboard.
Comb: 100% Moso bamboo.
Where do they come from?
Zero Waste Club tell me that their products ‘are manufactured ethically and sustainably in Ningbo, China.
Are they sustainable?
Bamboo - The bamboo used here is ‘Mao’(Moso) bamboo. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass that is generally seen as being one of the most sustainable plants due to the speed at which it grows. Its growth rate can be up to a meter per week! When bamboo is felled, no replanting is required, because shoots will re-grow from the root system, making it very efficient, but this means it can be considered invasive if not native to the area (as you may know if you have bamboo in your garden!) Bamboo grows packed close together, so a small area of land can produce a high yield in comparison to that of trees, which need more space to grow. Bamboo naturally contains an anti-microbial substance known as ‘bamboo-kun’ which makes bamboo resistant to fungi growth and pests, which means it can be grown organically. (That isn’t to say that all bamboo is organic, as some farmers do use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.) Bamboo is good at carbon capture and produces more oxygen than most types of young trees. If bamboo farms are managed sustainably, they can help reduce deforestation, as they provide a multi-purpose fast-growing crop that is easy to harvest, and the same crop can be harvested again and again, unlike conventional logging of hardwood and softwood trees.
How about ethical?
Zero Waste Club tell me their products are ‘manufactured ethically and sustainably in Ningbo, China. The workers at the factory get paid an hourly rate of 25 RMB, which is double the minimum wage in the region. The workers also get paid vacation.’
Lovely 😊 Good to see companies look after their workers.
Extra good stuff:
Zero Waste Club plant a tree for every product they sell, making them ‘carbon negative’. They have planted over 60,000 trees so far! They estimate that they have offset around 100,000 single-use items through selling their reusable products. Zero Waste Club are a vegan company and invest the profits of the business into research looking at making products out of waste material. They aim to be as transparent as possible.
Conclusion:
Don’t comb-over your use of plastic, switch to an eco-friendly bamboo comb for all your coiffing needs instead!
