DOING MORE WITH LESS
EVERIST
the average bottle of shampoo—which likely travelled thousands of kilometres before it landed in your bathroom—is more than 70 per cent water. “you’re already showering in water,” says everist cofounder jessica stevenson. “it doesn’t make sense.”
stevenson and her business-school friend jayme jenkins, each with years of experience as a beauty exec under her belt, had been chatting about the industry’s extreme plastic-waste problem when the idea for their latest venture struck. “the insight of shipping heavy plastic bottles filled with water around the world was a big ‘aha’ for us,” says jenkins.
they toyed with the idea of shampoo bars, refill systems and mix-at-home powders and pods but were worried that these would be too difficult for consumers to adopt. ultimately, they found inspiration in the new wave of waterless household-cleaner concentrates and in february 2021 introduced their water-activated concentrated shampoo and conditioner, which were soon followed by body wash.
each 100-millilitre tube is made of recyclable aluminum and offers the same number of washes as a traditional 300-millilitre bottle of its counterpart. the smaller size equals less packaging and fewer carbon emissions from shipping, and the formulas are biodegradable and made with plant-based ingredients such as aloe vera, vegetable glycerine and rosemary oil. they’re a gamechanger for your daily routine, which landed everist on Time’s “the best inventions of 2021” list.
the three concentrates are manufactured in toronto and shipped in strategic batches in order to limit emissions. for stevenson and jenkins, the goal was to consider every detail so that making better choices would be a no-brainer for the average person. “we think the world needs more easy eco upgrades,” says jenkins. when it comes to our shower routines, we now have them.