As holistic estheticians, we’ve always been passionate about skincare and helping our clients look and feel their best. But as we've become more aware of the impact that the personal care industry has on the environment, we knew that we needed to make a change.

The personal care industry generates an incredible amount of waste each year - over 120 billion tons, according to a report from a plastic coalition. This is an issue that simply can't be ignored any longer. As a small business, we know that it can be challenging to find sustainable alternatives to traditional packaging options. Minimum order sizes for eco-friendly packaging can be prohibitively high, making it difficult for small brands to invest in these options. But we were fed up with the status quo. We knew that we needed to find a solution that worked for Botnia, our spa partners, and for the planet.

Why we’re ditching glass bottles

The first upgrade we made to our packaging when we still offered glass bottles was to create larger sizing in our retail products for back bar use in the treatment room. This helped to eliminate the need to continually purchase small bottles that end up in the landfill and are hard to recycle in most places around the world. But that wasn’t good enough - on top of being difficult to recycle, the weight of the shipments would mean that it would cost more to ship our products across the nation which increased our carbon footprint. We knew there had to be a better way.

The designers

When we were looking for a designer to work with us on our packaging, we wanted to work with someone who had skin in the game, who would care about our brand, and who would take the time to understand what we wanted to express to you – how we wanted you to feel every day when you were using our skincare. The values we hold. That process of searching took three years. We would stay up late and look at design blogs, flip through magazine articles, and examine graphics on beer cans and granola bars at the boutique grocery. One night, we found these European designers with a firm called Hugmun, a team of three people, located in Denmark and in Norway. They bring a clean, modern approach to their aesthetic that we have yet to see anywhere else.

In collaboration with Hugmun, we’ve developed a new packaging option that’s made from fully recyclable and recycled aluminum - the most sustainable material for packaging available today. Not only is our bottle packaging environmentally friendly, but we also use end-of-the-line compostable cardboard for boxes and recyclable paper for insert cards.

Why we chose aluminum

We proudly chose aluminum for our bottles and jars, embodying our commitment to sustainable practices and love for the earth. Our bottles come from Spain and our jars are from the UK - we’re moving away from sourcing in China. We love aluminum because it’s lightweight, durable, shatterproof, and infinitely recyclable. The recycling of aluminum requires less than 5% of the energy needed to produce the primary aluminum. With nearly 75% of all aluminum ever produced still in use today, we embrace this infinitely recyclable material to lessen our environmental footprint. These bottles are PCR aluminum: certified as 100% post-consumer recycled (recycled after use by the final consumer). That means the bottle that you hold in your hand today can become an airplane in the future! How cool is that? 

Our aluminum is made out of infinitely recyclable aluminum with an alternative liner to the more traditional BPA liners. This interior liner has been found to be much safer while also preventing aluminum from leaching into the product. While there is no perfect liner yet, our BPA-NI liner is the best thing we’ve found as an alternative to traditional liners and meets all of the European standards for consumable goods, which tend to be much higher than cosmetics standards in the United States.

Our new boxes

We worked with a box maker in Poland, Marcin, who started his life as a filmmaker in Paris but fell in love with box making and has a small box factory in Warsaw. Marcin handcrafted these boxes and developed an entirely new system that allows for the window on the side of the box—caring as much for the box as the labels and the paper we print the watercolor on being recycled and recyclable. Our boxes are made of end-of-the-line compostable cardboard composed of 90% recycled fibers. They’re biodegradable and recyclable. Our beautiful insert cards are printed on recyclable paper. Inside each box, you will find a window into our world and be able to pull that piece of art out. On the backside of the window pull-out are instructions on how to use your skincare and in what order—a tool created just for you.

So what’s the deal with plastic pumps?

One packaging area that we're still working on is the caps and closures to the aluminum bottles. Right now, our best solution is to offer high-quality plastic pumps separately so that they can be reused time and time again. Our foaming face washes do require a plastic foamer pump for the product to function properly, but even this pump is designed to be a forever plastic. Speaking to our values of reducing, reusing, and recycling – until we have a better option, we should be reusing our plastic and tossing our recyclable items.

And for those who prefer not to use any plastic (you can opt out of the plastic pumps when they’re in your shopping cart!), there are creative options: products can be used with the aluminum cap and poured onto a washable cotton round or directly into the hand, or a small metal spatula can dispense cream products.

We believe that when you use Botnia, you're not only taking care of your skin but also participating in self-love and care for the environment. It's hard to describe what this packaging system means to us. It's everything we have ever wanted for you. A truly non-greenwashed, sustainable, and beautiful appreciation of the quality of Botnia. It is Botnia. It's finally us, and we are so proud; stepping back and seeing the journey, we feel so grateful to have this dream come true. It's a good dream, and we can't wait for you to have a little piece of it in your life too. Thank you for trusting us with your values and supporting Botnia so we could create this for you.

Xo,
Botnia

P.S. If you’re interested in learning how to recycle, compost, or reuse your Botnia bottles, you can find our guide here.