Did you know that the US beauty industry created 7.9 billion units of rigid plastic in 2018 alone? But only 9% of plastic gets recycled. The remaining 91% is burned (creating air pollution), sent to landfills, or ends up in the environment where it makes its way into our food and water.
If you are shocked by these numbers, you are not alone. Many beauty consumers were also shocked and founded new brands to reduce plastic packaging. Three promising trends have emerged: zero-waste beauty, waterless beauty, and refillable beauty.
This post contains affiliate links.
Zero-Waste Beauty
Zero-waste beauty aims to eliminate beauty waste. While many brands tout themselves as zero-waste, few (if any) actually are. Some brands call themselves “zero-waste” if their packaging is recyclable. This relies on buyers recycling. And we’ve already learned how little is recycled. It also doesn’t account for production waste and shipping materials.
Products without packaging come closest to zero-waste. Lush’s Naked line comes unwrapped. You can get solid shampoo bars, scrubs, massage oils, their famous bath bombs, and more, all without packaging.
Some products come in compostable packaging. That’s right. After you use them up, just toss the packaging in your compost pile. It will be gone in mere months. Ethique is one of my favorite brands that uses compostable packaging. If you aren’t ready for their solid beauty bars, try one of their solid concentrates. Just mix with water using whatever container you already have on hand. They even have a few cleaning concentrates.
Waterless Beauty
Completely eliminating waste is difficult, if not impossible. Waterless beauty reduces waste with concentrated formulas. Formulations without water take up less volume and need less packaging.
Waterless beauty comes in various forms, including balms, oils, nut butters, solid bars, and powders. Some of these, like face oils and body butters, are used without water. Others, like shampoo bars and mask powders, are used with water.
Because they are concentrated, you get more use out of waterless beauty. One Ethique shampoo bar equals 3 bottles of shampoo. A 2-ounce package of StyleFox mask powder makes 20 face masks.
Another benefit of waterless beauty is that less product results in less carbon emissions during shipping.
Refillable Beauty
Brands like L’Occitane and Rahua already sell refills. Kjaer Weis designed all her makeup packaging to be refillable. Buy a compact once and use it over and over again with refills.
Many refills come in plastic pouches. You still need to pour the product into your reusable bottle. However, brands like Plaine Products and Ace of Air look to replace this with returnable bottles. With returnable bottles, your order comes with a return label. After you finish your lotion or shampoo, return the bottle. They sanitize and refill the bottle. Then send it off to the next customer.
Loop by Ulta launched last month and extended this concept to even more brands, including Dermalogica, Burt’s Bees, and Melanin Essentials. Loop by Ulta sends your products in a sturdy reusable tote. You return your empties in this same tote.
More Trends to Follow
These are only a few ways beauty is responding to the environmental crises our world faces. Palm oil-free products and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil seek to end deforestation caused by palm oil production. ĀTHR Beauty pledges to only use ethically sourced mica that doesn’t use child labor.
Earth Day is April 22. For many, this is the only day of the year that they think about their impact on the environment. If you’re ready to make this Earth Day different. If you’re ready to reduce your footprint, beauty is a great place to start. It’s a small step, but it can have an impact. And it will make it easier for you to adopt other earth-friendly habits.
Learn more about adopting a sustainable beauty routine at Beauty and the Planet.
