Alex Merlino's Personal Journey with Eco-Friendly Consumerism & Greenwashing
Bee Wild Outsides' passion for eco-friendly consumerism is deeply rooted in the story of our founder, Alex Merlino. Her interest in launching a brand focused on reusability stems from her realization that pure eco-consumerism is harder to find than it seemed.
The impact of greenwashing, and the greenwashed products millions of consumers have unknowingly continued to use, is one of the environment's biggest challenges. And Alex Merlino has witnessed this first hand.
To dig deeper into the details of eco-friendly consumerism that inspired Alex, we took some time to interview her about her own story. Here's the journey that led her here:
Alex, when was the first spark of your passion for climate action and a healthy planet ignited? Did it begin as early as childhood?
I grew up in Los Angeles in the late seventies and early eighties. As a competitive tennis player, I would spend hours playing outside in the smog filled air. My lungs would burn, and my chest would ache due to the poor air quality. It was the first time I realized how human activity was negatively impacting the climate, which in turn was jeopardizing the health and wellness of individuals.
Yikes! It's pretty eye-opening when you start to feel the impact of pollution to your own body. This makes me wonder about the influence industry is still having on our planet. When was the first time you realized you were seeing or using a "greenwashed" product? Did you feel betrayed, shocked, disillusioned?
I lived in NYC in 1989 when recycling became mandatory. As someone who has been focused on reducing excess waste for most of my life, I was enthusiastic and deeply supported the program.
A few years later, I remember walking by an open warehouse in an industrial section of Brooklyn where I saw thousands of square feet of recycled paper boxes and newspapers stacked to the rafters. It was so obvious that paper products were coming in but few if any were leaving. Recycling was already broken; no one had figured out the end of life for these materials. It’s why 30 years later only 9% of recyclable plastics get recycled.
“Recycling” gave conscientious shoppers a pass to keep consuming. If 30 years ago municipalities or corporations had invested in the technology needed to support recycling, or instead supported campaigns to reduce or reuse, we wouldn’t be drowning in a sea of plastic today.
It's clear that recycling systems aren't doing enough - at least so far. I wonder what we could do better. How did you begin implementing eco-friendly consumerism in your own lifestyle? Was it difficult or more complex than expected?
I read the “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins twenty-five years ago and have been a vegetarian (now vegan) ever since. He put into words everything I was feeling about our food system; the American diet negatively impacts health, is brutally cruel and unethical toward animals, and is destroying our ecosystem. It was the first and the most impactful eco-friendly lifestyle change I’ve made.
It's a big shift! What areas of your life have been touched by your increased planet/climate awareness? Does it influence the way you travel, eat, communicate...?
Being conscientious of how our actions impact the climate is a journey. Small shifts to a lifestyle make significant impacts over time. I’ve been thinking how my personal choices impact the climate for decades; just about every aspect of my life has seen change. Here are three areas I’m always working on:
Diet is HUGE. I try to buy as much local produce as possible to fuel my vegan diet. Santa Fe has a dynamic year-round farmer’s market with a diverse selection of vegetables, herbs, grains, honey, breads… it’s divine. Single use plastic produce bags are an issue, so I have reusable bags and try to avoid buying any prepacked produce. This year I'm focused on reducing food waste, it's my newest challenge. Just a few tweaks to buying/storing habits and we've already reduced our food waste by 30%
Personal care products are a problem. I’ve embraced some interesting zero-waste products like Bite Toothpaste Bits and byHumankind refillable deodorant, but when it comes to my beauty routine, I struggle to find truly sustainable brands. My tried and true is Dr Hauschka products- they use great ingredients that come in glass bottles or aluminum tubes. I always look for clean ingredients and sustainable packaging.
Travel is where I need the most work. We are a one car family. I walk or ride a bike when I can, so I’m doing okay on the local front... BUT I travel great distances for work and am heavily dependent on flying. The pandemic put a stop to air travel, but as work ramps back up I’m rethinking what is necessary.
You've touched on this a bit, but we're wondering... Recycling is already very established: why a focus on reusability?
Even if the technology was in place to support wide-scale plastic recycling, there are many reasons why reusing is just better for the environment. For starters the quality of plastic, unlike the infinitely recyclable aluminum, degrades after being recycled. A single piece of plastic has limits to how many times it can be recycled.
Resources like energy and water are used when dismantling and re-manufacturing a recycled product. Most recycled products, especially plastic, are not made from 100% recycled materials and require some raw materials. Hence, reusing instead of recycling a material saves energy, water, and natural resources while reducing waste and pollution.
Great insights! And how has this journey culminated in the creation of Bee Wild Outside?
In 2019 I was diagnosed with skin cancer, which forced me to deal with my love/hate relationship with sunscreen. I wanted a sheer, non-greasy, mineral, and reef-safe sunscreen formula in sustainable packaging that was convenient for travel.
After testing over 100 sunscreens and not finding what I wanted, I decided to develop Bee Wild Outside, a new sun care brand created for people who love to be outdoors. It’s a mineral lotion formula in a compact container, convenient for reapplying. Not only have we created a sunscreen that's soothing and comfortable for your skin, but we've designed a packaging system that’s waste free, so the product is good for you and the environment.
Join the Movement!
We're grateful for the vision, ideas, and deep empathy that Alex has brought to Bee Wild Outside. Her energy and hopeful determination provide a big foundation for our mission here.
Want to follow along on our journey? With our first product launch right around the corner, don't forget to join our newsletter and keep up with The Buzz! And remember we love hearing from you guys. If you have ideas, questions, or want to share your own journey into eco-friendly consumerism, sustainable living, and planet health, we want to listen!
