Materials
When choosing any material that goes into Full Circle products, we ask ourselves two questions—where does it come from and where will it go?
By creating products with naturally occurring materials, such as bamboo, cellulose and loofah, we know what will happen when those materials are eventually composted. They will break down into—you guessed it—smaller pieces of bamboo, cellulose and loofah, which will fully biodegrade.
Of course, we also want Full Circle products to do a great job in your home (since they are, after all, cleaning tools) so every product we make has to perform well and be extremely durable.
That means that we select Full Circle materials based on performance and durability, using sustainable materials wherever possible. For example, we've created a unique bristle blend for our brushes - natural plant-based fibers are absorbent so you use less soap and recycled plastic bristles are tough & durable, but easy on the earth. So not only do our products work great, they last longer and they generate less waste.
In short, you win, your home wins and the planet wins.
BonterraTM
BonterraTM, meaning "good earth," is a material that comes right out of our good earth-it's derived from the cellulose and starch in plants.
It looks and feels just like plastic, and like plastic, it can last for years and is even dishwasher safe.
However, unlike plastic it is not made from petroleum. Petroleum? Yes, petroleum. You may not be aware of it, but most of the plastic we consume is derived from petroleum. In fact, about 10 percent of all U.S. oil consumption goes into making plastic.
And every single piece of petroplastic produced-since it was developed in the 1950s-is still around in some form today. Seriously.
And unlike petroplastic, Bonterra(tm) takes less energy to produce and emits fewer greenhouse gases during production. Looks like Bonterra(tm) definitely has an edge over traditional plastics.
Don't get us wrong, plastic was an amazing invention for its time. It revolutionized industry around the world and allowed important advances in both science and medicine.
But now that we've developed sustainable alternatives, it's time to move on.
And at Full Circle, moving on means making products from renewable and biodegradable resources that also work well and look great.
Bamboo
You may already know that bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth. It’s actually been clocked growing as fast as 47.6 inches in a 24-hour period.
No joke.
This makes bamboo one of the most renewable resources around, and it’s why you’ll find bamboo in so many Full Circle products.
Here’s some other fun bamboo facts: bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, which means that it doesn’t require pesticides or fertilizers during cultivation. And bamboo is actually a grass, not a tree—so it doesn’t require irrigation, which saves water and energy. In short, it’s a wonder resource.
To minimize transportation (and thus, fuel costs and energy waste—a few of our favorite obsessions) we make Full Circle products very close to where our bamboo is harvested.
To keep your bamboo products looking beautiful avoid prolonged soaking and try applying a natural cream or oil.
