Plastic-free and sustainable
An organic body scrub that exfoliates with sugar and salt, never plastic microbeads, so nothing harmful washes down the drain
The most important thing a plastic-free body scrub gets right is the exfoliant: many scrubs still use plastic microbeads that wash into waterways, while the best use natural grit instead. Sippo Mint Condition exfoliates with unrefined sugar and pink salt, never plastic, and is made of eight organic, food-grade ingredients. Used two to three times a week, it smooths and hydrates without sending plastic down the drain. It is a genuinely lower-impact choice, made in small batches in Sydney.
Most people are surprised to learn that the scrubbing beads in many body scrubs are plastic. Tiny polyethylene microbeads, too small to be filtered out, wash straight into rivers and oceans where they persist and absorb pollutants, which is why several countries have banned them. The fix is simple and older than the problem: exfoliate with natural grit. Mint Condition uses sugar and salt, so the scrubbing part dissolves harmlessly, and the rest of the formula is built to match.
Written and reviewed by Dan Bartley, co-founder of Sippo · Last reviewed June 2026The pick
matcha mint body scrub
How it compares
| What matters for a plastic-free scrub | Sippo Mint Condition | Conventional |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic microbeads | Never, sugar and salt instead | Still common in many scrubs |
| Exfoliant dissolves harmlessly | Yes, food-grade sugar and salt | No, plastic persists in water |
| Synthetic fillers and detergents | None | Common |
| Organic, food-grade ingredients | Yes, all eight | Rarely |
| Small-batch, local production | Yes, made in Sydney | Usually mass-produced offshore |
| Vegan and cruelty free | Yes | Variable |
What's inside, and why
Found in: Mint Condition body scrubWell establishedSaccharum officinarum
The plastic-free exfoliant. Unrefined whole-cane sugar gives a fine polish and dissolves harmlessly in water, with natural AHAs for a gentle chemical assist (Tang & Yang, 2018). The direct replacement for plastic microbeads.
Found in: Mint Condition body scrubTraditionalHalite
The coarser natural grit for rougher areas, a mineral that dissolves away rather than persisting like plastic. Traditionally used as a body polish long before microbeads existed.
Found in: Mint Condition body scrubWell establishedCocos nucifera
A plant oil that moisturises in place of synthetic emollients, supporting the barrier and reducing water loss (Evangelista et al., 2014). Food-grade and biodegradable, like the rest of the formula.
Found in: Mint Condition body scrubWell establishedSimmondsia chinensis
A single natural oil that conditions like your own sebum without clogging pores (Pazyar et al., 2013), where many products reach for a blend of synthetics. Simple and biodegradable.
How it adapts
| Target | How it solves it | Key ingredient | What you'll notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoiding plastic microbeads | Sugar and salt exfoliate instead | Rapadura + pink salt | No plastic washed down the drain |
| Wanting it to still work well | Natural grit exfoliates just as effectively | Multi-grit polish | Smooth skin, no compromise |
| Avoiding synthetic fillers | Plant oils and real actives only | Eight organic ingredients | A simple, biodegradable formula |
| Caring about how it is made | Small batches, made in Sydney | Made in Australia | Lower-impact, local production |
| Wanting cruelty-free and vegan | No animal products or testing | Certified vegan | Lower-impact on every front |
Routine pairings
A lower-impact scrub pairs naturally with a tea that thinks the same way.
mandarin berry hibiscus tea
Good Times, like all our teas, comes in plastic-free pyramid bags with real, organic ingredients and no added sugar or flavours. A bright, antioxidant-rich cup that carries the same low-impact thinking from your shower to your kettle.
See Good TimesPeople also ask
In many, yes. Tiny polyethylene or polypropylene microbeads have long been used as cheap exfoliants. They are too small to be filtered by water treatment, so they wash into rivers and oceans, which is why countries including the UK and others have banned them in rinse-off cosmetics. Mint Condition has never used them.
Yes. Sugar and salt have been used to polish skin for centuries and they exfoliate just as effectively, with the bonus that they dissolve harmlessly instead of persisting in the environment. You lose nothing in performance by skipping the plastic.
The formula is eight organic, food-grade, biodegradable ingredients with no synthetic fillers, it is vegan and cruelty free, and it is hand-blended in small batches in Sydney rather than mass-produced offshore. We are always working to improve, but the ingredients and the making are genuinely lower-impact.
The plastic-in-scrubs problem, in depth
For decades, the cheapest way to add exfoliating grit to a scrub was tiny plastic beads, usually polyethylene, uniform, cheap and effective. The problem is what happens next: at well under a millimetre, these microbeads slip straight through water-treatment filters and into rivers and oceans, where they do not break down, are eaten by marine life and absorb other pollutants along the way. The scale was large enough that countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and others have banned microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics, but they still turn up in products sold elsewhere.
The fix is not new technology, it is older than the problem: exfoliate with something that dissolves. Mint Condition uses unrefined rapadura sugar and pink Himalayan salt, both food-grade, both effective polishes, and both of which simply dissolve in water and wash away harmlessly. The sugar even adds a gentle chemical exfoliation through its natural AHAs (Tang & Yang, 2018), so you get a better result than plastic beads ever gave, with none of the environmental cost. Performance was never the reason for the plastic, cost was.
Skipping microbeads is the headline, but a genuinely lower-impact scrub has to follow through. The rest of Mint Condition is eight organic, food-grade, biodegradable ingredients: plant oils instead of synthetic emollients, real peppermint, cacao and matcha instead of synthetic fragrance and dyes (the green tea catechins are well studied on skin, Katiyar et al., 2001; the coconut oil supports the barrier, Evangelista et al., 2014). It is vegan and cruelty free, and it is hand-blended in small batches in Sydney rather than shipped from a large offshore factory. No product is perfect, and we keep working at it, but from the grit to the making, this is built to tread more lightly.
Tang, S.-C., & Yang, J.-H. (2018). Dual effects of alpha-hydroxy acids on the skin. Molecules, 23(4), 863. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23040863
Supports the AHA exfoliation mechanism. Discusses AHAs at formulation strengths above what raw rapadura sugar delivers, so the page applies the mechanism, not the magnitude.
Evangelista, M. T. P., Abad-Casintahan, F., & Lopez-Villafuerte, L. (2014). The effect of topical virgin coconut oil on SCORAD index, transepidermal water loss, and skin capacitance in mild to moderate pediatric atopic dermatitis. International Journal of Dermatology, 53(1), 100-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.12339
Topical virgin coconut oil reduced transepidermal water loss and improved skin hydration versus mineral oil (mean SCORAD reduction 68% vs 38%). Population was paediatric atopic dermatitis, not the general body-skin user; cited for the barrier and hydration mechanism.
Pazyar, N., Yaghoobi, R., Ghassemi, M. R., Kazerouni, A., Rafeie, E., & Jamshydian, N. (2013). Jojoba in dermatology: A succinct review. Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia, 148(6), 687-691.
Reviews jojoba's close similarity to human sebum, its non-comedogenic conditioning, and anti-inflammatory action. Review-level evidence, not a single large trial.
Katiyar, S. K., Afaq, F., Perez, A., & Mukhtar, H. (2001). Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate treatment of human skin inhibits ultraviolet radiation-induced oxidative stress. Carcinogenesis, 22(2), 287-294. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/22.2.287
Direct evidence that topical EGCG reduces UV-induced oxidative stress in human skin. Used a purified EGCG preparation, not a sugar scrub; cited for the antioxidant mechanism.
Keep exploring
Sugar and salt, not microbeads. A cleaner scrub for you and the water. Love it in 30 days or it's on us.
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