What are ceramic beads?

At My Better Way, our primary goal is to promote a more mindful and responsible approach to consumption, and to offer you innovative alternatives, developed by French artisans and entrepreneurs, to reduce our waste and improve our environmental impact. Today, we're introducing you to the EM ceramic beads from Apothicaire.

EM Apothecary Ceramic is a technology that improves the quality of tap water. Upon contact with this ceramic, the water softens, unpleasant tastes disappear, and limescale buildup is reduced. A truly natural and zero-waste solution, it eliminates the need to buy bottled water and protects your appliances from limescale. It can be used in carafes, kettles, coffee makers, dishwashers, and washing machines.

Made from pure clay and enriched with Effective Microorganisms (EM), this ceramic also helps to prolong the life of plants (cut flowers, plants and fruits & vegetables).

EM Apothecary Ceramics are fired at high temperatures (approximately 1000-1200°C) during manufacturing, giving them exceptional strength and a lifespan of at least 10 years. This technology offers numerous advantages: it is durable, economical, natural, and requires minimal maintenance.

I am Sébastien, an entrepreneur from Bordeaux and founder of the company Apothicaire.

I created Apothicaire based on my own experience. Several years ago, I started researching the microparticles that detach from plastic and realized I was consuming far too many plastic water bottles. I bought bottled water simply because I didn't like the taste and texture of my tap water.

After this realization, I set out to find an ecological, economical, and sustainable solution. I did a lot of research and testing, and discovered EM Ceramics, a technology invented in Japan but better known in Germany and the Nordic countries than in France.

After several successful tests and following the enthusiasm of my friends and myself for this discovery, I decided to promote this technology by becoming an official seller.

Since then, I've converted many people to stop drinking bottled water. I've also developed accessories to get the most out of EM Ceramics, such as a detachable glass water bottle equipped with a stainless steel filter to keep the beads at the bottom, ensuring you can enjoy good water even when you're away from home.

Before we can protect the environment, we must first respect it. Protecting our Earth should be everyone's responsibility, but unfortunately, that's not the case.

Ever since I was little, I've always been struck by how easily some people litter. So if we can reduce this littering, we should be able to significantly reduce our pollution and avoid this kind of problem. The best way to recycle is still to avoid creating waste in the first place.

I have noticed, however, in recent years, that people are becoming more and more aware of environmental problems and that there are affordable solutions on the market to do better in our daily lives.

I try to use reusable products as often as possible, with minimal plastic and packaging, whether it's for grocery shopping or lunch at the office (I use glass containers). When I give gifts, I always wrap them in newspaper or wallpaper scraps—it always makes a nice impression! Why use new paper that's just going to end up in the trash anyway?

Of course, buying bottled water is now a thing of the past for me. Even on my last trip abroad, I was able to easily refill my water bottle at drinking fountains; you can see that attitudes are starting to change!

I buy secondhand items whenever I can, and I give new life to things I no longer need by donating them to organizations like Emmaüs or Le Relais. For my daily commute, I prefer to use a bicycle, and for longer distances, an electric scooter.

If you'd like to test the effectiveness of EM ceramic beads and say goodbye to plastic water bottles, you can find all Apothicaire products HERE.