Moving towards a circular economy - truthpaste
January 23, 2023

Moving towards a circular economy

By Marisa Battrick

We're excited to be announcing our Return and Refill scheme in a bid to reduce our carbon footprint and move towards a circular economy.

What does ‘Circular Economy’ mean?

Based on the principle of “repurpose, reuse, and recycle”, a circular economy is a system that looks to reuse or regenerate materials or products that might otherwise be disposed of or recycled. In simple terms, it’s a way to make production or a business more sustainable and better for the environment. 

It’s about reducing waste and reusing materials productively as opposed to either disposing or even recycling them. 

At Truthpaste, we’ve always been eco-conscious and sustainability has long been at the core of what we do. After a great deal of research, we wanted to share how joining the circular economy model can benefit 


How does a circular economy work?

Let's take a jar of Truthpaste as an example. We send it to you, you use it, you have great teeth and gums and then you have an empty jar. The most eco-friendly thing to do is to repurpose your jar. Luckily there are many ways that you can do this. However, there are only so many spice jars, tealight holders, and glass containers a person can have, so what is the next best thing in terms of sustainability?

Returning the jar so that it can be used again!


Truthpaste adopts circular economy in their jar return scheme


How circular economy contributes to sustainability

There are many advantages of using glass packaging, particularly when returning and refilling the jar can reduce our carbon emissions by up to 60%. 

A great deal of time and research has gone into finding the best way to return and refill our jars. 

For example, returning just one empty jar to refill wouldn't make much difference in terms of CO2 emissions compared to a new jar, considering the emissions spent sending the jar back to us.  Returning two empty Truthpaste jars at a time has less of an impact than returning three or more jars.

Truthpaste return scheme CO2 impact

 

To ensure that any carbon emissions are calculated, we need to consider:

  • Extraction & production of raw materials
  • Transport of raw materials for glass factory
  • Glass melting and container production
  • Freight and shipping to us

We then look at the average CO2 emissions for sending the jars back to us which can vary dependent on how far you live. It may make more sense if you live further away, to collect more to send at once or take your jars back to your local Truthpaste retailer who collects jars. 

The more jars that are returned to us to reuse, the less Co2 is generated to make and ship new jars. Which we think is great!


We have joined the circle at last!

After a great deal of research, we are thrilled to finally be able to trial our very own Return and Refill scheme! Not only do we save on our carbon footprint, but you save on your next purchase of Truthpaste. We think it’s a win/win! 

Truthpaste Return & Refill