In this Q&A, we hear from Joshua Goodman (pictured below), co-founder and CMO of by Humankind, a personal care brand trying to reduce the global dependence of single-use plastic waste. He tells us about the brand's recent achievement of a net-zero carbon footprint, what other brands can be doing to follow by Humankind's example, and what the brand's future holds. 

Can you explain by Humankind and the brand's mission, to us?

Our mission is to make great personal care products that reduce single-use plastic waste in our daily routines, without sacrificing the quality or convenience we've rightfully come to expect in our modern lives. The only way we can successfully combat the global crisis of single-use plastic waste is together, as humankind. Our daily routines are a perfect focal point to tackle the plastic crisis because the repetition from our daily actions adds up over time. Our products are designed so anyone can meaningfully reduce their plastic waste footprint, just by getting ready in the morning. Together, our individual efforts ladder up to real impact.

You have recently achieved a net-zero carbon footprint (congratulations!). Why was this important to you, and how did you do it?

Carbon emissions are a reality for all companies, regardless of their mission. For us, our CO2 emissions result from a combination of our supply chains, production, office space, and fulfilment of our products to our community. To provide solutions to one crisis while contributing to another never sat right with us, and we pledged to ourselves within our first year we would achieve a net-zero carbon footprint & maintain that moving forward in perpetuity. We looked at a variety of paths to achieving carbon neutrality. Most important for us was that our efforts would be reasonable, transparent, and scalable. We ultimately teamed up with our friends at Pachama, a group of California-based engineers and scientists who, like us, believe that restoring forests represents the most effective solution to recapture carbon from the atmosphere and reverse the effects of climate change. Pachama helps connect forest project developers with carbon offset buyers like us. Through advanced technologies such as machine learning, satellite and light detection and ranging, we are able to monitor our impact in the forest carbon projects we participate in. 

Joshua Goodman, co-founder & CMO, Humankind

What steps should other B2C brands be looking to reduce their carbon footprint?

Corporate carbon offsetting is not a new concept, but as we went through the process it was clear that becoming carbon-neutral is relatively new in practice. There are several paths to get there, but step one is determining how carbon-neutrality fits into the ethos & mission of the business. Next, it’s critical to understand your carbon footprint across the supply chain, production, fulfilment, etc. both at present and projected for the future. Once that’s clear, it is important to find like-minded partners. This could be either directly with forest project developers or through an intermediary.

Is carbon neutrality something that's important to your customers? How will you convey this new achievement in your marketing and communications?

Our customers care deeply about their individual impact on our planet as well as the impact of the larger by Humankind community. We first shared the news on our Instagram and published a bit of background on our decision and process on our Medium page. We plan to convey that we are a carbon-neutral company throughout our web experience.

What's next for by Humankind?

We are constantly launching new products that take a more responsible approach to the personal care products we use in our daily routines. Further, we are continuously iterating on our existing assortment based on customer input to further optimise the in-routine experience of our product. We’re also working on a handful of strategic partnerships with brands outside personal care to help them to reduce single-use plastic waste in their respective industries.