Peach by Grove Collaborative

An array of colourful Peach solid bar products / Source: Grove Collaborative

AluminiumBeautyNorth AmericaPackagingPaper

5 MINUTE READ

Nadine Smith

WHAT WE SAY:

Solid personal care products have been gaining momentum for some time and consumers are never short of choice when it comes to bar-based solutions. So what makes Grove Collaborative’s Peach range any different?

Firstly, the collection on offer is vast. With over 60 products to choose from, a consumer can transform their bathroom cupboard from a plethora of plastic bottles to an array of waterless, 100% plastic-free care without much hassle. Packed in simple paper, the brand is locally made and is said to offer highly efficacious and sensorial products, with one bar a substitute for between one to three plastic bottles. While prices are on the higher end, the product’s longevity makes the initial output worth it.

KEY FACTS:

Launched in 2020, Peach from California-based Grove Collaborative was designed to reinvigorate the solid-bar personal care market, with its range of bold, colourful and joyful plastic-free soaps, conditioners, body washes and deodorants. The brand proves that doing the right thing does not have to be boring.
Peach products are all solid in format, including solid bars and solid push-up deodorant sticks. Free from water, they are TSA-compliant regardless of size. There are currently over 60 products on offer, and within one year of launch, over 67,000 pounds of plastic had been avoided by the brand.
To ensure low waste and low energy production, the Peach shampoo and conditioner bars are crafted in small batches in the USA, which Grove Collaborative claims minimises air and water pollution too. This small batch production creates small variations in the products.
The range includes refillable deodorants and body balms. The products are packaged in forever Aluminium cases which are infinitely recyclable. Unlike cardboard push tubes or solid deodorant rocks, these require no behaviour change. One body lotion stick is equivalent to four plastic bottles of body lotion.
The bars are all packaged in cardboard. The board is made from 100% recycled content from FSC-certified sources and is fully recyclable in Paper waste streams. The brand uses UV inks for decoration, claiming that they emit zero VOCs and have zero solvents. Each product is marked with a How2Recycle symbol with instructions on how to properly recycle the packaging at kerbside.
Grove Collaborative claims that by replacing skin and hair care products with Peach, customers can save 4.44 pounds of plastic per year.
In the 2022 Dieline Awards, Peach won first place in the Plastic Free category and third in general Health, Beauty and Body.

Peach not Plastic solid deodorant sticks in forever aluminium tubes / Source: Grove Collaborative

Solid facial care / Source: Grove Collaborative

DIVE DEEPER:

Why does a shampoo have to come in a plastic bottle? That is the question Grove Collaborative asked itself when creating its 100% plastic-free Peach personal care brand. Considering 76 million pounds of plastic packaging is created every single day in the US, with only 9% of that likely to be recycled effectively, this question makes sense. If there is another, equally effective way to clean ourselves why are we not doing it?
Peach is part of Grove Collaborative’s Beyond Plastic initiative – a five-year plan to become 100% plastic-free by 2025. The standard requires that primary packaging is plastic-free (excluding coatings, lacquers and liners), and no single-use secondary packaging or wrap is permitted.
When creating Peach, the brand focused on ensuring its products met the long-term learned behaviours of its consumers, guaranteeing that those who switch to a solid-bar personal care regime do not go back to plastic. Creating hair and body care that lathered was of prime importance and the brand prioritised formulas that were rich and creamy when used with water. Solid personal care bars have earned a reputation for not being as effective and enjoyable to use as liquid-based products, Peach shows this does not have to be the case.
Peach formulations are all vegan, non-gendered and cruelty-free. They are also made without SLS, SLES, silicones, parabens, phthalates or synthetic dyes, and use only 100% natural fragrances.
As part of its B-Corp certification, Grove Collaborative has established education and development programmes that will benefit the beauty industry as a whole. For example, it is the founder of the Plastic Working Group, which shares best practice and innovation to help move the wider industry towards a plastic-free future.
Grove Collaborative works to ensure every shipment is plastic-neutral and any plastic currently used by its brands is ‘recovered’ through plastic-neutral partners rePurpose Global. This collaboration has seen nearly 10 million pounds of nature-bound plastic collected and recycled, equating to around 485 million plastic bottles.

"Within a year, Peach not Plastic has saved 82,891lbs of plastic, the equivalent to kicking over 1.2 million personal care plastic bottles out of people's bathrooms."

Luana Bumachar – VP, Owned Brands & Innovation, Grove Collaborative – as quoted in Global Cosmetic Industry

Key Design Considerations:

Changing behaviours

While Peach claims its products are as effective as their liquid counterparts, changing from liquid to solid will always require a period of transition – a period where the product may appear to be less effective. Grove Collaborative prioritised consumer communication and education to take consumers on this journey. Ensure you explain the science behind the difference in experience, encouraging consumers to hold out for when it changes.

Storage solutions

Storing solid bars in a shower can be tricky. They must be dried out completely between uses to avoid contamination, so providing suitable storage solutions is of paramount importance. Peach offers shower soap dishes to facilitate, but enclosed containers – such as Lush’s aluminium packs – not only help store bars in the shower, but allow consumers to easily transport the bars too.

UV inks

Peach uses UV inks on its cardboard secondary packaging. There is an ongoing debate as to the recyclability of these inks, dependent on ink composition and de-inking processes used. It is important to discuss with the print supplier the process used and also check what the recycling requirements are for paper pulp where the product will be distributed.

Offsetting is not the answer

While Peach has removed a lot of plastic from the environment as part of its Beyond Plastic initiative and is working towards being 100% plastic-free, we must not believe that offsetting plastic use is the answer. A necessary process to limit the impact of the existing plastic in the world, offsetting can easily become a fallback for brands who want to continue creating new plastic packs. We will never be able to remove more plastic than we are currently putting out, so innovating away from it is the only answer.