LE TUBE pushes the cork of ecological innovation.

Thanks to a simple e-commerce option, LE TUBE removes single-use plastic from its toothpaste tubes.

 

An ocean of plastic 

On June 8, a multitude of cosmetic brands affirmed their commitment to the environment on World Ocean Day. Awareness raising, communication actions... everyone agrees that plastic is a disease. But after this one-off operation, the beauty and cosmetics industry has resumed its production... in the usual plastic packaging.

It must be said that this material is inexpensive and very practical for packaging.

According to a Zero Waste UK campaign, this industry would be at the origin of more than 100 million packagings per year...

However, the solutions exist and consumer demand is growing for a "no plastic" bathroom.




  

Eco-hypocrisy on "new" plastic packaging

The new plastics are the subject of a formidable eco-hypocrisy. Thanks to terms such as "recyclable plastic", "bioplastic", "bio-sourced plastic" or "vegetable plastic", the negative image of plastic is erased and gives a clear conscience to brands and consumers alike.

But plastics are not infinitely recyclable and always end up as non-recyclable plastic waste that will be buried, incinerated or accumulate in the oceans. #plastic continent

 

At the sources of plastic: oil or deforestation?

Instead of innovating to do away with single-use plastic, manufacturers have been looking for new resources to produce plastic. #quandyenaplusyenaencore

Bioplastics" also called "plant plastics" are produced from plants. Good news? Actually no, because plant plastic is mainly made from GMO corn from Brazil, thus increasing deforestation. So not too good news.

Moreover, this "bio-sourced" plastic remains a plastic like any other (PE, PT) and therefore poses exactly the same problem as all other plastic waste. So really, it doesn't change anything regarding the "plastic challenge".

For consumers and the planet, these false arguments do not reduce plastic consumption and do not help to make an informed choice of product.

 

Innovate more, reuse more, throw away less

At LE TUBE, there is nothing that annoys us more than single-use plastic. So we decided to be completely transparent with our customers and call a spade a spade, and a plastic a plastic.  

We are very demanding on the quality of our ingredients, and also on the materials of our packaging. We have therefore selected materials that are biodegradable (cardboard, wood) or 100% recyclable and infinitely recyclable (metal). 

The only plastic element that we have not yet managed to replace is our cap. We have therefore decided to innovate: thanks to the "no cap" option on our ecommerce site, the customer can order only his tubes of toothpaste. Simply keep the caps from a previous order and reuse them as many times as necessary. Sounds simple, doesn't it? What's more, this innovation has the good taste of having been very simple to implement, with no investment or technical constraints (ecommerce site powered by shopify). An idea the way we like it! 🙂

Well, to be honest, it does make our logistics chains a bit more complex, managing our stocks or sending out our orders, but in order to pollute less and limit single-use plastic, we think it's worth it. 💪

So yes, reusing a toothpaste cap is not enough to save the planet. But when we know that 200 million tubes of toothpaste are sold every year in France, we are proud to offer this choice to our customers. This option has been very well received and the first orders without a cap have already been delivered! 
 
So you see Maurice, for the oceans and the planet, we would like everyone to push the cork a little further. 🚀
 

To go further:

A series of mini Arte reports: Plastique, l’invasion.

France Inter: Le plastique végétale est-il vraiment une alternative écolo ?

LCI: Le plastique d’origine végétale est-il vraiment écologique ?

France Culture: Un monde en plastique