Celebrating SunButter's impact over the last four years
Why do we love August? Because we get to crunch the numbers and get specific about the tangible impact that SunButter is having on the planet.
Everything we do comes back to our mantra: “Protecting People and The Planet”, and every purchase of a SunButter product helps us live out this mantra. When you buy sunscreen in a tin, for example, you’re reducing plastic use AND minimising the amount of chemicals in our waterways. How cool is that?
We’ve put together our Impact Statement to let you guys know what you’ve helped us achieve in the last 4 years (and why it matters!).
1. Single-use plastic bottles of sunscreen not in landfill by choosing sunscreen in a tin: 208, 440
This is huge! Convincing a manufacturer to make us a suitable aluminium sunscreen container wasn’t easy (or quick!), but it was one of our non-negotiables when we started SunButter four years ago. Now, we’re proud to be able to say we are Australia’s first sunscreen packaged in reusable and recyclable tins.
As we talked about during Plastic Free July, plastic pollution is a huge issue for the planet — especially when it comes to the ocean. Currently, 8 million tonnes of plastic finds its way into the ocean each year. Plastic pollution is a disaster, but it’s a human-made disaster — meaning we humans have the power to turn things around through our purchasing, consuming and lifestyle decisions.
2. Toxic chemical UV blockers diverted from waterways and oceans: 20.8 tonnes
Imagining tonnes of chemicals flowing into our precious oceans and rivers isn’t a nice thought, and yet the reality is that a huge amount of chemicals end up in the waterways of the world each year.
These chemicals come from a variety of places, but sunscreen use is a huge one: each time you slip, slop, slap and then go for a swim or surf, some of the sunscreen you’re using slips off your skin and into the water, where it can cause all kinds of damage to marine life. Oxybenzone and nanoparticles like zinc oxide are known for being particularly troublesome, but scientists are adding more ingredients to the list of known pollutants every year.
This is why SunButter sunscreen is formulated with all-natural ingredients and physical UV blockers, as opposed to chemical UV blockers. SunButter-wearers can play in the water knowing they’re not contributing to chemical pollution (also, it’s nice to know you’re not absorbing those chemicals into your own body). Go, team!
3. Surfboards waxed with petroleum-free Native Dog surf wax: 1223
The environmental effects of surfboard wax can certainly slip under the radar, but most wax is made out of petroleum and therefore toxic. To get more specific, surfboard wax is made from paraffin, which is a by-product of petroleum, and the methods used to process petroleum are pretty nasty.
Around 95 per cent of surf wax on the market is made using petroleum products. On top of the effects of this, toxins from the wax leach into the ocean.
We stock locally-made Native Dog surf wax because it’s petroleum-free and all-natural, and we love that you guys are using it!
4. Funds donated to charitable partners: $30,018
Value of stock donated to community partners, team riders and NGOs: $29,774
We’re a for-purpose business, which means that we prioritise purpose (“Protecting People and the Planet”) over profit — and that we donate our profits and product to organisations fighting for a better planet.
We are super pumped that so far we’ve been able to donate $30,081 to our charitable partners, including:
Living Culture (local legends here on the Mornington Peninsula who work to keep Indigenous culture alive);
Save Westernport (who are fighting to conserve the pristine Westernport Bay);
Seed (Australia's first Indigenous youth climate network);
The Thin Green Line Foundation (which helps protect wildlife rangers across developing nations and within Australia’s Indigenous community);
Project Hui (Madison Stewart’s epic initiative to provide alternative incomes for shark fishermen in Indonesia in order to conserve the shark population); and
Sea Shepherd (the conservation society fighting illegal fishing activities).
Surfrider Foundation (works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches).
Southern Right Whale Study (working to understand, protect and conserve the endangered Southern right whales of the Southern Australian coastline).
Plus, we've also donated our time or products to projects such as the Australian Conservation Foundation, Humpbacks and Highrises, Climate Force, Naru Surf Gathering and Bellarine Catchment Network.
Once again, this wouldn’t be possible without our awesome SunButter community.
5. Carbon offset through Greenfleet tree planting in Australia and New Zealand: 354.1 tonnes
From the start, our mission has involved not just being carbon neutral, but carbon negative. This means that we go further than offsetting the carbon emissions caused by our business activities: we take steps to ensure we’re absorbing even more carbon than we’re producing. We do this through an organisation called Greenfleet, which plants native trees across Australia and New Zealand. These forests also provide important habitats for local wildlife.
By the way, anyone can sign up to Greenfleet and start offsetting their business or personal carbon emissions — there are heaps of different options to offset certain activities like car or air travel.
Thank you!
To every single customer or supporter of SunButter: Thank you! None of this would be possible without you. You make our dreams come true.