Most of what you get when you buy conditioner is a plastic bottle full of something that’s mostly water. The same water you get almost for free from your tap. Companies ship the wet, blended conditioner. When you make your own conditioner, the ingredients aren’t wet. They’re dry, and they tend to come in quantities that will last you for at least a year. Having something shipped to you once a year will be far less in fuel and greenhouse gasses than getting a new bottle from the store once a month.
Then we get into the bottles themselves. I can’t speak for anyone else, but my community doesn’t recycle. It’s rural, and the trash authority here says that the volume isn’t high enough to be worth it. It all goes to the landfill. Even if you do everything right, you can still be creating microplastics that harm our sealife and ourselves. Who knows what happens to that stuff once the trash truck is out of sight? I hate plastic bottles. Yes, they can be practical, but the cost of that is too high. What happened to waxed cartons? What happened to sealed pouches? There are other options out there. Most of Europe drinks milk that comes in a bag.
When you make your products, you can pick your own container. I tend to use glass jars. Yes, you need to be careful in the shower with that, but I can get my hand into a wide-mouth mason jar. Do make sure they’re labeled “wide mouth,” or you’ll be in the shower with a spoon to get your conditioner. Mason jars are common, inexpensive, and last forever. You can find them at nearly any big box store like Target, WalMart, etc. They last so long that you can get replacement lids.
Glass is almost completely chemically inert. Nothing leaches into the glass, and the glass doesn’t leach anything into my conditioner. They’re also dishwasher safe. The bands and lids are easy to come by and you can be as fancy or plain with them as you like.
