Manufacturing Sustainability
The Making of a Cartridge Razor System
There are many ways to skin a cat (or remove hair from your face and body, in this case), but standing out from the crowd can be difficult without consumers having access to adequate information about what makes a “thing” better than another “thing.” So, I would like to educate and inform on these nuances.
I'll avoid talking about electric razors, and even the trendy ye-olde rebooted safety razors for the moment, and focus singularly on disposable cartridge razor systems. That is: A hopefully durable and sanitary handle (which you retain), utilizing replaceable cartridges (which you throw away).
I think we've beaten the 'big razor gimmicks' point to death for the moment in prior posts, so I am just going to focus on the manufacturing and packaging processes.
Handles:
Most handles begin their lives as ABS plastic pellets which will be mixed with pellets of various color tints, then forced into a highly-specialized plastic injection mold in a mass-production array to create the structural spine of the handle. Once cooled, the mold opens and this large batch of parts drops out. If silicone nubs, texture or skins are to be a component of the razor, these are sheathed onto or fused into the spine next (or as a secondary process within the mold before it opens, depending). Often times chrome or other brushed metallic applique is also added for appearance, being fused, glued or snapped onto the handle. When done, it is not uncommon for up to six materials being used in a handle. Plastic, spring steel, stainless steel, silicone, chrome, zinc alloy, etc.
Where pivoting parts and/or spring-loaded functionality is needed, these are generally added at this point via a machine and then tested. When fully assembled, the handle is now ready for packaging and moves on to meet up with whatever cartridges will be included.
Cartridges:
Leading commercial cartridges with five blades also begin in a highly-specialized injection mold. The plastic base material of the cartridge is hot-fused to the silicone whisker bar, and the lubricating strip is also added. Once cooled, the blade array is installed by assembly robotics into the opening of the cartridge base, and snapped in. Any spring-loaded components are finally inserted, and the cartridge goes down line for capping, or insertion into a tray for final packaging. When done, it is not uncommon for up to six materials being used in a cartridge. Plastic, spring steel, stainless steel, silicone, chrome and aluminum holder bands.
When ready, these products are often packaged in colorful blister display packs or tin, plastic or cellophane gift packages by specialized machines.
Whew! What a process! All for a damn razor!
Now, let's look at an UNO.
Handles:
An UNO handle begins its life as raw T-6061 aircraft grade aluminum, which is set in a 5-axis CNC machine and the handle and clasp are machined via precision milling bits, individually. After they are done being milled, they are then media(sand)-blasted, by hand, for texturization and anodized for hardness and durability (a procedure common to firearm parts, aviation parts and other hard-wear precision parts). When finished, an UNO handle is still only one thing... 100% aluminum metal.
Cartridges:
The UNO cartridge itself is only two things: Plastic and stainless steel.
The cartridge begins its life as plastic pellets which go into a highly-specialized injection mold which feeds our ready, premium razor blade into the mold. The mold closes and fuses the two halves of the cartridge, sandwiching the blade perfectly between the halves. The parts are then released from the mold when cooled, capped and then bagged in recyclable baggies by specialized assembly line robotics.
The complete final product is packaged by hand and uses mostly recyclable packaging of cardboard, cardstock and some plastic for the seal.
Let's compare only the handles now.
From what you read above, which process do you think is less polluting and has a lower environmental impact?
Here's a hint... the more polymeric shit one adds to a product, the more assured you can be that it's unrecyclable. From the get-go, the big razor companies are creating a product which cannot be recycled because they are fusing multiple polymers of shit... with other shit (ABS, polycarbonate, silicone, chrome plating, metals, etc.). Once these different materials are fused together the landfill is, in-fact, the only place they can wind up because they are now impossible to separate for recycling.
Our handle is a homogeneous piece of aluminum. 100%. Aluminum metal which is then blasted and anodized for toughness: like a combat-ready M4, bud. Nothing about what we do adds material to this precision instrument. It is thus NOT, by contrast, a rubberized and unrecyclable hot turd that drops out of an injection-mold.
And now what about the cartridges?
Here again, from what you just read, which process do you think is less polluting, and has a lower environmental impact?
An UNO cartridge is but two things, and two things only. Stainless steel and plastic. Do you think, from what you just read, that the big razor companies could ever get close to having a recyclable, or even a bio-degradable product which they would consider their premium model, anytime in the near future? The answer is: hell no. By the very manufacturing certitudes and product designs which are the most profitable for them... there is no f-ing way in hell that they can achieve even a biodegradable flagship product, let alone a fully recyclable one. Any 'sustainability' future goals or promises to the contrary, by them, are lies because all of their engineers and any other sane individuals within their organization simply KNOW they cannot do it. They may come up with a token biodegradable model because of public pressure, but it will in all likelihood be analogous to a Chevy Volt compared to a Corvette, so they can steer you away from buying it.
At UNO though, we have a real path to achieving it for our front-running product. Why? Well, our handle already is 100% recyclable. And our cartridge is, again, only two things. Steel and plastic. We are currently testing out hemp, corn and soy-based plastics for our cartridges because we are committed to creating a future cartridge which is both premium and bio-degradable. And one day we will get there.
One day, a used UNO cartridge will be decomposing in the soil. On that same day somewhere, five thin ribbons of quick-dulling weak-ass stainless steel, arranged in rows like Venetian blinds in a big chunk of plastic and silicone will be thrown in the trash. That hunk of shit will also wind up in a landfill but, unlike the future UNO cartridge, it will still be there in the year 2450.
More info about how UNO is already achieving environmental leadership in the cartridge razor industry today can be found HERE.