Sugarcane and Corn: ‘Ingredients Matter’ in New Deodorant Packaging

For vegan and cruelty-free brand Each & Every, whose tagline is “Ingredients Matter,” what does and does not go into its packaging is just as important as what is or is not used for its products. The company, formed in 2017 by two beauty industry professionals frustrated by the lack of high-quality natural deodorant options, offers deodorants and rollerball fragrances that have no aluminum, parabens, synthetic fragrances, or baking soda, and are gluten free, cruelty free, vegan, and EWG (Environmental Working Group) Verified™. Equally nature-based, beginning April 1, packaging for the brand’s deodorants is now petroleum based-plastic free, instead using plastic made from sugarcane.

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Says company co-founder and Brand Leader Lauren Lovelady, “Sustainability is incredibly important to us, and we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our footprint. Before we even launched the brand, we wanted to launch with sustainable packaging, but because we use 100-percent natural essential oils and no synthetic fragrances, none of the sustainable package options we tried were compatible with our formula. The essential oils would break down the package materials. We ultimately decided to launch in plastic so that consumers would have access to our incredible formula, and we decided we would keep working on sustainable packaging in parallel.”

The first deodorant product to use the new bioplastic packaging is Each & Every’s Lavender & Lemon scent.The next step, in 2019, was a package made from post-consumer recycled material, but Lovelady says that while consumers said they appreciated the effort, “they didn’t see it as sustainable enough.”

Exploring new material options, Each & Every ultimately settled on bio-based packaging made from sugarcane sourced from a proprietary supplier. “We spent a considerable amount of time understanding the supply chain to ensure it met our sustainability expectations, and then we spent a few months capability testing,” says Lovelady. “We then reached out to our community to get their thoughts, and when they all came back to us with the thumbs up, we knew we were onto something.”

The first deodorant product to use the new bioplastic packaging is Each & Every’s Lavender & Lemon scent in a 2.5-oz, recyclable tube made with a special black colorant that the company says can be detected by infrared scanners for recycling. Each & Every says it has plans to roll out the packaging on its wider product range throughout the year.

“What we love about the sugarcane is that it’s actually carbon negative, so it reduces our carbon footprint,” says Lovelady. “Sugarcane is a renewable resource—unlike petroleum—and growing it absorbs CO₂ from the atmosphere, so it’s a great sustainable packaging option.”

In conjunction with the new bio-based tubes, the company has also introduced 100% plant-based envelopes for all products shipped from its online store.In conjunction with the new bio-based tubes, the company has also introduced 100% plant-based envelopes for all products shipped from its online store. The envelopes are made from a corn-based biopolymer from an unnamed supplier and can be composted at home or in industrial compost facilities.

“Our long-term goals are to continue to listen to our customers and raise the bar, to continue to bring more information and more transparency to our materials and processes so that consumers can make informed decisions they feel good about,” says Lovelady. “We are constantly looking for ways to improve our current footprint, including continuing to look for new ingredients and other packaging materials that may be even more sustainable. We see sustainability as a journey of many steps, and we will continue to invest in taking steps forward.”

Each & Every’s range of gender-inclusive deodorants in 12 scents are available on the company’s website, on Amazon, and in Showfields, a multi-brand retail store in New York City. The 2.5-oz size is priced at $15, or at $12.75 through a subscription option.