Product Packaging

There are numerous reasons why our products are in plastic and in understanding these, you will feel more comfortable in your purchasing decision.

The packaging choices are about longevity, affordability and practicality.

The majority of our products are concentrates, so ultimately you will create less waste. The concentrate liquids are designed to decant a small amount into an industrial strength spray bottle (which will last 10+ years) and mix with water. The powders use either a full or half 25g scoop, so a 2kg bag will last up to 160 washes.

The bottles used for liquid concentrates are also opaque, and when stored in a cool environment, will ensure the concentrate will last for many months, if not years! Exposed to light, the effectiveness of concentrates will diminish over time.

Powders must be kept away from moisture to ensure the product works effectively. Paper or cardboard is not practical as moisture is absorbed through and into the product, activating the powder. Any powder on the market, packaged in paper or cardboard has either a plastic lining, or ingredients in the powder to stop it from activating - and no purpose whatsoever in cleaning!

The products are also available in bulk sizes - 5L bottles or 10kg buckets/bags. There is a significant reduction in waste if you are able to purchase products in bulk. For example 1 x 5L bottle of Chamomile Dishwashing Liquid would last the average household a year. Thus, one large bottle, that can be kerbside recycled or even up-cycled is very little waste for a years worth of dishes!

All bottles and bags are recyclable in either kerbside recycling or through the REDcycle program (Coles and Woolies) and smaller tubs and bottles are great for re-use when travelling - i.e. day cream, night cream, small bottles etc.

Also, the ‘amber’ plastic used in the Kyphi Skincare range, as well as a number of the cleaning products, actually contains a percentage of recycled plastic, so not all plastic in the range is virgin plastic.

The overall waste (and cost) of our concentrates and powders is significantly less than any supermarket equivalent, this is in addition, to the benefits of a plant based product in your home and then released into the environment makes our product range a sustainable choice.

Plastic packaging is much more affordable than glass, so the cost of the packaging does not directly impact the cost of the product, if it was glass the cost of  the products would be significantly higher.

Glass packaging is heavy and fragile. To transport heavy glass bottles is very expensive, and extremely likey to be damaged in transit. Higher weights would mean more carbon used in transportation. Fragile items are not easily transported in the freight industry and the cost to replace damaged products would certainly increase the amount of waste created by the company and also increase costs to replace products, and thus creating more carbon, for re-transport.

Glass recycling in Australia is not effective, as virgin glass is cheaper to purchase than recycled glass and there are 1000s of tonnes of glass stockpiled across Australia waiting to be recycled.

Aluminium packaging may be an option in the future, and is something that Tri Nature are looking into as an alternative. Aluminium is extremely versatile, and easily recyclable, however I don’t think there are any manufacturing premises in Australia that make bottles etc, and importing products, would create an ethics/environment impact issue.

So yes, the product range is packaged in plastic, but that doesn’t make it bad or an unsustainable choice.