PHOTOGRAPHY: ADRIEN DUBOST WRITER: EMMA MOORESustainability is moving to the forefront of most
businesses’ modus operandi these days, but can
any truly claim that what they do does no harm?
The cosmetic industries are certainly aware that both
economic and environmental survival now depends
on their use of recycled materials, recyclable packaging,
less water and no polluting chemicals, but there are
also noble efforts being made towards zero impact.
Wellness brand Haeckels, which is building a whole
entrepreneurial ecosystem around seaweed, recently
posted a picture on Instagram of a footprint in the
sand representing the only trace left by the company’s
regular seaweed harvest in its hometown of Margate,
Kent. ‘In terms of waste produced, industry should be
contributing to the system, ideally enhancing it, orBox fresh
A wellness brand planting
the seeds of change‘PEGWELL BAY’ CANDLE,
£50, BY HAECKELS, WITH ITS
MYCELIUM PACKAGING
simply evaporating, leaving nothing there is no time
for in between.’ In this spirit, Haeckels is overhauling
the packaging for all its products, making protective
boxes for its glass-enclosed products out of fungal
matter mycelium, with product information printed
on a card stuffed with seeds. ‘It’s like a seed bomb,’
says founder Dom Bridges. ‘You can just throw the
whole thing out of the window.’ Using mycelium for
packaging is not new, but unusually Haeckels refuses to
hide its organic appearance. ‘It has a beautiful, tactile
surface,’ says Bridges. ‘It’s a 100 per cent biodegradable
and the paper wraparound contains seeds that relate
to the product inside.’ It’s a bold move which shows
that even a brand with strong design aesthetics can
keep its looks while fully respecting the environment.Newspaper
∑ 099