My name is Vita and I use she/her/hers pronouns. I am a Latin American Studies major and Education minor. I’m taking this class to fulfill my MM requirement and take another project-based class since I took one at MIT last semester and loved it. A fun fact is that I spent two months in Argentina, and I got to visit Patagonia for 36 hours.
The consumer product I chose is my Alba Botanica lip balm. I use this product multiple times a day. I chose it because while it’s so small, it provides me with such great relief when my lips are dry, and I find myself immediately buying a new one when I run out. I want to know why this product is not refillable/reusable. By no means is it sustainable, purely because it’s not reusable and probably also very difficult to recycle, given the balm has touched some of the plastic/most people do not break apart the tube to recycle it, but it is organic! It’s made from plastic, coconut oil, other oils, some juices, and some extracts. All the ingredients are 100% vegetarian, but there are no parabens or synthetic fragrances. There are at least five parts: the cap, the twisting bottom, the outer shell, the inner plastic that holds the balm, and the balm. I think it probably cost one dollar to make, but I believe I paid three dollars for it. I buy one every four months or so.
I’m glad you’re in this class, Vita! What class did you take at MIT? Very nice analysis of the lip balm with a lot of details and insight into the (lack of) sustainability.