Start Seeing Plastic

At Ho'olawa our goal is to reduce and educate people about the use of plastic behind the scenes within retail stores. While a product may be environmentally clean and sourced from natural materials, if it is shipped and/or packaged in plastic the product as a whole is no longer environmentally friendly.

Unfortunately today many "clean" brands still use plastic packaging and fall back on the excuse that it is recycled plastic.  However my stance on this has no wiggle room, the only way to stop using plastic is to eliminate it completely and I am here as a retail owner to say it is totally possible to find compostable alternatives! 

Analyzing a brands plastic use is an everyday practice for me.  Prior to ordering products I have these sometimes uncomfortable conversations with reps.  I try to get them to SEE plastic as it has become all too normal in the retail industry.  It is not uncommon to get pushback because as a society we have separated the products packaging from the item itself, I strive to change this.  The packaging is not only part of the product but a reflection of the brands ethics and overall impact. 

We are not perfect, and some plastic is unavoidable (ie bottle tops!)  but when items slip through the cracks and arrive in unnecessary plastic packaging I like to view it as an opportunity to make change and I am very proud of the numerous brands that have changed their ways because of these conversations! This is the influencer that I want to be, I want to influence brands to start seeing plastic.

This does not stop with brands, at Ho'olawa I want to influence our customers to start seeing plastic and stop supporting brands who have made poor packaging choices. Vote with your dollar and turn down single use plastic.  If you want a place to start please for the love of god stop using the plastic produce bags at the grocery store!  

Educating people on the amount of plastic that is being used behind the scenes within retail stores and also alleviating the sense of necessity for plastic produce bags are just two of our core values here at Ho’olawa. We want to do everything we can to educate and eliminate plastic wherever we can. By sharing our ideals and goals we hope that people take inspiration and decide to make a stand against plastic and make a stand for what they believe in.