Plastic Pushback: Three New Products Designed to Reduce Waste
HiBAR
Getting clean can feel dirty, with so many plastic bottles going to waste. Determined to eliminate bottles from their showers, four Minnesota friends joined forces with a team of hair care professionals to create HiBAR, a line of container-free solid shampoos and conditioners (think something like a bar of soap). The products are available for a variety of hair types and come in vegan formulas. All elements of HiBAR’s packaging are compostable, recyclable, or biodegradable—down to the shipping container and tape. hellohibar.com
ROV Wallet
Americans alone use more than 100 billion plastic bags a year, arguably due to their sheer convenience. What if your wallet could double as a carryall? The ROV wallet, designed by Minneapolis couple Chelsea and James Ganino, is an environmentally friendly multitasker. This bifold wallet quickly and easily unfolds into a water-resistant reusable bag, but keeps the contents of your wallet safely stashed away even when the bag is in use. The empty bag folds back up into wallet form in a matter of seconds. rovwithus.com
Twiggy Fresh
Twiggy Fresh takes it back to the basics with its eco-friendly oral care products. The Minneapolis–based brand sells bamboo toothbrushes that are BPA-free, antibacterial, and antifungal, as well as environmentally sustainable. You could say Twiggy Fresh is even pro-panda: its brushes are made with moso bamboo, a variety that panda bears don’t eat because the leaves are too high for them to reach. twiggyfresh.com
—Tess Allen