Innovation

It stands with SDG 13, to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact, by working on increasing awareness of a more ecological way of waxing. It stands with SDG 12 to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns" as waxing with SugarDoh involves getting rid of disposable tools such as strips or sticks, which are tools used in traditional methods. In addition, the containers are made of recyclable products (aluminum and glass) and everything in the packaging, including the tape, is made of paper.

By avoiding the use of chemicals, SugarDoh avoids the use of plastic residues and respects SDG 3 which is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

The SugarDoh product is water-soluble, and it stands with SDG 6 which is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.

Finally, to reduce the carbon footprint, everything is made in the US - reducing the energetic consumption generated by transportation - respecting SDG 7 which is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.

Inspiration

SugarDoh is a woman-owned small business that was developed because of her desire for sustainability. This product is an at-home hair removal option that is compostable. The creator of this sustainable innovation is Aliyah Marandiz. She was a marketing and design major and after becoming burnt out from the corporate world, she decided to take a year off to find her true passion. On her break, she took a Parson school of design course on healthy building materials.

Aliyah then realized that her method of waxing, sugaring, was the best way to wax in countless ways. When interviewed, she says that “hair removal is a continuous thing, so we are either contributing more waste or we have the option to not”. This way of waxing dates to traditional ancient Egyptian waxing methods. The method of sugaring was usually a D-I-Y for many Egyptians at home, but she brought it to the consumer. The product is cruelty-free, has minimal ingredients, little waste, and is planet friendly. Rather than constantly contributing to our landfill with plastic razors, strip waxing, and other products used just to wax one person, SugarDoh is compostable.

Aliyah felt that as one person “it is so hard for an individual to make a difference” but learning more about climate change and other issues on our planet, made it easy for her to develop this product. Not only is her product sustainable, but she tries to maintain this through her whole process. The product is in a glass container or aluminum which is better reused than plastic. Furthermore, her products are packaged with paper, and she minimizes her carbon footprint by manufacturing everything in the United States.

Overall impact

SugarDoh uses sustainable and healthy building materials with plant-based alternatives. It also promotes greater prioritizing of sustainability in hair removal care. Aliyah sees sustainability as a multi-dimensional vision and aims to make net positive decisions over the long term. The sugar wax revolutionizes the hair-removal product market, allowing more sustainable production and consumption. Overall it creates happier consumers, feeling more natural and confident in their own skin (guilt-free)! The outcome is a cleaner and greener earth.

Business benefit

Sugardoh creates a product that is always in need. For those who chose to use this for hair removal, it is a healthy way to get rid of their hair. From a business perspective, it has a great opportunity for customer retention if their customers like their product, since hair grows back consistently and extremely fast. Compared to a plastic razor, Sugardoh’s product is much more sustainable. For consumers of health products, Sugardoh gives the most natural and healthy way for people to deal with hair removal.

Social and environmental benefit

The social benefit of SugarDoh is the relief people feel knowing that they can remove their body hair with little harm to their skin. Other skincare products in general tend to have ingredients in them that are harmful to the skin. SugarDoh removes the worry of using questionable products to remove hair from the skin.

The environmental benefit of SugarDoh is the wax being compostable after use, the product’s container being easily recyclable by using glass, paper packaging in shipment, and sustainable transport to customers by being manufactured in the US which means that there is less carbon footprint.

Interview

Aliyah Marandiz, Founder

Watch video on YouTube