Metaphorically, plastic stinks, but that doesn’t mean you have to literally stink to go plastic free. FitPit is a 100% organic and natural deodorant cream that comes in a glass jar, hurrah!
Isn’t it nice to know that you don’t need lots of chemicals to mask your sweat? You don’t smell that bad, honest. Why not just smell clean and fresh instead with FitPit! Scented with Cypress and Bergamot so you can feel like you’ve just ran through a pine forest and rolled around in a citrus grove. It’s an outdoorsy scent, so a breath of fresh air for your pits you might say. Deters excess perspiration, so you smell good without breaking a sweat.
Choose from a 25ml jar for around 3 weeks supply or a 100ml jar to last 3 months.
To use, rub a pea sized amount onto your underarms. The cream will melt in contact with your skin. Dries instantly and leaves no white stains.
Store somewhere cool. If it does melt, stick it in the fridge for a bit.
Men's FitPit Deodorant
Deodorant in a spray can with plastic components or plastic roll on. Having looked at the ingredients for some of the most common brands of deodorant, quite a few have polymers in the actual product itself as well. Sneaky plastic on your skin! Other ingredients in regular deodorants are considered to be cause for concern too, such as parabens which can be an irritant for those with sensitive skin.
Generally, commercial deodorants have lots of synthetic chemicals in. While it may not be a concern for everyone, there is a growing awareness of how many chemicals we expose ourselves to everyday, and what the repeated use of these has on our health. There is currently a lack of research on the long-term effects of many of the substances used in cosmetics and skincare products. So, whilst proven safe for use in the short term and in small amounts, it is difficult to assess whether long term exposure to these substances is safe for the user. This is especially important as the number of products we use on our skin has risen for the average person, and we don’t necessarily know how the body reacts over time to various mixed concoctions of these ingredients. If the research happens to find lots of evidence to prove these are safe, then go ahead and smother yourself in these things, but, as they say, prevention is better than a cure. It won’t do you any harm to cut down on this list (which contains many chemicals found in plastics!) of potentially harmful synthetic chemicals and choose products that use natural and organic ingredients instead.
It is the best deodorant I have ever used! I’ve tried a few other plastic free deodorants and have used many different commercial brands of deodorant in my time before but FitPit is definitely the best yet hands down. (Or up, no need to hide your armpits anymore!) It just works so well all the live long day. I’ll admit it, I was sceptical as to its efficacy before I tried it, but I have totally converted as you can see. (For some reason, I imagine advertising has something to do with it, I have the belief that man-made chemicals work better than natural products but happily, I am constantly being shown how wrong that assumption is!)
Deodorant has caused problems before. Remember CFC’s that were found in aerosol cans like spray on deodorants that contributed towards ripping a hole in the ozone? Well, while they may not be present in your deodorant anymore, other VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) that can affect the ozone still are. This smells suspiciously like a problem to me. So, while you may not stink, your carbon footprint sure will after years of using these products. Switch to a natural alternative instead so you don’t have to sweat over the small stuff like this.
The average cost of deodorant is around £1 to £4 for between 50ml (roll-on size) to 250ml (spray can size).
A 25ml jar of FitPit costs £6.60 and lasts about 3-4 weeks or more, (mine tend to last 6 weeks as you don't need to use much, but it says 3 weeks on the jar so it will vary from person to person). A 100ml jar costs £12.50 and should last at least 3 months.
Spray cans of deodorant are used up very quickly in my experience, I would say you buy one a month. In my quest for cheapness, I switched to roll-on deodorant instead which lasts longer, probably around 3 months or so. (I never used to note how long they took to use up because who would? Well, I do this kind of thing now! Such is my life that this is actually important to note.) Whilst roll-on is better on the waste front as you use less of them, they are still encased in plastic.
One 100ml jar will last you as long as 3 aerosol cans so I would say that it will be almost cost equivalent if you generally buy spray-on deodorant. If you normally use a roll-on, these jars will last as long as the equivalent amount of roll-on deodorant or longer, so that does make it more expensive, but it is kinder to your skin, FitPit’s plastic-free packaging is much better and the jar can be recycled or reused.
In my opinion, this stuff is well worth it as it does its job really effectively. Best deodorant I've ever used!
What are they made from?
Jar – glass (upcycled which saves energy as it is not recycled before reuse.)
Lid – metal with plastic inside (sneaky plastic!) the lid has been reused though and it can be recycled.
The Green Woman tries to use as much reclaimed or donated material for packaging their goods as possible.
Ingredients:
Sodium bicarbonate, Organic Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut Oil), Organic Maranta Arundinacea Root Powder (Arrowroot), Organic Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Organic Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Sunflower Oil), Organic Cypress essential oil, Organic Bergamot essential oil.
Where do they come from?
Handmade in Shropshire, UK.
Are they sustainable?
All organic ingredients hooray! No pesticides found here.
Sodium Bicarbonate – has a ridiculous amount of uses, such a handy substance. These range from relieving heartburn to getting rid of any lingering radioactive uranium deposits on your clothing. Useful stuff this. Sodium bicarbonate is made from the minerals nahcolite and trona, which is then refined into soda ash, which is then turned into bicarb of soda. Nahcolite and trona are mined, (the US has the largest deposits) so they are not renewable resources, but are so abundant we have enough to last more than 2000 years. Mining isn’t the most environmentally friendly process, but to produce sodium bicarbonate synthetically it uses up and gives off a lot of nasty chemicals, so swings and roundabouts. If you enjoy caving or spelunking I am sure you are all for mining, whereas if you are a canary I imagine you would prefer it to be made synthetically. Good, bad, whatever, I refuse to go any further into this mining debate without a headtorch at least.
Coconut oil – seems to be fine.
Arrowroot powder – is the starch from tropical tubers such as the cassava plant. It is mostly farmed on Caribbean islands such as St. Vincent, which is the main producer of this crop. Demand is growing, but other countries have recently begun to farm specifically to produce arrowroot powder to capitalise on this. No issues other issues that I can find.
Shea butter – is great. It is a very sustainable and environmentally friendly in production, because it does not grow in plantations, (it is therefore wild) and has no need for irrigation or pesticides. Unrefined shea butter is best.
Sunflower Oil – Not genetically modified as a crop because the EU won’t allow it, and there isn’t enough money in it to encourage private sector GMing sunflowers in America in case they cross pollinate with wild sunflowers. Herbicide use has dropped a lot over the past 20 years, and organic farming of sunflowers is rising. Sunflowers are generally farmed on a crop rotation system which helps reduce soil erosion. (Intercropping with mustard apparently increases yield for any of you budding sunflower farmers out there.) Sunflowers are more drought resistant than other crops, so need less water to grow. Plus, fields of sunflowers look just lovely!
Cypress essential oil – It takes around 2000 pounds of cypress to produce a pound of cypress oil. That’s a lot, compare that amount to lavender essential oil which is around 250 pounds of plant to a pound of oil. Essential oils by nature are potent though (as you would expect looking at those figures!) so you don’t need to use a lot in one go to achieve the desired fragrance. Cypress oil is by no means the worst essential oil, as some essential oils like rosewood and sandalwood are dependent on plant species that are rare or threatened. Cypress grows quite quickly, more trees are potentially grown than is currently harvested in some places such as the US and all parts of the tree is used, so none goes to waste.
Bergamot essential oil – Bergamot is a citrus fruit which looks like a green orange. It takes around 100 bergamot fruits to get about 85g of essential oil. Which is not too bad as far as essential oil production goes! Mainly grown in Southern Europe, especially Italy and more northern areas of Africa. Seems like the Italians are quite proud of this crop and much of it is grown organically in the same places as it has been farmed for many generations.
Essential oil production generally uses steam distillation which has no environmental concerns, but it takes a lot of plant to make only a small amount of essential oil.
How about ethical?
The Green Woman actively supports green initiatives and works with two charities, Breast Cancer UK and Womankind Worldwide as corporate partnerships. 10% of their profits are donated to projects that are working towards fighting climate change. Handmade in the UK so I’ll assume the founders of The Green Woman make sure that their own working conditions are happy and healthy unless they tell me otherwise!
Extra good stuff:
‘Free from Aluminium, Parabens, BPAs, Petrochemicals and plastic packaging. Suitable for vegans. Tough odour protection that's gentle on your skin and the planet. Hand made by The Green Woman in the UK.’
Conclusion –
Don’t break a sweat over how environmentally friendly your deodorant is anymore with FitPit. Organic, ethical and plastic free. Smells like a sweet deal to me!
