Changes to the script: developing our plastic-free packaging

In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s been a lot of talk about the impact we all have on the environment. Without wanting to sound glib, we’re in a state of emergency. But sometimes it’s quite difficult to put global problems into perspective. So we’ve decided to jot down some stats  (courtesy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to show you just how important it is to do your bit and recycle. 

Reuse and recycle: bite-size stats

Did you know that...

• British households create waste with the weight of around 260 large cruise ships every year (26 million tonnes to be precise)
• In Britain, we recycle 45% of this 
• But that’s not as nearly as good as the world leader of recycling, Germany, who recycles 68%! 

Basically, we all need to perform better. 

Leading the way in eco-friendly natural deodorants 

Of course, this isn’t old news for us at AKT. Since we launched in 2020, we’ve always put the planet and people first. Our natural deodorants are grounded in strong environmental ethics and then hand-poured and packed into plastic-free packaging. For every one of our natural deodorant balms, we’ve lovingly created aluminium-free and alcohol-free deodorant made from natural ingredients that the founders, Ed and Andy, have personally hand-picked. Trust us, it’s not easy to develop a recyclable product that also keeps customers happy, but we’ve made sure each and every one of our tubes can be recycled. 

Putting waste in the right place: new recyclable silicone seals join the cast

In recent days, we’ve been experimenting some more. We’ve been listening to our cast (you) and we’ve had some in-depth feedback about how we can improve our packaging so it remains watertight. Just like the good old days when we first started, we’ve spent long hours trialling and testing different ingredients to find the perfect recipe – only this time, with our packaging. After a few rehearsals with different materials, such as cork, we have finally found the perfect star. Drum roll please… a silicone seal! 

Inside our caps we have inserted a small 10mm x 1mm disk made of silicone. The reason we chose this new recruit is because it prevents any seepage from the balm so your bathroom surfaces and lux gym bags (like those from La Pochette) can be stain free. What’s more, it means you can take your Akt balm anywhere on the go and it will stay securely in the tube. But what about all that stuff we were just saying about recycling? Oh, don’t worry, we’ve thought of that. 

Talking to the experts in recyclable packaging

The first thing we did before agreeing on the use of a silicone disk was to consult an aluminium recycling specialist, Alupro, to see if our products would still be recyclable. They really know their stuff. They’re a not-for-profit organisation with over 30 years’ experience representing the UK’s aluminium packaging industry.

We showed them all of our packaging elements and they didn’t see any issue with the recycling process. They wanted to double check their own knowledge, so they reached out to a “significant aluminium recycler in the UK” who said: “The washer will not cause an impediment to recycling”.

There we have it! Once your tube is empty you can recycle it with your household aluminium products just as before.

Which products does this apply to? 

We’ve included the silicon seal in all our AKT natural deodorant balms.

Each of these balms comes in an aluminium tube complete with an aluminium cap. We are one of the only companies in the world using aluminium caps over plastic caps for our tubes. This means that you'll need to pierce the seal of the tube yourself but it’s so much better for the environment. And in 2-3 months when you’ve finished your balm, just pop it in the recycling, silicone seal and all. It’s as simple as that!