I’ll never forget the day when a kid in my PE class told me that my legs were as hairy as his. It was mortifying. I didn’t wake up and expect that specific day or PE class to be revolutionary, but that was the day I began shaving my legs. So remember, if you have nothing nice to say, just don’t say it! You might end up causing someone to make their carbon footprint bigger. Bullies be damned, just sayin’.
Since then, I’ve contributed to more waste than I’d like to acknowledge. I’ve used single-use razors, thrown out old ones for new ones, constantly tried new brands hoping for a closer shave. The list goes on, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t mindful of the impact I was causing on the environment.
hanni is a new brand that recently launched a reusable, single-blade razor and waterless shaving cream. According to the brand’s website, 2 billion razor cartridges end up in US landfills yearly, which is appalling.
TThey’re also different from other brands in that there is no use of plastic whatsoever, and the weighted razor should last you a lifetime; all you have to do is replace the Swedish steel single blade. The product design, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing liaison were done by the NYC-based product and brand design consultancy Prime Studio. The product and brand design consultancy was hand-selected by hanni because they developed and launched Harry’s razors and were immensely successful in their endeavors. Prime could use their past knowledge of developing an outstanding shave experience to help hanni create a brand with excellent aesthetics and a pure product.
The packaging is also recyclable and made from sustainable materials. For example, the razor insert gets made with sugarcane pulp, and the blades come in an aluminum storage bin that can get recycled after you finish with it. Razor recycling rules vary across municipalities, but you can go here to check, and while it looks like the brand is using some plastic in other products (though still curbside recyclable), they are striving to find more sustainable packaging methods.
So, while I shouldn’t have let that one boy’s comments in elementary school get to me, at least I can shave my legs and continue my mission of living a more sustainable life and not have to compromise my love of beautifully designed products—a win-win-win.
