Last year INIKA Organic became the first Certified Plastic Neutral makeup brand globally.
We wanted to tackle the plastic crisis head-on and make a real difference in our community at the same time.
This is why we decided to partner with certifiers Waste Revolution to measure, reduce and offset unavoidable plastic use. To become ‘plastic neutral’, we purchase plastic offsets, which fund the collection and recycling of an equivalent amount of nature-bound plastic. Money from offset credits goes towards Waste Revolution’s impact partners; waste management companies responsible for collecting and recycling the plastic.
Waste Revolution’s flagship project is partnering with Albury-based recycler Plastic Forests to fund the production of post-consumer recycled plastic fence posts. INIKA’s offsets have funded the production of over 800 fence posts made from these ‘hard to recycle’ plastics.
“These posts are perfect for this situation, plus being the lightweight plastic they are, they’re not going to break in a flood, they’re perfect for this environment. Also being a recycled material, it’s saving the planet, it’s not going into the water, it’s not going into landfill, it’s going into something constructive.” – BlazeAid volunteer
These recycled posts are then donated to Australian farmers, to help them rebuild paddock fencing after floods and bushfires, with the assistance of BlazeAid volunteers. BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters. Working alongside rural families, their volunteers help to rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed.
“Some of the places we’ve worked on, it’s just been heart-wrenching to hear the stories of what people have lost, what they’ve been through, but also it’s very encouraging the resilience of people getting through the floods and the fires. We’ve been to places 3 years ago that have been hit by bushfires, and now we’re back building the fences and helping them on their properties after floods.” – BlazeAid volunteer
We are proud to see the real-world impact that our plastic offsets are having on the environment and its people – notably, Australian farmers and regional communities who have been devastated by floods (and previously bushfires), in desperate need of assistance to rebuild.
“I can’t believe they gave the posts to us, it’s unbelievable. We didn’t have the money to buy them, I had a business before the flood came through, and I lost the business… we were stuck. BlazeAid turned up and showed us these plastic posts, perfect, the flood shouldn’t affect them.” Having BlazeAid step in and fix the fences has given us hope. My mental health is so much better, I’ve got a future again”. – Australian Farmer