It doesn’t matter if consumers are taking the time to rinse their shampoo and conditioner bottles and recycle; National Geographic has made it abundantly clear that only about 9% of plastics get recycled.
Before Nat Geo released that study earlier this year, Benjamin Stern, a high schooler from Melbourne, Florida, received his information via a documentary about the plastic bottling industry back in 2014 and realized there had to be a way to eliminate plastic waste in personal care items.
So, at age 14, he hit the drawing board and developed NOHBO, the world’s first eco-friendly shampoo ball and even pitched the idea to Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.
Originally, NOHBO came in the form of packaging free balls or marbles made from plant-based materials. Unfortunately, the prototype needed a bit of tinkering as the original design wasn’t stable enough to scale. So, Drop was created. Packaged in a water-soluble, biodegradable material, all you have to do is place the Drop under water for 2-4 seconds, then lather it in your hair or on your skin and bam, you’ve got the perfect amount of product with none of the waste.
Each product is vegan-friendly, paraben & sulfate-free, made with a light, rosemary mint blend plus sandalwood to deliver an herbaceous and musky scent. The packaging itself can be hung in your shower or stacked against the wall by your sink, and is made from sugarcane-derived plant plastic and is compostable.
Currently available for pre-order on NOHBO’s website, you can get a back of 15 Drops for $7.49 with an estimated shipment of Winter 2018.
NOHBO isn’t the only company striving to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste in the bathroom. Lush Cosmetics, most known for their bath bombs, is continuously making efforts to release new naked (and package-free) products in the personal care sector that does not compromise the quality of the product each year.
It only goes to show that brands can remove plastic from the equation and help make the world a greener, plastic-free place.
