Reducing Plastic Waste With Traditional Shaving

Traditional shaving is an excellent way of reducing your plastic waste. Here we explain the benefits of the different shaving products available.

Safety razors & double edge razor blades

Modern cartridge razors use a lot of plastic in their construction. We measured over 100g of plastic in 10 replacement blades for a Gillette Fusion razor. Double edge razor blades contain no plastic at all. The cartidge razor itself is also constructed from a large amount of plastic wheras a safety razor is typically metal.

Most safety razors come packaged in a card box with a small plastic window. Not only is this considerably less plastic than the packaging used on cartridge razors but a safety razor is designed to last for decades so there is no need to purchase further boxes.

Some razor blades come in small card boxes but some come in small plastic boxes. The plastic boxes are very useful for storing your used razor blades but if you prefer to not use any plastic at all then the following blades come in card boxes.

Shaving soap and cream

Shaving gels and foams available from the high street often come in large cans made from plastic and metal. They can also contain chemicals and aerosols that are harmful to the environment. A traditional shaving cream or soap is concentrated so the packaging is much smaller but lasts longer. Shaving creams typically come in small plastic tubs that can be recycled in home waste and each tub will last 3 - 6 months. To reduce plastic even further you can use a shaving soap which comes in a wooden bowl. These soaps use only a tiny amount of plastic wrapping to protect the soap and each soap will last 6+ months.

Environmentally friendly postage

The Traditional Shaving Company uses cardboard boxes to send out customer orders. The boxes are filled with a special eco-friendly packaging made from corn starch that is 100% biodegradeable and even dissolves in water.