Dr. Peirson wants you to know: ArtMed is Green & Clean
How is ArtMed Green & Clean?
At ArtMed we take environmental concerns very seriously. It informs many of the decisions that we make. It is part of the reason that we undertook the extensive renovations to our current location at 381 Woolwich. Reuse and re-purposing of an existing building and careful renovation with an eye toward efficient energy use systems were key to the setup of our clinic. But it’s the products and services we choose to bring into our clinic that has the largest environmental impact.
When I consult with new patients I frequently discuss the rationale as to why we carry the products that we do. We all know that the environmental mantra is reduce, reuse and recycle. In a medical clinic we have limitations on what we can we can safely re-use and recycle. However, we do this where we can such as using cloth gowns and towels versus paper. It’s in the domain of reduce (greenhouse gas emissions) where ArtMed can most effectively minimize its carbon footprint. And it happens with respect to the various products we offer – fillers, toxins, skin care as well as technology.
So how do we do this?
As I said, the largest environmental impact isn’t what happens in the clinic. It happens out there in the world before a product comes to us. At ArtMed we understand that there are certain factors that greatly increase the environmental impact of a product. These include:
– how far a product travels to get to us and the complexity of its handling
– how much packaging a product has
– product’s corporate office location
– medical device manufacturing location and practices
These issues greatly inform what goods and products we use and sell at ArtMed and have a huge impact on our environmental footprint. Let me explain with a few examples.
We carry both Botox and Xeomin in our clinic. Botox is the well-known brand and many of our new patients come to us already using Botox and it is a good product and so we provide it. However, Xeomin works equally well (97% “worth it” rating on RealSelf.com), is clinically equivalent and has been available in Canada since 2009. Xeomin, however, generates 100 times less greenhouse gas emissions than Botox. Xeomin is the only neurotoxin that doesn’t need refrigeration or frozen transport, reducing the waste and environmental impact associated with the extra packaging required during cold transport (so much extra cardboard and styrofoam) and the temperature-controlled shipping requirements (refrigerated trucks, warehouses, in-clinic refrigeration etc.). Xeomin also happens to have a great easy to use rewards program too .
Revanesse is a line of hyaluronic acid fillers manufactured in Ontario (almost all dermal fillers are made from hyaluronic acid including Juvederm, Restylane and Belotero). In fact, Revanesse is the only dermal filler manufactured in North America! Prollenium is the company that manufactures Revanesse in Aurora, Ontario. Their manufacturing facility employs a fully automated process in a clean room environment with sterilization, packaging and quality control taking place in-house. The site is ISO 13485 registered as well as Health Canada and CE approved. When a company and its head office are located in Canada it produces good jobs here and pays its corporate taxes here. And taxes are important when it comes to funding government led environmental initiatives. Many large pharmaceutical companies have their head offices in tax havens such as Ireland or Switzerland. ArtMed wishes to support companies that keep jobs and corporate taxes in Canada. Revanesse also has a generous rewards program.
Similarly, ArtMed carries just two skin care lines – AlumierMD and Vivier. Vivier is entirely Canadian based with its manufacturing facilities and head office in Quebec. AlumierMD is UK and Canada based and manufactures its product in North York, Ontario. When skin care is manufactured locally it isn’t transported on ships, or airplanes (both huge green house gas emitters.) Because AlumierMD and Vivier manufacture nearby their sensitive pharmaceutical ingredients are less likely to be impacted by excessively long or inconsistent warehousing conditions or temperature and pressure variables over a long shipping route. AlumierMD adheres to a minimal packaging ethic so the great majority of its products have no extraneous boxes or packing materials. Additionally, AlumierMD and Vivier are the only pharmaceutical grade skin care lines available in Canada to have Health Canada approval for all their products. This assures you are buying products of consistent medical grade quality with proven effectiveness.
AlumierMD also has an online store (with free shipping) thus saving you car a trip when you need to purchase more product (less car = more green).
When it comes to technology ArtMed carries state of art medical lasers from leading manufacturers such as Sciton, BTL Aesthetics and Bausch (Solta). We aim to offer premium services which means utilizing premium quality devices.
On the environmental side, premium quality means optimal engineering and best quality manufacturing practices. Sciton lasers (BBL, Halo, Profractional) are manufactured and custom built by hand in Palo Alto, California. BTL Aesthetics (Vanquish, Cellutone) devices are manufactured entirely in-house at their European facility in order to control supply chain quality; their head office is in Prague, Czech Republic. Bausch Health Companies owns Solta (Thermage, Clear & Brilliant) and is based in Laval, Quebec. All three of these companies are leaders in research & development, employ high quality in-house manufacturing with strict adherence to health and safety best practices and the adhere to highest environmental standards.
Many devices in the aesthetics market today are copycat and manufactured in China. China is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and much of the pollution is attributed to the manufacture of goods destined for western countries like Canada and the US.
Buy quality, where possible buy local. The environment will thank you.
