The story behind our glass bottles (and why plastic is harming your health)
Hey Heart & Soil Tribe, it’s Doug, Chief Operations Officer here.
Picture this: It’s summer 2020, and Heart & Soil HQ is buzzing with the kind of energy unique to startups (and beef liver enthusiasts).
With prototypes of our supplements and a desire to make work as fun as possible, we set out to conduct what would become legendary here at Heart & Soil: the dropkick test.
And yes, it’s exactly as it sounds:
Now at this point you’re probably wondering what the heck we were doing…
But you need to understand that since the very beginning, we’ve been unwilling to compromise on the quality or purity of our products.
And for us, that meant putting our products in glass bottles instead of plastic.
But this was no easy task…
Because from a shipping and manufacturing point of view, plastic bottles are cheaper, easier and more convenient.
Our manufacturers begged us to use plastic bottles.
Because they have these machines with massive hoppers, and they can just fire the plastic bottles into the hopper, and they come out neatly filled with capsules.
But you can’t do that with glass. Instead, someone has to stand there and feed the bottles into the machine by hand.
Plastic bottles are also much easier from a shipping perspective because there are no worries about breakages.
So back in 2020, we were experimenting with all sorts of packaging, like air pillows and bubble wrap to stop the glass bottles breaking.
And that brings us back to the infamous dropkick tests… 🏈
Let’s just say we broke a lot of bottles before we finally found the Heart & Soil box you’ll be familiar with now:
And when we got that thing and started drop kicking it, it was like, bro, you could heave it against the wall!
We would throw it 30 feet in the air, it would hit the ground and it wouldn’t break!
But this madcap experiment was more than just fun and games. It was a commitment to your health.
Because plastic is everywhere. It’s convenient, it’s cheap, and it’s the go-to for most companies.
But we’re not in the business of easy. We’re in the business of radical health.
The problem with plastic
The first problem with plastics is they leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that interfere with our hormone systems.
The Endocrine Society has reported that there are over a thousand of these chemicals in use today, in a wide range of things we use everyday, including water bottles, food packaging, personal care products, kids toys, and even our clothing which is often polyester, a plastic.
Many of these EDCs are known to be harmful to women’s fertility, and implicated in the epidemic of declining testosterone in men.
The other problem is microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic debris that form when plastic breaks down.
According to this study most people are ingesting 0.1–5 g of microplastics weekly through various exposure pathways including fish, synthetic clothing, food products, beverages, and yes, the plastic bottles their supplements probably come in.
And that’s a big problem that can lead to disrupted hormones, altered gut microbiomes, oxidative stress and more:
This study found that plastic containers can release as many as 4.22 million microplastic & 2.11 billion nanoplastic particles within 3 min of microwave heating.
But here’s the kicker:
“Room-temperature storage for over six months can also release millions to billions of microplastics and nanoplastics.”
We hope you now understand why it was so important we put your Heart & Soil supplements in glass bottles.
Our mission is to guide you to radical health and vitality.
And our glass bottles are a testament to our commitment to your health.
The pushback from manufacturers, broken bottles, and extra time and cost investment has been worth it.
Because we can proudly say we have a premium organ supplement that is truly pure.
So next time you open your box of Heart & Soil supplements, please know that the glass bottle represents a choice – a choice to prioritize your health over convenience, to stand firm against the norm, and to invest in a product that’s as clean and pure as the radical health principles we stand for.
And remember, every choice you make, no matter how small, is a step towards a healthier you. And we’re here to support you every step of the way, with products that are as untainted and nutrient-rich as nature intended.
7 simple ways to reduce your exposure to plastic and improve your health
#1 Ditch the plastic water bottles and lunchboxes and pick up glass or stainless steel alternatives instead – easy peasy but a big game-changer.
#2 Choose fresh animal-based foods over processed, canned and packaged foods which always come in plastic.
#3 Bring your own coffee cup when getting takeout coffee (the takeout cups are lined in plastic (heat + plastic = no bueno).
#4 Choose cotton clothing over polyester (especially important with underwear) This is a fascinating topic in and of itself, that we recently dove into on Radical Health Radio.
#5 Replace the plastic cutting boards with wood (Chopping your food on a plastic cutting board releases millions of microplastic particles into your food).
#6 Store leftovers in glass containers instead of plastic. Never heat food in plastic.
#7 Swap your supplements that come in plastic bottles for our products which come in glass 🫙
That’s all from us this weekend.
Hit us up if you’ve got any questions for us!
The Heart & Soil Team
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