Zero Waste Path first joined the line up at The Bare Alternative at the start of 2020 to fill some gaps of customer requests. Since then, they have become very popular with their range of gender-neutral hand-made products that come in minimal or appropriate packaging where necessary. Zero waste is such an integral part of what the company stands for that they put the term in their name!
With our latest order, I caught up with Bianca to tell us a little more about Zero Waste Path...
What is your name and role, and please tell us a little more about Zero Waste Path and the products that you make?
Hi, my name is Bianca and I'm one of the two co-founders and directors of Zero Waste Path. At Zero Waste Path we focus on making sustainable, vegan and palm oil free zero waste toiletries. All of our products are hand-made by us in our small workshop in Cambridge using a 100% renewable energy supplier. We always try to be as sustainable and ethical as possible from the choice of suppliers to our manufacturing methods to the final packaging and product.
What motivates you to make sustainable products?
My partner and I are zero waste vegans ourselves and focused our studies on sustainability. Our interest for sustainability starts for an interest in human rights as we believe that the two are very closely interlinked. We started the business to be able to apply what we had learned both through our studies and our personal zero waste journeys to something practical, in an attempt to contribute to creating a more sustainable and ethical economy.
What’s your personal favourite product from your range?
My favourites are probably the 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner - Oily / Fine and the Chill Ya Balm. These are two products I created around my needs, especially the Chill Ya Balm as I have struggled with anxiety my whole life and always found herbal and lavender-based scents quite soothing.
What's your number one tip for living a low-impact lifestyle?
My number one tip is probably to start with something that is easy for you and to focus on the successes. Sometimes thinking about all the things that can be changed can be overwhelming and it may not always be possible to do so as there can be many barriers, practical, economical, time related etc. But I do think that there is always at least one little thing that every person can do without too much stress or effort, and one thing is already a lot!
What's something you are working on outside of Zero Waste Path to live a more eco-friendly life?
We both try to live zero waste and are vegan, so we always try to support local independent sustainable shops, buying most of our groceries plastic-free, reducing the amount of items we buy (such as clothes, objects, technology) and always trying to choose second hand or refurbished products when possible.
Also, check out Bianca's TEDx talk here but be careful of falling down the rabbit hole of related talks in the recommendations.
What I really appreciate about Zero Waste Path as a supplier is that they are totally transparent about their processes, suppliers and even the equipment they use which is all listed on their website. This really goes a long way to be confident in trusting that we are providing ethical and consciously produced products to our customers.
Something that initially drew me to Zero Waste Path is there use of photography to highlight their products, and with the recent refresh of the branding, I really think their products stand out on the shelves in the shop. All of the deliveries to us are 100% plastic-free and carbon-neutral, and the minimal amounts of product packaging is recycled unbleached cardboard, made in Italy by Giulio’s (Bianca's partner and Zero Waste Path's other co-founder) family.
The metal tins used for the Multipurpose Balms are made from tinplate which is widely recyclable or can be returned to us for 30p off a purchase of another tin, making this one of the few products we promote in our Support Circular scheme which highlights products and suppliers that go to extra lengths of making products with minimal environmental impact through zero packaging waste.
In August last year, we added the 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner bars as an alternative to liquids products, and the Normal Hair version of the product quickly became my regular hair washing choice after trying a few similar products that didn't work for my hair type.
As with all Zero Waste Path's products they are hand made so may slightly vary, but at around 70g they should give you about 40 washes (dependent on hair length). The bars are ph-balanced, unisex and available in four versions for different hair types, and as a 2-in-1 there's no transition phase which is the tricky part that people don't always stick with when switching away from liquid products.
There's also the added benefit of only needing to use one product which means that you can shower quicker and save some water too. Another reason to switch to shampoo bars is that not only is it saving on plastic bottles (if you don't choose to refill them at a shop like us), but liquid shampoos are a large quality of water, so all the way along the supply chain that water doesn't have to be transported which would create carbon emissions when you can instead just get that water at home!
But as a dog owner, a personal favourite from the range of Zero Waste Path products we sell is the Dog Shampoo Bar. Due to the ingredient list, it is naturally anti-flea and anti-itch and we have found it leaves (our Whippet) Rusell's coat shiny, soft and smelling great.
Check out Zero Waste Path's range of Multipurpose Balms available to purchase in-store or on our online store to order for collection.
Check out the Zero Waste Path's range of Solid Lotion Bars available to purchase in-store or on our online store to order for collection.
Check out the Zero Waste Path's range of 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner Bars available to purchase in-store or on our online store to order for collection.
Check out the Zero Waste Path's Dog Shampoo Bars available to purchase in-store or on our online store to order for collection.
All of the Zero Waste Path range is also available to order as a part of a home delivery order via our partner 3Miles in the Health and Beauty category.
As always we'd love to hear your feedback on these products on the product pages of our online store linked above.