Counter Culture Just One Switch

Making eco-friendly beauty swaps

Counter Culture is an online sustainable and ethical beauty marketplace. This month they launched the #JustOneSwitch campaign. With the goal being that if everyone makes just one ethical/sustainable swap in their beauty routine we can collectively have a massive impact and help our planet. I am delighted to share what changes I have made and how I hope to continue to incorporate more swaps into my routine.

*These products have been sent to me for testing and review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Counter Culture

Counter Culture is a newly launched online sustainable one stop shop. They have brought together boutique and small beauty businesses together in one market place. It can be tricky to shop from independent and small brands. I absolutely love how they have create a place where you can browse loads of boutique brands all at once. It really makes it easy to shop small, and since all their products have a focus on ethical and sustainable production as well, you know what you are buying is a great choice too. I have discovered so many brands since browsing their selection. They also have an emphasis on female owned businesses.

“Every time you spend money you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want!” – Counter Culture

What do they mean by sustainable?

Sustainability can be open to interpretation, Counter Culture have defined it as:

• Using locally & ethically sourced, non-polluting ingredients.
• Made with renewable energy and are net carbon zero.
• Manufactured by companies who respect their employees, recognizing diversity and pay a decent, living wage.

What’s not to love? All the products are clearly labelled with a variety of badges such as; plastic free, hand-made, vegan etc. So you know what you are getting, full transparency and you can see how each product and subsequently each purchase is making a positive difference.

Beauty Pollution

It’s no surprise the beauty industry has a big impact on waste, after all it’s a very packaging led industry with minimal recyclable/reusable options. Globally the beauty industry produces around 120 billion unit of packaging every year, much of which ends up in landfill or the ocean. This issue is bigger then packaging alone. Did the ingredients travel all over the world contributing to pollution and CO₂ levels? Are they responsibly sourced? Do they test on animals? All of these factors can contribute to not just waste but unstainable products.

Plastic Isn’t so Fantastic

It can be easily overwhelming when you start analysing all the plastic in your bathroom or in your beauty routine. I recycle everything that can be recycled but still there is so much that can’t. Worst of all even if you have the best intentions and try and recycle something, it may be burned or end up in land-fill after all. Unfortunelty we don’t always know where our rubbish is ending up and sometimes the best solution is to avoid it from the start if possible. A few years ago it didn’t feel possible, everything was plastic. Thankfully we are seeing a shift and alternatives to plastic packaging are becoming more widespread. Shopping small is also becoming easier and finding sustainable and quality products doesn’t need to be difficult.

After all, making an impact doesn’t take a few of us doing it perfectly, it takes millions of us doing it imperfectly.  – Inspired by Anne Marie Bonneau, Zero Waste Chef

Counter Culture

Being more sustainable and eco-friendly is a journey and it can start small with one single switch! Over the years I have become more conscious of my own impact and strived to make gradual changes to my own routine. I swapped from liquid hand soap to soap bars. I have been using carbon negative hair care products and shampoo bars. Reusable cotton rounds instead of single-use ones. In the cooler months I like to use natural deodorant as well. But I wanted to challenge myself to do more and that’s why I am so excited to share more about the #JustOneSwitch Campaign.

#JustOneSwitch

My one switch didn’t have to be plastic related but I felt like this was an area in my personal beauty routine I still wanted to work on and improve. All of my body lotions and oils typical have plastic components. So when I was browsing the selection of products on Counter Culture these Wild Rising Body Oil’s really stood out to me. They are glass with metal caps so instantly no plastic! Then when I checked out the brand I found more fabulous reasons to support them:

• Vegan ingredients
• Cruelty-free
• Organic ingredients
• All natural ingredients
• Paraban-free
• Sulfate-free
• Easily recyclable packaging
• Plastic-free
• Single-use plastic-free
• Female-led business
• Hand made/Small batches

Talk about a feel good purchase! I was absolutely delighted and really felt like I was upgrading my body care products instead of swapping to something more eco-conscious. Sustainable beauty doesn’t have to be inconvenient, it can be luxurious and make you excited to use it. All the while being better for our earth.

Wild Rising

I picked two beautiful body oil’s from Wild Rising. The floating petals definitely initially piqued my interested in the Bloom and Sundaze body oil’s but it was all the fabulous reasons to support them that really sealed the deal. They are both beautifully hydrating and have been a real treat for my dry skin. I love both fragrances. Bloom is a fresh rose with a sweet undertone. It’s light and floral and really lingers on my skin. Sundaze has a delicious sweet orange scent, it’s totally gourmand. I love citrus notes and this absotelty delivers. I can’t pick a favourite so I am very glad I have both. Wouldn’t these be fabulous as a gift too? Help encourage someone make their own switch!

Aren’t these body oil’s just mesmerising if you want to check out the petals swirling around I have a TikTok video to show them off! Click Here

Swapped and Converted

I am so thrilled I participated in this campaign, its a great incentive that really allowed me to look at my own habits and make a change for the better. Counter Culture has such a variety of products and it’s really refreshing to be introduced to so many new and sustainable brands. I hope you have a chance to check them out, with the festive season around the corner there are so many great giftable products!