United & Free Touts ‘No Unnecessary Ingredients, Products or Plastics’

United & Free, which launched at the beginning of 2022, was created and co-founded by Brandon and Kaleena Morrison, a brother-sister team from Canada.

With sustainability at the core of the brand’s mission, their goal was to reduce the amount of plastics used in the bathroom by creating multi-purpose products that work double-time to simplify one’s self-care routine. United & Free products are fully vegan, cruelty-free, and gently formulated for extra sensitive and easily irritated skin. 

All products and packaging can be reused, composted or recycled, giving discarded materials a second life. The products are made in Canada, and United & Free says they “responsibly source their packaging with partners from China.”

Secondary packaging is 100% sustainable and made from the waste of sugarcane-based products. The manufacturing process of sugar creates a by-product known as bagasse, which is highly compostable (in most commercial composting facilities) and has a lower impact on the environment.

The product names are debossed in the secondary bagasse packaging for a unique look and feel, which translates to earth-friendly at first glance. Sustainable-based wording and symbols appear on the reverse of the easily disassembled, protective carriers, which hold the attractive periwinkle-hued jars.

The multi-functioning Softening Balm was designed to treat dry cracking skin and redness, soften stretch marks and scars, and hydrate and soften dry hair, coarse hair and beards. The Soothing  Oil is meant to ease irritation around ingrown hairs and razor burns, with a secondary usage of helping prevent splitting or breaking in hair. 

Both products flaunt: No unnecessary plastics: Glass vessel with 50% PCR lid; and No unnecessary ingredients: Made without parabens or petroleum.

Sustainability Goals

United & Free's Brandon and Kaleena Morrison say they launched with the best of intentions.

“Our initial goal in starting United & Free was to have a company that created ‘more good’ in the world. So, we asked ourselves what was truly important to our community and to us. We chose to do this with skincare because of the amount of products on the market filled with unnecessary ingredients. These products could be more efficacious, natural and sustainable.

“Sustainability is one of the biggest driving factors in our brand. With over 100 million tons of plastic entering the waste cycle yearly, we knew we had to take a deep look at the vehicles for our products."

Using Sugarcane Bagasse

"Choosing a material such as bagasse as our outer packaging, we created a second life for a waste material that can be easy to break down, highly compostable and renewable."

"In our research, we came across an article from Biocycle that stated, “Every 1,000 tons of sugarcane processed produces approximately 100 tons of sugar and generates approximately 250 to 270 tons of bagasse. Unused bagasse waste in its raw form is either burned at facilities or collected as waste."

"So finding a way to repurpose this material felt like something that really fit within our company. Our sugarcane bagasse is SGS tested. Our packaging follows the SGS chain of custody certification of FSC-certified paper, paperboard and pulp. All parameters comply with the requirement stated in the Food and Drug Administration Regulations." 

“Finding new ways to create beauty from what was once waste, giving it a second life and a new purpose, is how we, the Earth, and oceans will heal.”

Plans to ‘Do More Good’

United & Free was awarded the Business of Good Awards: Most up and Coming in 2022 by BCBusiness Magazine. They plan to continue the momentum and do more good for their customer and our planet.