Today is Earth Day and each year the April 22nd reminds us of our impact on the planet. At Rituals, we strive to implement environmental improvements that foster a sustainable future and lead to social and economical improvements in the world around us. This mission is a continuous journey that never ends, and we aim to better ourselves every day with the help of three sustainability pillars: Clean, Conscious & Caring. Curious about the steps we take for a greener future? And are you looking for easy and simple things you can tweak your lifestyle to preserve Mother Nature? We spoke with sustainability expert Jemma Finch and handpicked her best tips for you. So, keep reading for a greener future.
Clean: 90% natural origin
We carefully consider our ingredient selection, every step of the way, to ensure there's nothing in our formulas that shouldn't be. We aim to use as many ingredients of natural origin as possible. In only a few cases, we choose lab made alternatives where it’s more environmentally friendly or necessary for product safety and usability. All our body creams, face, lip and hand care products already contain over 90% ingredients from natural origin. In addition to being natural, we also make every effort to ensure our products really do what they promise. And last but not least: all our cosmetics and personal care products are dermatologically tested on happy adult volunteers.
Conscious: Refill, Reduce, Recycle
For this pillar we make use of the 3 Rs: Refill, Reduce, Recycle. As you may know, we launched our beautiful Refill collection with luxury jars for your bathroom, while being conscious of the planet too. With our Refills we save on CO2 emission, energy and use of water, while the refill fits perfectly into your original luxury jar. Have you tried The Ritual of Ayurveda body cream. With a light tap on the bottom of the cream pot you can easily replace your empty refill jar. What are you waiting for? Join the Refill Movement!
Last year we introduced recycled PET plastic for our body creams, body scrubs, bath foams, shower oils and fragrance sprays. This means that we use materials multiple times, so we don’t need to disturb nature to gain new materials. And talking about reducing: did you know that our iconic shower foam has a lightweight can that reduces the use of aluminium by 10%? By trial and error, we have also made our gift set packaging smaller and stopped using carton boxes for multiple products. Perfect examples of how we work on both visible and invisible packaging reductions, right?
Caring: Supporting soulful societies
We strive to practice what we preach: living soulfully by offering products, tools and insights to turn everyday routines into meaningful moments. This also shows in our support and development of programs that contribute to soulful societies such as Tiny Miracles and Super Chill.
At Rituals, we make a great effort to be good for you, as well as for our beautiful planet. Hopefully, you’re feeling inspired? Which is why our Dutch Copywriter Anouk spoke with Jemma Finch, Co-Founder & CEO of @storiesbehindthings, the storytelling platform that explores sustainability and mindful consumption. She reveals quick and easy tips that you can adapt for a sustainable lifestyle.
Anouk: Can you share why you started Stories Behind Things and what the purpose of the platform is?
Creating a space online that leads with positivity and solutions has been very key for me. I came into the sustainability space through a mental health lens, I felt the fast paced and throwaway culture we live in to be extremely overwhelming. So, for me, Stories Behind Things was created to be the platform that leads with positivity and explores subjects that intertwine with sustainability; from mental health, consumption to support of sustainable brands.
What are your top 5 tips for a sustainable wardrobe?
- Thrift shopping!
- Embroider old clothes that you don’t love anymore to give them new life.
- Host a clothes switch with your friends. To make this COVID-proof, you can even organise it via Zoom or Teams.
- Shop on Depop. This platform has a global community that buys, sells and connects to make fashion more inclusive, diverse and less wasteful.
- Save up to invest in something from a sustainable brand that you’ll love forever!
As a sustainability expert: how do you think our readers can easily learn and maintain a sustainable lifestyle?
Understanding what mindful consumption was really helped me in my journey to maintaining a more sustainable lifestyle and living more in line with my values. Mindful consumption, to me, is consuming things with caution – whether that be technology, purchasing things and the objects we choose to have around us. Being aware and conscious of our daily surroundings is a key part of considered consumption to me. When it comes to sustainability, considering the journey an item has taken before ending up in the store is considered consumption at its most basic.
Do you have a favourite sustainable recipe?
I truly love homemade oat milk! I would definitely recommend the recipe of good food. It is not only delicious, but also the ideal alternative for cow’s milk if you’re lactose intolerant or if you are living a vegan lifestyle.
What is your personal favourite life hack for sustainable living? And why?
My favourite hack is remembering [that it’s all about] progress over perfection, it's something I practise every single day. Individual actions really do matter, so take each day at a time and do what you can. Being an activist or trying to make small improvements can really add up to larger more tangible changes.
For more on sustainability and mindful consumption follow @storiesbehindthings.
