Page 27 - Bain Capital Double Impact - 2020 Year in Review

CASE STUDY
A Personal Stake in Sustainability
The personal care and beauty industries are saturated with products full of consumer trade-offs. Enticing products with compelling consumer claims are often delivered through supply chains that harm ecosystems and communities around the world, in packaging that damages the environment, and formulated with ingredients that are harmful to consumers.
Hand in Hand (HIH) was founded in 2011 on the belief that there was a better way of doing business. Conscious of the detrimental impact that mass-produced products had on communities and individuals, Hand in Hand crafted soap and other personal care products using only clean ingredients and eco-friendly packaging, thus helping to create accessible alternatives for environmentally and socially conscious consumers.
HIH continues to push the boundaries by considering the consequences of the production and consumption of its products. The company’s product offerings are environ- mentally friendly, made of infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging, vegan, cruelty and palm oil -free. As communi- ties across the globe continue to suffer from the impact of mass-produced personal care and beauty products, HIH is offering consumers a personal stake and opportunity to drive positive, social change with a robust Give Back program that aims to save lives through access to good hygiene and clean water for each bar of soap purchased.
Palm Oil is a leading ingredient in many products, including food, personal care, detergents, and more. It is a prevalent ingredient that can be produced with little cost, and yet has destructive environmental and social consequences.
Malaysia and Indonesia currently produce 85% of the world’s supply of palm oil which destroys large swaths of rainforests, displaces indigenous peoples, employs indentured labor, releases significant carbon dioxide by disturbing carbon sinks and reduces biodiversity by driving animal species, like orangutans, towards extinction. As a consequence, HIH does not use palm oil across its portfolio of products and is com- mitted to educating consumers on the devastating environ- mental and human rights abuses in the palm oil industry.
HIH understood that considering the entirety of its impact on the environment is key, including its packaging. Some 8 million tons of plastic pour into oceans annually, according to Plastic Oceans International. HIH is one of the first to package its liquid hand soap products in colorful, beautiful, infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging, with plans to ex- pand this highly sustainable packaging into other categories.
Since inception, HIH has further outlined its commitment
to driving positive social change by offering a robust Give Back program that aims to save lives through access to good hygiene and clean water. For every product purchased, Hand in Hand donates a bar of soap and clean water to a child in need. Over the past 10 years, the Company has donated over 13 million bars of soap and provided thousands with access to clean water.
HIH is at the forefront of environmental and social stewardship, formulating clean products that are both better-for-you and more environmentally sustainable. The company’s leading impact credentials in natural personal care present a compelling opportunity to drive significant social and environmental impact as the Company scales.
80%
of Indonesia’s CO2 emissions caused
by deforestation, making the tropical nation the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases
8
million tons of plastic pour into oceans annually
~50% of the goods we use everyday in the
United States contain palm oil.
Source: https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/8-things-know-about-palm-oil
Bain Capital Double Impact Year in Review – 2020 27