World's First Refillable Paper Compostable Skincare Pouches

It’s official: Proverb has launched the world's first refillable paper compostable skincare pouches!

There is nothing like creating an incredible breakthrough in the industry, especially when it comes to sustainable skincare and green beauty, and at Proverb we won’t settle for the status quo. This is why we’ve taken the first step in re-launching our entire skincare range to become fully refillable by 2024: with compostable pouches. Holding an emulsion cream in paper is no easy task!

Why We Created Paper Compostable Pouches

According to Inside Packaging, the beauty industry is the top offender for creating plastic waste, contributing to 120 billion units of packaging every year, and sadly most of it is not even recyclable. Though many breakthroughs have been made in the overall beauty industry in an effort to be more sustainable and eco-conscious, when it comes to skincare sample pouches, there was no alternative to plastic or mixed materials.

That is until Proverb decided to re-launch its entire skincare range to become fully refillable by 2023 and tackle this issue alongside it. For us as a brand, it was a no-brainer. The ethos of Proverb is ‘get out what you put in’ - so when it came to creating a skincare range, we wanted to give people products that they know are doing good for their skin and the planet.

How We Developed Our Skincare Sample Pouches

The news of the new compostable pouches has never been more prominent with the current COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, but it was a long journey to get here.  From starting the process of filling compostable paper pouches in our kitchen to the 2 year-long testing process, there is a mammoth ordeal that comes with filling a liquid serum into paper. 

Our skincare trial samples are composed of layers of paper and biofilm from wood pulp cellulose ensuring they are 100% plastic-free. They are designed to home compost at ambient temperatures back into the water, CO2 and biomass without having any ecotoxicity for the soil. To date, nobody has held an emulsion in a paper-based pouch that will home compost.

Kirstie Sherriff, Proverb co-founder, explains: “Next year, we are hoping to bring out our entire skincare range in a one-time purchase glass bottle that can be refilled with our compostable skincare pouches. It’s been a 2 year-long process of getting a lot of things wrong, but we are so proud to finally get it right.”

The new sample pouches are available to customers that would like to try the skincare collection before they purchase the full sizes, and are fully home compostable in 26 weeks.

The Future Of Sustainable Beauty

Yes, we created the first-ever paper home compostable sachets, but there is so much more we want to achieve! 

National Geographic announced that microplastics, which are commonly found within facial and body scrubs, have been discovered in every corner of the globe, and it has been reported that 11 million tonnes of plastic are predicted to be making their way to our oceans every year. 

So, not only do we have Refillable Deodorant and Refillable Sanitiser we have just launched our new aluminium packaging for our best selling Cleanse & Shave Nutrient Mud and Energising Facial Scrub. At Proverb Skin we make sure to only ever use natural and organic ingredients.  The new launch aluminium tube, Energising Face Scrub, for instance, has reclaimed blitzed avocado stone and coconut shell as a natural exfoliant. 

Share this incredible beauty breakthrough with your friends and let us know: which eco-beauty issue should we tackle next?