Life Cycle Assessment of a Plant-Based, Regionally Marketed Shampoo and Analysis of Refill Options

Abstract

The environmental impact of a plant-based shampoo produced and marketed in Zurich, Switzerland, was analyzed using the life cycle assessment method. Beside the identification of environmental hotspots and mitigation possibilities, the focus of the study was on the analysis and comparison of different refill offers. The results of the study show that one hair wash using the investigated shampoo is related to greenhouse gas emissions of 161 gCO2eq. For all investigated impact categories, the use phase represents the dominant life stage, except for land use, which is dominated by the production of the purely plant-based shampoo ingredients. The environmental impact related to the use phase is highly sensitive on the consumers’ showering habits, such as water consumption and water temperature, due to predominantly fossil-based heating in Zurich. On the producer’s side, a switch to renewable energy sources both for heating and electricity is identified as most effective measure to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing phase. As to the product end-of-life, the results suggest that emissions of the shampoo ingredients after wastewater treatment have a negligible impact on freshwater ecotoxicity. In this context, a need for further research is identified with respect to characterization factors and specific removal rates in wastewater treatment plants. From a life cycle perspective, packaging production and disposal have rather low contributions. Offering refill possibilities can reduce the packaging related contributions by several percentage points, however, higher mitigation potentials are found for use phase and manufacturing.

Stability and Cleansing Function Enhancement of Organic Shampoo by a Vortex Fluidic Device

“…Organic cosmetics are formulated with naturally derived ingredients that are grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms. − The trend of organic cosmetic products as a safer alternative has been growing steadily in recent years. , As a typical example, the global organic shampoo market size was 1.16 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand by 3.1% annually in the next 10 years . This trend can be attributed to an elevated level of consumer awareness and a growing concern regarding the potential adverse impact associated with the use of synthetic or harmful chemicals.…”

Antidandruff property of <i>Psidium guajava</i> leaf extracts

“…Even shampoos that claim to reduce flakes can cause more dandruff over time. Furthermore, little is known about their biodegradability, which could have a negative impact on the environment (Kröhnert & Stucki, 2021). To combat the issues associated with chemical dandruff products, it is best to switch to natural ingredients such as essential oils and scalp masks, which have been shown to have antimicrobial activity as well as conditioning properties, benefiting both the hair and scalp.…”