Day 71 – The journey that my family and I are on to be better caretakers of this planet, has me (in particular) rethinking pretty much everything in the house. It didn’t take long for the disposable razor to be transformed into something more sustainable. In my search for options, I came across various stainless steel razors. I ended up purchasing a razor from Albatross. It might have been the reference to a bird that piqued my interest, but I was really excited about their Blade Take Back Program. They will take back your old blades and upcycle them into stainless steel utensils. I thought that was all very cool and I couldn’t wait for my new stainless steel razor to arrive.

Well, that razor sat on my bedroom dresser for at least two months. As excited as I was to use it, I was also a bit intimidated. Would I cut myself? Would I end up a bloody mess? I know, completely ridiculous. I eventually found out that it was not that difficult to use and that I would not end up sliced and diced.

So, I am now a proud owner and user of a stainless steel razor and will never have to purchase another razor in my life. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. My next obstacle was finding a razor for my husband, who prefers a disposable and a couple fairly new shavers in the house. My search brought me to the Gillette Razor Recycling Program in partnership with TerraCycle. This program allows you to recycle all brands of blades, razors, and plastic packaging for FREE. So, I ended up purchasing the other shavers in the house Gillette razors. Even though I could have purchased any brand, I wanted to support a company that was making an effort to recycle and keep these products from ending up in the landfill. I will add, that Gillette now has a razor made from 60% recycled plastic, the Planet KIND razor.

There will be a time when everyone is comfortable using a reusable razor, but until that time comes, Gillette will be the brand of choice.

So, consider making the change to a reusable razor, but if you’re not quite ready, consider a brand that is helping make a difference.

Tomorrow, Best Buy and the long list of items they recycle.