Disposable Razors - The New Plastic Straws

Plastic razor waste in the sea

Building on our wooden toothbrush blog last week, we’ve been taking a look at some of the other bathroom favourites which offer an opportunity for thoughtful swaps in pursuit of a positive eco-impact. 

Shaving has been popular for a long, long time; since the time when Ancient Greek gentlemen started to embrace a more clean-shaven look to make themselves attractive. Alexander the Great was more focused on matters practical, when he suggested that a long beard could be a disadvantage in combat (more for the enemy to grab hold of presumably).

Wet shaving continued to be the norm until 1931, when Jacob Schick, a retired U.S. Army colonel, launched the first electric razor which grew in popularity during the 20th century.

In the 21st century however, wet shaving remains popular and in 2020, an estimated 5.45 million people in the UK used disposable razors. Assuming (conservatively) that each of these throw away a single razor a month, that’s over 65 million disposable razors finding their way into landfill and our oceans last year alone. 

At Cosy Cottage, we are delighted to introduce beautiful, reusable, bamboo handled razors as part of our range this week. They’re already popular in the shop and we’re selling replacement blades alongside too.  

Each razor will last several years if used in accordance with instructions. So they’re not only a great eco-alternative, but at a price equivalent to a couple of months’ supply of plastic alternatives, they make sense money-wise too. 

These reusable, plastic free alternatives are another great eco-swap and make fantastic gifts too, particularly when paired with our already popular, natural shaving soaps, available in lemongrass and patchouli and geranium and patchouli fragrances. 

Sources:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/303508/razors-and-razor-blades-and-electric-shavers-usage-by-type-in-the-uk

https://www.britannica.com/technology/electric-razor


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