Why Amandean?


FAQ

Learn more about Amandean’s sustainability practices

There’s still a long way to go, and we remain committed to finding and implementing the best and most sustainable solutions possible. Since the start, we’ve always searched for and used the planet’s highest-quality ingredients. From the wild-caught North Atlantic whitefish used in our Marine Collagen to our USA-grown algal oil used in our Vegan Omega-3, the source, traceability, and performance of our products respect the planet.  

However, to ensure the safety and reliability of our premium formulas, we rely on plastic packaging and storage containers. For the time being, plastic is the most durable lightweight material that guarantees product quality, improved shelf life, and a reduced transportation carbon footprint (as compared to glass or metal). 

Though we are constantly sourcing and testing more biodegradable options, so far we haven’t found anything that can offer the same quality and consistency as what we currently provide. For this reason, our partnership with rePurpose Global allows us to actively reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment as is used in our product packaging.

Plastic use and disposal around the world is often an imperfect and mismanaged process. rePurpose Global and its waste management partners help to develop crucial income streams for informal waste workers. Through our Plastic Neutral contributions, rePurpose Global pays ethical wages to these workers for collecting hard-to-recycle, low-value plastic waste items for which they typically do not receive compensation. It’s a win-win: the workers are fairly compensated and the plastic waste that would have otherwise been burned, flushed into the ocean, or end up at a landfill is successfully diverted. 

Our chosen waste management partner is Waste4Change, an Indonesia-based organization that has managed over 5.4 million kilograms of ocean-bound waste since 2014. Indonesia is believed to be the world’s second-largest contributor to plastic pollution, with nearly 15 percent of all plastic waste in the oceans traced back to the country.

Waste4Change takes a holistic approach to waste management, with core services that include segregated waste collection from landfills and the ocean, waste management consulting and research, and responsible waste processing. This includes in-store recycling initiatives, extended producer responsibility, and event waste management.

In choosing a partner for plastic neutrality, transparency was the most important factor. rePurpose Global employs strict verification measures: unannounced spot-checks, detailed progress reports, and universal Plastic Neutral Protocol implementation. 

This protocol is a set of operational guidelines that help waste management partners carry out recycling operations ethically and efficiently, maximizing impact. rePurpose Global is an independent platform that helps align new incentives; impact agents conduct regular due diligence to enable compliance through an objective lens. 

Our company is passionate about finding the world’s best ingredients for our products, and working with a partner like rePurpose Global to protect these sources was a natural fit. As a small business, adopting sustainable practices is at the core of our brand’s and client’s values. By collaborating with rePurpose Global, we work to evaluate our entire supply chain to take even more action in the future.

If you’re looking for resources, check out the rePurpose Global’s3-Minute Plastic Footprint Calculator. It collects information on your consumption habits to understand and break down your annual plastic footprint.

Once you identify your pain points, it’s much easier to solve the problem! We suggest incorporating one new habit each month, as keeping a realistic and consistent approach will help reinforce a more sustainable mindset.

Though our waste is generated and transported around the United States, a majority of it is shipped to the developing world - out of sight and out of mind. In fact, 90 percent of plastic pollution in the oceans stems from just 10 rivers, eight of which are located in Asia. 

Most developing countries lack the necessary resources and infrastructure to handle more waste than their own, making them weak links in the global waste ecosystem. Though they are thousands of miles away, the lack of support in these countries has an impact on the amount of waste that ends up in our own backyards.

We know that both companies and individuals could do more to promote a greener, healthier planet — Plastic Neutrality is just the start. Every dollar of our Plastic Neutral contributions is invested in the improvement and expansion of the global waste management infrastructure. This helps maintain the existing systems and plant the seed for the long run to take on even more plastic waste that would otherwise pollute the environment.