More About Us
The Sourcing
Our razors are made in China in a modern facility with very good worker conditions and energy efficiency standards. Our shaving soaps are made in the USA. We also launched Albatross Europe based in Lombardia, northern Italy in 2020, and are looking to manufacture our Take Back Ware in Italy in the next year.
Making sure our actions overseas are at the same level if not better than any possible in the US was our first goal when we were first going about finding where to produce our razors. For example, China is de-carbonizing their electrical grid much, much faster than the United States. Moreover, we have quarterly audits of working conditions and employee happiness at our factory. That factory is newer and cleaner than anything we’ve been able to find in the US as of now, and allows us to keep our razors more affordable for more people, which is a critical aspect of our entire sustainability platform. Enough people need to be able to afford to try something sustainable if a real, meaningful change is going to happen.
The Sustainability
Following our mission to be as sustainable as possible, we make sure that all of our packaging is minimal and plastic-free!
The Spark
In Samuel Coleridge's famous poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a ship captain unnecessarily kills an innocent albatross and hangs it around his neck only to be cursed with a great deal of misfortune and bad luck for his wrong deed. Before Coleridge's poem changed the metaphor of the albatross, the albatross was seen as a good luck symbol.
Albatross Designs is built around a desire to take back the metaphor of the albatross. If we give nature the respect it deserves, good fortune will follow. The albatross is a remarkable bird. Capable of flying thousands of miles over open ocean, this majestic animal has inspired sailors old and new.
It is quite the sight, one's first albatross. Welcome into our philosophy, where we seek to build the lifestyle of the future by designing impactful physical and virtual sustainability solutions.
DESIGN + SAILING: How we came to be.
Our story begins with our passion for sailing and sailboat racing. It was on the sea and in the wild that the destruction of so much natural beauty became apparent. It was also on the sea where we learned the value of purposeful living. When underway one cannot escape the necessity of valuing the limited resources like water, food, and fuel with the utmost respect and care. For to run out of clean water is to die. These facts of sailing lend themselves nicely to the larger issues threatening the environment and climate. Sailors consume resources like everyone else, but many of us can get by with a lot less.
A good sailor knows how to fix his boat. A boat has all kinds of systems: energy, plumbing, cooking, rigging, etc. Well, because of this, we've gotten pretty good at building/ designing a wide variety of things, and now we've begun to apply those skills, and others developed on land, to making beneficial impacts wherever we can.
The Differentiator
What really sets Albatross razors apart is our affordability. We aim to make plastic-free living affordable and accessible to all, and we also believe in eliminating the disparity between pricing that men and women pay for the similar products (on average women will spend roughly 11% more than men for essentially the same plastic razors and cartridges).
Another unique feature of our brand is our Take Back Program for razor blades. The Albatross Blade Take Back Program aims to collect the used blades with the goal to upcycle them into new products, and close the loop for a waste-free product cycle. Our first product made from the upcycled blades is our Take Back Ware, our practical and classical utensil set, created to help combat the 100 million plastic utensils thrown away each day in the US and displace the use of single-use plastic cutlery.
The Favorite
Our most popular product is our traditional butterfly razor. This is not only a favorite amongst customers, it is also the go-to razor for most of our team.
The Motto
SHAVING the World from Plastic with Style and Grace!
Albatross Designs
About the Brand
Albatross Designs is the world’s first zero waste shaving company. We’ve helped prevent millions of plastic razors from being thrown away over almost a decade of shaving excellence. Our primary goal is to create products that build a culture of sustainability. Protecting the planet is more than a way to make a living for our team; it’s a spiritual pursuit.
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