Eco-conscious Practices
Our Promise
Healthy environmental practices are more important than ever - that’s why Apt. 6 has committed to maintaining an eco-conscious business. We appreciate that our customers care about our planet, and so do we. That’s why we strive to be as transparent as possible about all our environmental practices.
Apt. 6 is a small, family-run business. All our products are made by hand by us in our home studio where we carefully sort waste from production into three categories: reuse, recycle, and compost. Cardboard boxes are reused for shipping, paper is reused or composted, and we avoid single-use paper towels. When you order from Apt. 6, you’re going to get an Ugly Package. It’s what we do. ;) Instead of buying brand new boxes and packing materials, we choose to collect and reuse any boxes, packing peanuts, and paper that comes to our studio. For more information, check out our FAQ.
Our Packaging
We’re always developing new packaging initiatives to minimize waste, and have plans to further minimize our footprint in the future.
Our bath bombs come sealed to protect the product from bacteria and damage, but don’t be alarmed. We’ve chosen to protect our bath bombs with Biolefin. Biolefin is a 100% biodegradable shrink wrap that quickly (within 18 - 24 months!) breaks down into food for bacteria and other microorganisms, instead of degrading into micro plastics. So next time you get an Apt. 6 bath bomb, toss that wrapper in the compost bin instead of the trash.
You might wonder why Apt. 6 has chosen to use plastic containers for some of our products instead of glass. A lot of factors were weighed when making this decision, and we’d like to share our findings with you:
Production of any packaging material creates CO2 emissions, but what we didn’t realize was that producing aluminum creates 4 times the amount of CO2 (per bottle produced) than plastic, and producing glass creates 2 times the amount of CO2 (per bottle produced).
Another factor we considered when selecting our packaging was weight. Glass packaging is significantly heavier than plastic, which results in increased fuel consumption during transportation, thus increasing emissions.
The biggest issues with plastic are overuse (ie. unnecessary packaging), and improper recycling. Make sure to research the recycling programs in your area, and of course reuse our packaging! Once the product inside is gone, most of our containers are still functional! (Those that aren’t can be recycled.)
What was once a lotion bottle can be reused for hand or dish soap (even better - find a refillery in your area and fill it up instead of buying packaged soap refills).
Small jars can be washed and used to store small items like bobby pins or office supplies, or used as a portable container for pain killers for your bag or office. You can also use them to start baby plants!
Large jars are great for storing household items like q-tips, brushes, pens/pencils, or can be used as a planter or vase. Use your imagination! We give back when you share how you’ve reused your packaging - for every account that shares a post or story using the hashtag #ReuseWithApt6, we’ll donate $1 towards green initiatives and $1 to non-profit organizations that focus on child mental health.
Our Future:
As we mentioned before, we’re always looking for ways to reduce waste. Our current works in progress are:
- Changing our perfume bottles to eliminate the need for a box
- Transitioning to all-paper packing tape
- Upgrading some of our lip balms to a 100% compostable squeeze tube
If you have questions, concerns or suggestions regarding our environmental practices, please reach out to us at apt6skinco@gmail.com