Global threats, such as growing deforestation rates, rising carbon emissions, and the littering of our earth‘s oceans, can be increasingly observed. While Malibu C is proud of our products, we are truly concerned about the impact of packaging waste on land and in the ocean. To shine some light on just how waste impacts our earth, traditional plastics can take many centuries to biodegrade. Our goal is to reduce this time to years for our bottles.
As a global business, we know packaging plays a large role in ensuring we can bring our products safely to consumers around the world, that’s why we are rethinking our packaging and making some big, exciting changes.
Our MaliBlu 9oz. and Liter bottles were already PET recyclable bottles (more on that in a moment), but we want to expand the possibilities of what our bottles can do by taking it a step further. Recycling might not be available to all our customers. This is why we are proud to introduce our new bottles: EcoBlu®. Our new EcoBlu bottles are not only made from 98% recycled materials (and can be recycled again), but they are also designed with Eco-One® technology, which enhances the biodegradation of the bottles when disposed of in a biologically active landfill (appropriate facilities not available in all areas). Independent ASTM D5511 tests that represent biologically active landfills on representative packages have shown 60.6% biodegradation in 388 days. We think that’s pretty huge!
WHAT DOES THIS ACTUALLY MEAN?
We are the first U.S. haircare company to incorporate REPREVE® and Eco-One® technology together into bottles. But what does that really mean?
Before we go into what happens to our new EcoBlu bottles when you’re done with them, it’s important to learn about what happens before the bottles are even created, thinking not only about the end of a product’s life, but also the beginning of its life. That’s where REPREVE comes in.
By 2050, if nothing changes, plastic in the ocean will outnumber fish. REPREVE, the global leader in recycled plastic bottles, or PCR (post-consumer resin), also collects ocean-bound plastic bottles, meaning the plastic bottles are at high risk of ending up in the ocean. The bottles are collected from areas within 50km of coastlines that do not currently have a formal waste or recycling system. REPREVE then turns the bottles into flakes, and those flakes are melted into a high-quality resin. That resin is then used to create other products, like our EcoBlu bottles!
Our EcoBlu bottles (does not include the caps or label) are 49% REPREVE® Our Ocean® recycled ocean-bound plastics and 49% REPREVE post-consumer recycled plastics. Learn more about the work REPREVE is doing HERE.
With all the greenwashing out there, how can you trust that our EcoBlu bottles really are 98% recycled plastic? REPREVE is the only eco-fiber embedded with FiberPrint®, a proprietary tracer technology, enabling product origins to be verified with U TRUST™ verification to certify transparency and traceability.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BOTTLE ISN’T RECYCLED?
So, you purchased your favorite Malibu C product in the new EcoBlu bottle, loved it (obviously!) and now you are finished with the container. You toss it and forget about it, right? Well, it is important to note that while giving recycled materials a second life is the first step, it is also essential to know what happens to that product AFTER it has been recycled, re-purposed, re-used, thrown away and long forgotten about. This is known as the end of life for a product.
Eco-One® technology, added to our EcoBlu bottles in the production process, enhances the biodegradation through a series of chemical and biological processes when disposed of in a biologically active landfill. (Does not include the caps or label.)
That’s amazing! But how does it actually work?
When the bottles are placed in a biologically active landfill, the ingredients in the Eco-One® technology allow for the formation of a coating (called “biofilm,”) on the surface of the plastic. The biofilm is made up of microbes which penetrate the plastic, while other ingredients in Eco-One® work together to expand the molecular structure, in turn making room for microbes. The microbes send out chemical signals to attract additional microbes to the site. Once all the microbes have been assembled, they collectively feast on the plastic, thus breaking down the chemical bonds at an accelerated rate. (Learn more about biodegradation rates here.)
This mean that if our bottles don’t get recycled, instead of occupying landfill space for centuries or not breaking down at all, our EcoBlu bottles break down in just years. WOW!
Check out this video to learn more about Eco-One® technology.
After the biodegradation takes place, the leftover material is biomass with trace amounts of biogas that can be used to generate electricity and renewable natural gas. The Eco-One® technology differs from other “degradable plastic additives” available in the market today, mainly because it is the leading additive that enhances organic biodegradation of polymers (plastic). During organic biodegradation, microbes consume materials such as food waste, wood, plastic with Eco-One®, etc. and produce a biogas as a result. In anaerobic landfills, biogas from organic biodegradation can be recaptured as a high value source of renewable energy!
Want to learn more about renewable energy from landfills? Check out the video below to see how five billion pounds of Las Vegas waste powers a city!
We believe it is our environmental responsibility to design value into the different disposal pathways our products take today. Eco-One® has revolutionized industries such as apparel, footwear, food packaging, and other industries with leading global chemical companies and brands who also adopt a complete disposal strategy. We want to lead the way in our industry!
Click here to check out our Impact Report and what this initiative means to you!
We are extremely passionate about this initiative and hope you are too! Partnering with REPREVE® and Eco-One® is just the first step as we move towards sustainability in all we do. For more information about REPREVE® visit: https://REPREVE.com/ and for Eco-One® technology, visit http://www.ecologic-llc.com/
Have questions? Check out our FAQs.
