Herbal Hair Shampoo

Sustainability Report — Herbal Hair Shampoo (2025)

1) Product snapshot

Name: Herbal Hair Shampoo Form: 250 mL liquid bottle (typical consumer size) Key inputs: Plant-based surfactants (coconut-derived), herbal extracts (amla, shikakai), glycerin, biodegradable preservatives. Packaging: PET bottle + polypropylene (PP) cap.

2) Core environmental metrics (typical / representative per 250 mL unit)

• Carbon footprint: 48 kg CO₂e / unit
• Water footprint: 220 L / unit (crop irrigation + processing)
• Renewable content: ~90% (plant-derived surfactants, extracts)
• Formulation biodegradability: ~85% of organic fraction within 28 days (OECD-like)
• Packaging recyclability: ≈85% (PET widely recyclable; cap dependent on local streams)

3) Scientific calculations — examples

1. Annual production emissions (example): If 30,000 units/year are produced: [ \text{Total CO₂e} = 30{,}000 \times 0.48 = 14{,}400\ \text{kg CO₂e/year} ] Equivalent to the annual CO₂ uptake of: [ \frac{14{,}400}{22} \approx 654.5\ \text{mature trees} ] (Assuming 1 mature tree ≈ 22 kg CO₂/year.)
2. Impact of switching to a 2× concentrated formulation A concentrated formula that halves transport & packaging per washed-volume can reduce per-unit CO₂ by an estimated 35%: [ \text{New CO₂e/unit} = 0.48 \times (1 - 0.35) = 0.312\ \text{kg CO₂e} ] Annual emissions at 30,000 units: [ 30{,}000 \times 0.312 = 9{,}360\ \text{kg CO₂e} ] Annual CO₂ savings: (14{,}400 - 9{,}360 = 5{,}040) kg CO₂e.
3. Simple material circularity (packaging) If packaging is 85% recyclable and procured recycled-content fraction is 40%: [ \text{Effective circularity} = 0.85 \times 0.40 = 0.34\ (34%) ]

4) Ingredient & processing notes (scientific)

• Plant surfactants: Lower embedded carbon vs. petrochemical surfactants; palm-free sourcing preferred to avoid deforestation.
• Herbal extracts: Dried-plant extraction energy ≈ 1.0–2.5 kWh/kg depending on method; cold-extraction reduces energy but yields less concentrate.
• Preservatives: Choose biodegradable, low-ecotoxicity options to maintain OECD 301-like pass rates.
• Transport: Local sourcing cuts transport emissions and reduces supply-chain water/energy impacts.

5) Sustainability scoring (simple five-category index)

Category	Score (1–10)
Carbon efficiency	7
Water efficiency	6
Renewable material use	9
Biodegradability	8
Packaging circularity	7

Overall Sustainability Index (mean) = (7 + 6 + 9 + 8 + 7) / 5 = 7.4 / 10

6) Short recommendations (high impact, low complexity)

1. Introduce a concentrated (2×) SKU — biggest immediate CO₂ and packaging reduction (≈35% per-use CO₂ cut).
2. Move to mono-material packaging (e.g., PET bottle + same-material cap) or offer refill pouches to increase real-world recycling rates.
3. Source herbs locally / use agroecological suppliers to reduce transport emissions and water use.
4. Use certified palm-free surfactants or sustainably certified feedstocks to avoid deforestation-related impacts.
5. Label biodegradability & refill instructions to improve consumer disposal behavior.

Conclusion (one line)

Herbal Hair Shampoo shows strong renewable content and good biodegradability with a moderate overall sustainability score (SI ≈ 7.4/10); adopting concentrated formulas and improving packaging circularity can cut CO₂e by ~35% per functional use and materially improve lifecycle performance.