Tip o’ the Day: Multi-Blade Eco-Shave
America is obsessed with the smooth shave. One blade will not do. Two blades? Child's play! It's all about the multiple blade action, apparently, and now it's available in an eco-version.
The company Recycline started out 9 years ago with a recyclable toothbrush made from recycled materials. (That's a lot of "recycl" words in that sentence!) For the past five years, the company has partnered with Stonyfield Farm to recycle used yogurt cups into products including the toothbrushes, tableware, and razors.
The new Preserve Triple Razor from Recycline has a 100% recycled plastic handle, 65% of which comes from Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. The handle is also completely recyclable as a #5 plastic. If your community doesn't "do that" plastic, send it back in to Recycline. (They also tell us that you can use Recycline replacement blades, but Gilette Sensor and Personna Acti-Flexx blades will work, too.)
In fact, the fact that many communities don't recycle #5 plastic is how most of the Recycline products are born. Stonyfield explains, however, that by using the lighter #5 plastic as opposed to the #2, they are benefiting the environment.
This partnership is a great example of how companies can satisfy consumer needs and also do a service to the environment simply by getting a little creative.
Rebecca says: The Recycline toothbrush was actually featured in the recent flick Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell. I love eco-product placement! I also stumbled across a spoof of "close shave" razors. It's pretty funny, but jut a warning, it does feature (fake) blood, if that's not your thing: The Warp 2000.
Resources:
A note from the Stonyfield Farm website
If you are out of ways to reuse your Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups, and if #5 plastic recycling isn’t available in your area, you can send your CLEAN Stonyfield Farm cups to us, and we’ll be sure they’ll get recycled. Send them to: Stonyfield Farm, 10 Burton Drive, Londonderry, NH 03053
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Tags: razor, recycle, recycline, shave
February 18th, 2007 at 2:12 am
I love the concept of bringing recyclable material into everyday use items like razors. However, the only part of these razors that is recyclable is the handle. I don't know about the general public, but I don't throw away my Quattro (or is it a Mach 3?) handle - ever. I've gone through MAYBE three handles in the last seven years. It's the disposable blades themselves that are the real issue with razors. I've tried going with straight blades, but these present a host of issues. Safety razors are, in my estimation, the very best way to get a reasonably resource-efficient shave. Also, they provide a superior shave with less pressure/complexion-wrecking than modern multi-blade disposables which are designed with the klutz in mind - that is, it takes a LOT of pressure to cut the skin, meaning a light glide over the face (which preserves the skin) does little to cut the hair.
Interesting idea, from a marketing perspective, but I see very little real eco-value in the project. . .the toothbrush offerings from this company are genius, however.