At FRSH Scents®, we believe when a business or individual has the opportunity and privilege to be able to create a great brand, they should also ensure they have the capacity to create great opportunities. Not just for themselves or their business beyond infancy, but opportunities for those not in the same, favoured position and the world in which we operate. That’s why we set up the FRSH Scents® Cents programme in which a contribution from every product sold goes to a great cause.
From that, we began working with The Plastic Bank.
The Plastic Bank is a community of people living within 50km or ocean-bound waterways and their involvement in collecting and exchanging plastic for the greater good. And that greater good is two-fold. Less plastic within the oceans, and a way out of poverty for those collecting and exchanging.
This is about stopping plastic before it reaches the ocean. We’ve all seen the heart-wrenching images of the devasting effect plastic has on our wildlife all over the globe. But we can turn it around, and it’s our duty to help make that change. So far the ocean stewards with The Plastic Bank have stopped over 52 million kilograms of plastic reaching the oceans. At FRSH Scents®, we have saved over 4.6 million bottles. But more can still be done.
We consider ourselves a socially responsible manufacturer. That is to say we want to be part of the solution, not the problem our planet faces. And so, through our partnership, we pay for plastic bottles to be collected and recycled with every FRSH Scents® product sold.
Although it’s referred to as waste, plastic is in fact worth more than steel, pound for pound. So, if you can add some value to the plastic itself, it can really provoke meaning, intention and motivation to act.
But what does that mean within the communities?
Since 2013, The Plastic Bank has worked with over 20,000 waste collectors in Haiti, Indonesia, Brazil, The Philippines and Egypt. In return for the plastic they collect, they get a cash return in their digital wallet with The Plastic Bank in order for them to see a real financial benefit from their work. They can also access subsidised programmes such as education, cooking utensils and materials and more.
Indonesia for example, is one of the biggest ocean polluters in the world. The Plastic Bank in Indonesia has trained collectors who separate, dry and weigh the different types of plastic to get the correct and best price available. What was once perceived as a ‘dirty’ role or job to have is now transforming into a heroic and admirable position to hold. These people are truly saving our planet and doing a beautiful job in making a real difference to their homes, their lives and the planet as a whole.
So, what does that mean for you, as a distributor or stockist?
By stocking FRSH Scents® products, you have solid, traceable and actionable proof that you are putting sustainability at the forefront of your business. You’re not just saying you are ‘working towards’ being more sustainable. You already are. Every FRSH Scents® product sold helps fund collectors worldwide, helping them out of poverty and helping to clear our oceans.
This is positive action, instant results and offering transparent green credentials in which you can become a true socially responsible stockist.