STBAH | Sustainable Fashion and Cosmetics January networking event roundup

Thursday 23rd January saw the first Sustainable Technologies Business Acceleration Hub (STBAH) networking event of the year.  These informal events bring together liked minded people to hear from speakers within certain sustainable sectors.

Held at the Huntsman in Bath the focus for this event was on sustainability in the fashion and cosmetic sector.

Pete Keevill, Entrepreneur in Residence for the Sustainable Technologies Business Acceleration Hub welcomed everyone to the event and gave a brief overview.

The first speaker, Prof Janet Scott from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath talked about sustainability in cosmetics and personal care. Prof Scott explained that the cosmetics industry is huge and for many products the main ingredient used is water - an in-expensive ingredient compared to the price the consumer pays for the product.  Prof Scott also highlighted the additional ‘unsustainable’ issues - not only the plastics contained in some of the products but that the product is put into a plastic container and moved around the world - which raised some interesting questions regarding the end of life issues relating to ingredients and packaging - these companies biggest use is energy to produce the products, but there is also a negative branding issue when the packaging is discarded.  

PETE KEEVILL INTRODUCES PROF JANET SCOTT WHO DISCUSSED SUSTAINABILITY IN COSMETICS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Prof Scott then went on to discuss plant-based sustainable solutions and the research and development she has been doing through her start-up company, Naturbeads - a biodegradable alternative to plastic microbeads.  These plastic microbeads are now banded from shower gels and toothpaste in the UK - but can still be found in other personal care products such as sun-cream and cosmetics.  An estimated 30,000 tonnes of microplastics from consumer products end up in the oceans every year - the equivalent to the plastic pollution generated by five billion plastic bottles. Naturbeads have developed sustainable ingredients offering a cheap sustainable solution that reduces costs and end of life fate  -  the aim of the development of these biodegradable microbeads made from cellulose is that they can be used in a number of diverse products.

Prof Janet Scott is passionate about science and is now leading a transatlantic project to tackle effective recycling of polymers.

Following Prof Scott’s fast-paced, interesting talk, Claire Tchaikowski took to the floor. 

CLAIRE TCHAIKOWSKI, FOUNDER & CEO INTRODUCING HER COMPANY, HUMAN MILK CIC

Claire, Founder and CEO of the Human Milk CIC a not-profit company that Claire set up to distribute information and online support promoting the benefits of human milk, focusing on the composition of human milk and the science of breastfeeding.

Claire gave an overview on the science and clear advantages of human milk to both infant and mother, not just from a health benefit but also the amount of waste produced and energy used from bottle feeding.  Claire then went on to discuss the clothing and accessory range which she is developing to help support woman who want to breastfeed - all clothes are easy to wear when breastfeeding with the designs and material used to enable the clothing to be worn long after the child has weaned.

Claire went onto discuss the sustainable textiles being used and cutting out plastic from the production line.  Claire explained that the primary desire for Human Milk CIC is to become mainstream with a platform and brand to change the value of human milk and that any profits from the clothing and accessories brand are re-invested into the cause.

These were two very interesting talks which raised many questions and were the starting point of conversations throughout the evening.

STBAH EVENTS - USEFUL FOR NETWORKING AND COLLABORATING ON SUSTAINABLE TOPICS

A light buffet was served and the final drinks finished off before the evening ended at around 9pm.

A RUSH ON THE FRIES AT THE BUFFET!

Thank you to the speakers for highlighting some very interesting points and to all those who came along to join in on the conversation - another successful STBAH networking event!

The next event is planned for March and will be held in Bristol with the theme focusing on Sustainable Food - keep an eye on the STBAH events listings and the STBAH twitter feed for further information.