Glass Versus Plastic

Cocoon Apothecary uses glass bottles for environmental reasons, health reasons, and to extend the shelf life of our products. We use amber glass to prevent sun exposure that may degrade the therapeutic properties of the botanicals inside.

Plastic is a huge health concern. It leeches into products and exposes our bodies to hormone-disrupting chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA) and pthalates, which may lead to breast cancer, prostate cancer and sexual development issues in babies. Humans have used glass for thousands of years, there are no health concerns whatsoever.

Plastic does not get recycled - it gets downcycled, meaning it gets turned into a different product such as fabric or flooring. The demand for these secondary products is lower than our use of plastics so the majority (76%) of these bottles end up in the landfill after all - for hundreds to thousands of years. Glass is 100% recyclable and can be turned into more glass bottles. Plastic comes from petroleum, a dwindling non-renewable resource that has caused enormous amounts of conflict and environmental degradation all over the world. Glass comes from sand, an abundant resource.

Plastic is polluting our oceans and destroying marine life by choking and trapping them. It is estimated that 100 million marine mammals and turtles in the north Pacific Ocean are killed every year by plastic. Plastic pollutes in every way imaginable, from depleting the ozone layer to changing DNA structure in cows.