Christine Esposito, Managing Editor05.05.21
Men’s grooming brand Bulldog Skincare is taking a bite out of troublesome plastics in the personal care industry. The company, which has been part of Edgewell Personal Care since 2016, uses tubes made with sugarcane, has RSPO and Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) bar soap packaging, and offers razor handles from renewable materials. All of these steps help Edgewell meet its Sustainable Care 2030 commitments.
Grooming products from Bulldog Skincare.
Happi asked Simon Duffy, who founded the UK-based brand in 2006, about Bulldog’s sustainability efforts and plans to bring more products stateside.
HAPPI: How long did the company work on making the switch to the sugarcane packaging? Were there specific issues that needed to be overcome, such as compatibility with the formula or the functionality or aesthetics of the final pack? How does this new packaging meet the brand’s needs related to both of those aspects aside from the eco benefits?
Simon Duffy: It took us around two years to make the switch from plastic to sugarcane. This involved initial research, finding and vetting the right external partners, and then ultimately making the switch. As the first male skin care brand in the world to use sugarcane as a raw material in our packaging, we were really lucky to have partners that allowed us to make the transition to using sugarcane given how novel of a material it was at the time.
While working through the packaging overhaul, testing was our top priority to ensure consumers received the same great look and feel they were used to from Bulldog. A great benefit of using sugarcane plastic is that there are no visible differences. With sugarcane, consumers get the same products they love, with less harm to the environment.
HAPPI: The new Sensitive razor is a pretty cool development—from where is the bamboo sourced?
Duffy: The bamboo we use to make our innovative Sensitive Bamboo Razor handle is tortoise-shell bamboo or Phyllostachys edulis. It’s a temperate species of giant timber bamboo native to China and Taiwan. The bamboo we use in our Sensitive Bamboo Razor grows on the mountains around the area of Fujian.
We use bamboo because it helps us deliver on our sustainable values. The bamboo plant does not die after harvesting (unlike other trees) which helps to prevent deforestation in conjunction with considerate farming. We source mature bamboo both for ultimate hardness, strength and dimensional stability and because by harvesting the mature plants, the yield and quality of the plantation actually increases. Using bamboo is all part of our commitment to reducing plastic and working toward a better and more sustainable future.
Bulldog offers shaving hardware.
We use bamboo because it helps us deliver on our sustainable values. The bamboo plant does not die after harvesting (unlike other trees) which helps to prevent deforestation in conjunction with considerate farming. We source mature bamboo both for ultimate hardness, strength and dimensional stability and because by harvesting the mature plants, the yield and quality of the plantation actually increases. Using bamboo is all part of our commitment to reducing plastic and working toward a better and more sustainable future.
HAPPI: A big component of sustainability comes from how the product is used and consumed at the consumer level. How does Bulldog communicate best practices with its customers?
Duffy: Communicating our sustainability values and helping our consumers make environmentally conscious choices is a core part of our offline and online marketing strategies. We do this in a variety of ways in-store, including educational on-shelf displays, on-pack sustainability icons, product toppers and more. Digitally, we bring our message and purpose to life via our social media channels where we provide product information, education and resources directly to our customers.
HAPPI: Does the brand have a team dedicated to sustainability?
Duffy: Sustainability is ingrained in everything we do. As one of the core principles of our brand purpose and mission, ensuring that sustainability is always front-and-center is a cross-functional effort across several teams including product development, marketing, regulatory and even our external partners.
HAPPI: Sustainability is a journey—so where is Bulldog heading next on that path? Any new goals established? What are some of the projects planned?
Duffy: Sustainability is absolutely a journey, a journey we are delighted to be on. We can’t give too much away but we’ll be looking to continue challenging the market with new launches that hold sustainability at their core and that continue to successfully disrupt the male grooming space. For us, it’s about ensuring that sustainable thinking is always a fundamental part of the way we develop any new product or new business process; and a fundamental consideration for reviewing any existing products and processes that need updating. Sustainability simply can’t be an afterthought.
HAPPI: Lastly, what new launches have come to market from the brand? Do you have new products planned to debut soon?
Duffy: In addition to recently launching our Bulldog Sensitive Bamboo Razor and Refills, we’ll be bringing the Bulldog Energizing Range from the UK to the US on US.BulldogSkincare.com in mid-May. Formulated to help revitalize, brighten and improve the appearance of tired-looking skin, the full regimen includes a face wash, face scrub, moisturizer, eye roll-on, and an eco-conscious bamboo sheet mask and hydrator.
Grooming products from Bulldog Skincare.
Happi asked Simon Duffy, who founded the UK-based brand in 2006, about Bulldog’s sustainability efforts and plans to bring more products stateside.
HAPPI: How long did the company work on making the switch to the sugarcane packaging? Were there specific issues that needed to be overcome, such as compatibility with the formula or the functionality or aesthetics of the final pack? How does this new packaging meet the brand’s needs related to both of those aspects aside from the eco benefits?
Simon Duffy: It took us around two years to make the switch from plastic to sugarcane. This involved initial research, finding and vetting the right external partners, and then ultimately making the switch. As the first male skin care brand in the world to use sugarcane as a raw material in our packaging, we were really lucky to have partners that allowed us to make the transition to using sugarcane given how novel of a material it was at the time.
While working through the packaging overhaul, testing was our top priority to ensure consumers received the same great look and feel they were used to from Bulldog. A great benefit of using sugarcane plastic is that there are no visible differences. With sugarcane, consumers get the same products they love, with less harm to the environment.
HAPPI: The new Sensitive razor is a pretty cool development—from where is the bamboo sourced?
Duffy: The bamboo we use to make our innovative Sensitive Bamboo Razor handle is tortoise-shell bamboo or Phyllostachys edulis. It’s a temperate species of giant timber bamboo native to China and Taiwan. The bamboo we use in our Sensitive Bamboo Razor grows on the mountains around the area of Fujian.
We use bamboo because it helps us deliver on our sustainable values. The bamboo plant does not die after harvesting (unlike other trees) which helps to prevent deforestation in conjunction with considerate farming. We source mature bamboo both for ultimate hardness, strength and dimensional stability and because by harvesting the mature plants, the yield and quality of the plantation actually increases. Using bamboo is all part of our commitment to reducing plastic and working toward a better and more sustainable future.
Bulldog offers shaving hardware.
HAPPI: A big component of sustainability comes from how the product is used and consumed at the consumer level. How does Bulldog communicate best practices with its customers?
Duffy: Communicating our sustainability values and helping our consumers make environmentally conscious choices is a core part of our offline and online marketing strategies. We do this in a variety of ways in-store, including educational on-shelf displays, on-pack sustainability icons, product toppers and more. Digitally, we bring our message and purpose to life via our social media channels where we provide product information, education and resources directly to our customers.
HAPPI: Does the brand have a team dedicated to sustainability?
Duffy: Sustainability is ingrained in everything we do. As one of the core principles of our brand purpose and mission, ensuring that sustainability is always front-and-center is a cross-functional effort across several teams including product development, marketing, regulatory and even our external partners.
HAPPI: Sustainability is a journey—so where is Bulldog heading next on that path? Any new goals established? What are some of the projects planned?
Duffy: Sustainability is absolutely a journey, a journey we are delighted to be on. We can’t give too much away but we’ll be looking to continue challenging the market with new launches that hold sustainability at their core and that continue to successfully disrupt the male grooming space. For us, it’s about ensuring that sustainable thinking is always a fundamental part of the way we develop any new product or new business process; and a fundamental consideration for reviewing any existing products and processes that need updating. Sustainability simply can’t be an afterthought.
HAPPI: Lastly, what new launches have come to market from the brand? Do you have new products planned to debut soon?
Duffy: In addition to recently launching our Bulldog Sensitive Bamboo Razor and Refills, we’ll be bringing the Bulldog Energizing Range from the UK to the US on US.BulldogSkincare.com in mid-May. Formulated to help revitalize, brighten and improve the appearance of tired-looking skin, the full regimen includes a face wash, face scrub, moisturizer, eye roll-on, and an eco-conscious bamboo sheet mask and hydrator.
