Disclaimer: Researching the industrial production of silicone products is *very* difficult. The process of creating the substance is rather intense and science-y (technical term), but it also seems to be rather proprietary for each manufacturer. This article consists of conclusions I’ve drawn myself from textbooks, scientific journals, as well as peer-reviewed and industry publications. I’ve connected dots to the best of my ability, but I am aware that there may be places where I’ve come to the wrong conclusion with the information I was able to find. If that is the case, and you have better resources for me, PLEASE let me know by shooting an email to howdy@wareavl.com.    The Important Questions Thanks to Stasher Bags and Food Huggers,...

We've all been there... It's the week before Christmas. You're in a serious time crunch. There are still a few people left to get gifts for, but you have no idea what to get any of them! We empathize. To make things a little easier on you, we decided to put together a gift guide featuring products that we think would make great gifts, and we've broken them up into categories based on a person's possible interests!  Welcome, friends, to our Holiday Gift Guide... The Bearded Buddy For the friend who has a lot of facial hair and loves to take care of it, these products will be great: 1. Rockwell 2C Safety Razor: Razors today produce so much waste....

One frustrating side effect of being a small business growing organically in late-stage capitalism is that we just can’t do it all and still do what we do well. So while we’re still working on carrying the best and covering all the bases for the categories we do have, some categories get left out. One such category that we get asked about with growing frequency is makeup. It makes sense that people who have ditched plastic toothbrushes would also be looking for an alternative to their plastic mascara wand.  Makeup is just one of those product types whose necessarily small portions seem to come with a lot of plastic and single-use components in tow – not to mention the questionable...

I’d like to talk about a system of material production called “cradle-to-cradle”. The term was defined by Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, an architect and a chemist respectively, in their aptly named book, “Cradle to Cradle”. I’ll explain their industrial proposal and give a nod to a few North Carolina businesses who are already moving in the right direction.

You guys are great about letting us know what you want, which is why we brought safety razors into the shop many months ago. Plastic-free and minimally waste-producing, these are are great way to cut out a major plastic culprit in the bathroom.