From Consuming Less Harm to Creating More Good

From Consuming Less Harm to Creating More Good

What I discovered when I investigated my everyday shaving products

Can the things we buy and use become part of creating a better world?

That is a question I have been exploring recently. It has encouraged me to look at some of the most ordinary things in my home in a rather different way.

We are surrounded by products described as natural, sustainable, biodegradable, recyclable, organic and eco-friendly. Some are undoubtedly better choices than others. But I have begun to wonder whether choosing something that does less harm is enough.

Could we take another step and find ways for our everyday choices to help restore the world around us?

My thinking is developing along a simple path and asking the question “How far can I go?”:

Conventional → Less harmful → Sustainable → Circular → Regenerative

I don't expect every product to reach the final stage in my life experience, but it may in yours. Nor do I believe that we should throw away everything we already own and replace it with something more fashionable or expensive.

Instead, I want to investigate what we use, compare realistic alternatives, understand the evidence and discover where meaningful improvements are possible.

To explore this idea, I decided to begin with something as ordinary as shaving.

My starting point: two everyday products

I began with two products I already owned and used:

  • An antibacterial shaving gel, supplied in a plastic container containing 30% recycled plastic.
  • A solid bar soap marketed with olive extract and described as containing 98% ingredients of natural origin.

Both served their purpose and sounded like reasonable choices already. I wasn't looking for reasons to condemn them. I wanted to understand their ingredients, packaging, and likely environmental impacts, and then ask whether I could achieve the same result in a better way.

The investigation revealed some opportunities for improvement.

The shaving gel was a water-based liquid in a plastic container. Its ingredient list included cleansing agents, fragrance-related ingredients and preservatives, including methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone. These preservatives are recognised skin sensitizers, although their presence alone does not establish that a properly formulated rinse-off product is unsafe for everyone. Note, however, our skin is porous and breathes.

The solid soap had the advantage of being a solid product, potentially requiring less packaging than a liquid. However, its ingredient list included palm-derived soap ingredients, fragrance, and a number of fragrance components.

Neither product could be judged simply by its packaging claims. Nor could I calculate its complete environmental footprint from an ingredient list alone.

But I now had a useful starting point: could I find an alternative that was simpler, practical, affordable and better supported by evidence?

Note: I used ChatGPT to both create and refine the prompt I originated and then do the assessment of my existing products and search for better alternatives.

The search for alternatives

I began looking at shaving soaps and bars available in Britain. Several caught my attention, but for different reasons.

Some offered simple formulations and no added fragrance. Others had stronger ethical sourcing stories, reusable packaging or a particularly interesting agricultural connection.

This is where I discovered that choosing a better product isn't simply a matter of finding the one with the most appealing environmental claim.

There are trade-offs.

A very simple soap may have little information available about the farms supplying its ingredients. A product with more transparent ethical sourcing may cost more. A British-grown ingredient can shorten one part of the supply chain, but that doesn't automatically mean the whole product has the lowest environmental impact.

And a product that costs more is not necessarily better for every person or every purpose.

Some of the alternatives I found:

Friendly Soap Fragrance-Free Shaving Bar

This caught my attention because of its relatively simple ingredient list, fragrance-free formulation, plastic-free presentation, and palm-oil-free claim. Its ingredients include coconut-derived soap, rapeseed-derived soap, castor-derived soap, soybean oil, clay, and aloe vera.

It looks like a promising option for someone seeking a straightforward solid product without added fragrance. However, the origins and farming practices of the raw materials would need further investigation before I could describe it as regenerative.

Small Kindness Unscented Shaving Soap

This option interested me because of its unscented formulation, palm-free positioning, and the maker's wider ethical and environmental commitments. The disclosed ingredients include coconut, olive, cocoa butter, shea butter and castor-derived soap ingredients, alongside other ingredients such as oats and clay.

Its sourcing story is worth exploring, but ethical intentions and sustainability claims still need to be distinguished from independently verified outcomes at the farm level.

Crafts & Bubbles Original Shaving Soap

This offers another simple, unscented option. Its disclosed formulation is particularly short, including coconut-derived soap, salt, olive-derived soap, glycerin, water, and castor-derived soap. It is marketed as palm-free and supplied in a tin.

Its simplicity is appealing, although the origin of the oils and the full environmental impact of the packaging remain relevant questions.

British hemp oil shaving soap

I also discovered a British-made hemp oil shaving soap from Natural Spa Supplies. The manufacturer lists hemp oil, water, and potassium hydroxide as its ingredients and describes the product as made with British hemp oil and supplied in glass.

This is particularly interesting because it connects a very simple personal-care product with the possibility of British-grown agricultural raw materials.

However, I have not verified the specific farm supplying the hemp oil used in this soap or established that its hemp is grown using regenerative practices. The product is therefore a promising candidate to investigate, not a proven regenerative solution.

There isn't one perfect answer

These alternatives helped me see that different products can offer different advantages.

What matters most? 

What I would investigate

Keeping costs down

Purchase price, cost per shave, and how long the product lasts

Avoiding unnecessary ingredients

A simple formulation without added fragrance, where suitable

Reducing packaging

Solid products, minimal packaging and reusable containers

Avoiding palm-derived ingredients

Products with a clear palm-free formulation

Supporting responsible production

Specific sourcing information, credible standards and evidence

Exploring regeneration

The actual farm, agricultural practices and evidence of ecological outcomes

Avoiding unnecessary consumption

Whether I can continue using what I already have

No single aspect tells the whole story.

For example, a palm-free product may still contain ingredients from intensive agricultural systems. A product in glass may be reusable, but glass also has manufacturing and transport impacts. A British-made product may still contain imported ingredients.

That is why I want to look beyond a single feature and consider the whole picture.

What about cost?

Cost deserves particular attention.

A product with an interesting sustainability story may be beyond someone's budget. That doesn't mean they cannot make a worthwhile contribution to reducing waste or supporting a healthier environment.

A relatively inexpensive solid soap may be a sensible improvement over a more heavily packaged product. A person may be able to extend the life of a product, use less of it, or avoid buying an unnecessary extra altogether.

The purchase price also isn't the same as the cost per use. A more expensive product might last longer, while a cheaper product might need replacing more frequently. We need actual usage information before deciding.

I would rather see someone make a modest, affordable improvement that works for them than feel they must purchase a premium product to participate in sustainability.

From a greener product to a better system

The most interesting question arose when I looked at the raw materials rather than just the finished soap.

Could a shaving product use oils grown in agricultural systems that improve soil health and biodiversity? Could processing take place closer to the farm? Could packaging be reduced? Could the product serve more than one purpose without compromising performance?

British examples of regenerative agriculture involving hemp and other crops show that these possibilities are worth exploring. But the existence of regenerative hemp farms does not establish that a particular soap uses their crop.

To make that connection, I would need to verify the supplier and the actual farming practices.

For me, this is the difference between a product that has some promising environmental features and one for which there is credible evidence of regenerative outcomes.

My five questions for everyday purchases

I am now trying to ask five simple questions:

  1. Can I use less? Perhaps I don't need the product at all, or I can reduce the amount I use.
  2. Can I make what I already have last longer? Repairing, maintaining, and reusing may be better than replacing.
  3. Can I choose something that creates less harm? Consider ingredients, materials, packaging, energy, and waste.
  4. Can I choose something circular? Look for genuine opportunities to refill, reuse, repair, recycle or safely return materials to nature.
  5. Can I help create something better? Look for credible evidence of improved soil health, biodiversity, water protection, or other positive outcomes.

The answers won't always be straightforward. That is part of the investigation.

A journey we can take together

I don't think we need to become perfect consumers. I certainly don't expect to find a perfect product for every purpose.

What I hope to do is become a more conscious participant in the systems that supply the things I need.

That means asking better questions, comparing alternatives fairly, being honest about uncertainty and sharing what I learn.

I also want to make the investigation process available to others, so that we can explore products for ourselves rather than simply accept a manufacturer's claims or someone else's recommendation.

This is one of the ideas I would like to develop through The Abstract Essentialism Foundation: people working together to investigate practical ways of living and working with nature.

You don't need to begin with an expensive purchase or a complicated project. Choose one ordinary product, find out what you can about it, compare a few alternatives, and identify one realistic improvement.

Sometimes the best choice will be to use what you already have. Sometimes a simple, affordable alternative will make sense. And occasionally, we may discover a product connected to a genuinely regenerative system.

The important thing is to follow the evidence rather than the marketing.

Can I move from consuming less harm to creating more good?

That is the question I want to keep exploring, one everyday decision at a time.

Note: For me right now, I can confirm that I shall be trying one or more of the products listed, and I will be writing to the companies to ask about some of the more fundamental source and farming-related questions.

Explore the investigation

You are welcome to share your own findings, suggest alternatives, or help us discover what genuinely makes a difference at: Abstract Essentialism Foundation Google Group.