023: The last razor that you would ever buy with Adam Simone
In this episode, we talk to Adam Simone. He is founder of Leaf Shave, a company that is changing the way people get a great shave at the best value.
During this episode, we take a look at how our shaving habits have an effect on the environment. How to recycle your double edge razor blades and find out what makes Leaf shave different from other razor companies out there.
Episode Highlights
[01:18] How did your sustainable journey start?
[02:50] There is an amazing organisation called 412 Food Rescue it is led by Leah Lizarondo and she has built a network backed by technology and the goodness of people that has rescued more than 4 million pounds of food, and they do this by cutting off perfectly good food that would end up uneaten and in landfill and connecting them with people in need of food.
[03:22] We won’t stop until we have replaced every disposable plastic consuming razor on earth with a Leaf razor.
[04:51] The history of shaving is quite interesting it dates back thousands of years to when early humans were using tools and shells and even things like sharp teeth to remove hair from their head and face. It is not a new invention.
[05:11] Double edge razors which are what many today would kind of consider classic shaving tools that perhaps your grandfather used or maybe you have dabbled with in your sustainability journey. Those were invested and patterned more than a hundred years ago by and some people don’t know this but by King Camp Gillette.
[06:34] What modern razors brought to the table over safety razors is a comfortable easy shave with multiple blades and a pivoting head. What we lost was the quality and the durability of materials.
[11:56] We want that who when someone holds it, because it is a high-quality tool and something that I think people should be happy to own. because it is quality and it will last.
[12:13] It has a lifetime warranty. If you have any issue ever drop us a note.
[12:20] To keep our customers happy, we are learning a lot. We are still very young we have only been commercially available for about six- month ones as of the recording here, but we are in our next production of razors right now and we continue to learn and improve and listen to our customers.
[13:14] We have got three more finishes coming in our next production run.
[13:50] Maybe like four years ago I bought a pack of hundred of them for $11 and I am still using that pack. They will last a long time.
[14:02] From a storage perspective a footprint of a hundred pack fits in the same space size a four standard cartridge from Bic shave or any of those shave clubs.
[15:51] What can we do with our blunt blades?
[18:46] We decided to go to Kickstarter and in 30-days we raised a $110,000 on our Kickstarter campaign.
[20:25] If you are on the fence of trying us, give it a go. If we are not your jam, if it is not working for you, we will take it back within 30 days.
[21:03] What has been one of your most important decisions that you have made around mama earth?
Final Five
1.What is one social media platform that you follow?
2.What is your hope for mama earth going forward?
I hope that more folks learn about the small decisions that they can make to do personally to impact their footprint on Mama Earth and you know I am very happy that I am making the choices that I am making and honestly I also hope that there are a couple of people listening out there that are entrepreneurs at heart that hear my story and are encouraged to make that idea that they have for a more sustainable solution or product or service to make that a reality because it is as simple as starting.
3.What advise can you give our crazy birds this week to help out mama earth?
Think about the small choice that you can make but also think about how you can leverage a talent or an idea to impact more people.
4.What is one sustainability fact that you like to use in a room with people not yet on a sustainability journey?
It is as simple as purchasing a Leaf razor.
5.Where can people find you?
Key Take Away
“What modern razors brought to the table over safety razors is a comfortable easy shave with multiple blades and a pivoting head. What we lost was the quality and the durability of materials.”
When we look at some of the razors on the market and how often we had to replace some of the plastic handled razors and how many disposable razors we go through, it is shocking. Consumers all over the world keep on purchasing these razors that are not built to last for years and in the case of the disposable razor, weeks. So therefore by investing in a product that is durable, that would be able to last us years might seem expensive at first, but in the long run, your investment would pay off as you would not have to replace the razor as often and you would be able to reduce the amount of waste that your razor would generate over time as well.
About the author, Mariska
Hi and welcome! My name is Mariska. I am originally from South Africa, but now call the world my home. I am an artist, designer, environmentalist, podcast host and speaker.
I started the Mama Earth Talk podcast in 2018 to share some of the things that I learned about just how easy it can be to reduce your impact on the environment. This then quickly grew into a forum that showcases the amazing things that many people are doing to make the planet better, and further into a source of hope and inspiration for many. A few of the amazing guests include Zero Waste Queen, Bea Johnson, Claude Silver, Kathryn Kellogg and zero waste chef Max La Manna.
If you do not already I urge you to follow me and my journey on social media (@designbymariska), and to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot your own waste using the handy tips I post!