When it comes to implementing eco-friendly practices, think outside—or inside—the box.

As an environmentally conscious spa owner, you look for new ways to reduce (limit water usage), reuse (glasses instead of disposable cups) and recycle (you know the drill). So do the manufacturers who seek to do business with you.

Looking for a good skincare partner based on its green practices doesn’t necessarily mean only looking for an organic label. How a product is packaged and shipped can make—or break—a company’s positive carbon footprint.

We receive hundreds of boxes and packages here at DAYSPA. While testing, photographing and familiarizing ourselves with the top products in the industry is an invaluable part of our jobs, sometimes the deluge of cardboard, cellophane, Styrofoam and bubble wrap can turn our inner green goddess into grinches.

So when a company goes out of its way to make its shipping and packaging practices eco-friendly, we breathe a sigh of relief. Here are a few examples of earth-friendly packaging we’ve seen in the mail lately:

Bubble wrap—any plastic product, really—is banished from packages from Eminence Organic Skin Care. Instead of typical stuffing, the green-to-the-core company uses pouches made from recycled/recyclable paper. They keep precious products from breaking or leaking and can be recycled yet again. Even if they’re thrown away, they’ll quickly disintegrate in a landfill.


SpaRitual has become a favorite hand-and-foot-care line of green spas around the world. That, of course, means lots of shipping. To offset the environmental impact of all that transport, the company packages its products in paper canisters, tubes, boxes and envelopes made from recycled materials. It even offers handy reuse tips such as repurposing a shipping tube as a flower vase.

Joyful Bath Co. based in Bethesda, Maryland, packages its all-natural mineral salts in recyclable glass jars; and gift sets come in aluminum buckets that can be used to store the products. But the most creative concept is in its packing peanuts. They’re made from cornstarch, which dissolves in water. It also adds a boost to bath treatments. According to the enclosed card that comes with each shipment, “Cornstarch is known to soothe and relieve itchy skin. So guess what? Throw some in the tub with your bath salts!”

Bathing in your packaging material. Now that’s green genius.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Editors' Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.