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4 gestures to adopt for a responsible beauty routine
4 actions to adopt for an eco-responsible beauty routine
1. Look for zero waste products. From conditioner to facial scrub, more and more personal care is offered without packaging. 2. Small containers = perfect for the plane! Is our eye cream finished? We collect the jar and fill it with our favorite moisturizer on our next trip: it will fit perfectly in our hand luggage! 3. Avoid single-use products. Although practical, they are a real scourge for the environment. We swap our disposable makeup remover pads for a machine washable set. We leave the masks in individual format and choose the good old version in a jar (preferably in glass). 4. Favor large formats and bulk products. It is a gesture not only economical, but which considerably reduces our plastic consumption.Recyclage 101: which product goes where?
These major lines are memorized to transform the once tedious recycling chore into child's play. Please note: the packaging of beauty products that cannot be recycled in our municipality can often be recycled through TerraCycle. We go to his site ( terracycle.com ) to get the correct time. Plastic bottles "All plastics are recyclable, except those on which the number 6 is stamped [figure found in a small triangle under the packaging] and on which there is nothing indicated", underlines Jean-François Lesage , planning advisor in the Direction of residual materials management of the City of Montreal. He reminded us that we have to clean our containers for hygienic reasons before sending them to sorting centers. Pumps and pipettes They do not recycle. So, if one of our products has one of these tips, we unscrew it and dispose of it before putting the container for recycling! Makeup As the cases of our cosmetics are often made of several materials that are difficult to separate from each other, they generally do not recycle. "Laminated tubes [a type of flexible plastic packaging often used for foundations and make-up bases] are also not accepted," says Jean-François Lesage. Mascara The tube, too difficult to clean, does not recycle. The brush is washed in soapy water and sent to the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge ( appalachianwild.org ), an organization in North Carolina that uses it to clean the fur of small, vulnerable animals. . Aerosols As a safety issue, they cannot be recycled through the usual municipal recycling system. "Aerosols and pressurized containers can explode if they are heated or punctured," says our expert. We do not despair! They are accepted in eco-centers and when collecting hazardous household waste. Makeup brushes Like makeup cases, brushes do not mix with recycling because of the range of materials that make them up (plastic, metal, bristles, etc.). Before saying goodbye to them, we probe our surroundings to find out if a friend might need them, or we give them a second life by adding them to the children's artist's kit or using them as nail brushes, for example! Glass containers "Glass is fully recyclable and can be repeatedly collected without ever affecting its quality," said Alex Payne of TerraCycle. It makes it one of the most eco-friendly materials. ” Warning! In the case of a perfume, we make sure to separate the bottle from its atomizer, since the latter does not recycle. Nail polish As the containers are almost impossible to clean, they cannot be recycled directly - they are part of the category of household hazardous waste (HHW). So we bring them to the ecocentre nearest to us. Cleansing wipes Unless they are biodegradable - we could then compost them - they take the garbage path."Pamper the next one"
If for various reasons (an impulse purchase, perhaps?) Unused products clutter our pharmacy, we turn to organizations for women in need. We think in particular of the Fairies Marraines ( feesmarraines.ca ), which give the necessary to the teenagers coming from underprivileged environments so that they can be beautiful for their prom, or The stuff of success ( dressforsuccessmontreal.orgAn app to facilitate recycling
Last spring, the company RECYC-QUÉBEC launched the application C'est va Où? The objective: to clarify, according to our municipality, which products are intended for the trash, the recycling bin or the eco-center. The information remains summary, so if question marks persist, we complete our search on recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca. The article 4 gestures to adopt for a responsible beauty routine appeared first on Elle Quebec .How to Properly Recycle Beauty Product Packaging
EMPTY IT OUT
As a rule of thumb, containers need to be rinsed and free of product before being recycled. Fragrances and products like nail varnish, polish remover and aftershave are considered hazardous waste and unsafe for recycling. “Anything that has product left in it should go back to a household hazardous waste depot, where they make sure the materials go in the right place,” says Nadine Kerr, manager of resource recovery for Solid Waste Management Services at the City of Toronto. “It can cause equipment breakdown and hazards for the people who are working at these facilities.” In particular, aerosol cans must be completely emptied and depressurized – failure to remove excess product can cause an explosion while the can is being processed. Waste processing varies between municipalities. In Toronto, the main guide for recycling protocol is the TOwaste app. Elsewhere, check with your local municipality.DON’T JUST HOPE FOR THE BEST
Chucking your empties, even if they’re thoroughly rinsed, into the blue bin simply doesn’t cut it. “Aspirational recycling” refers to when “consumers aren’t sure if something’s recyclable or if it will get recycled because maybe it has some product in it, but they put it in anyway because they want to give it a chance,” says Michael Waas, global vice president of brand partnerships at TerraCycle. When not separated, mixed-component packaging – even if made up of entirely recyclable matter – can’t be processed by most municipal recycling streams. “The line will kick out [contaminated] products, and usually the products surrounding them, because they’re operating very quickly and with a huge volume,” says Waas. Facilities are ill-equipped to sort through the tiny components (think multi-part pumps and caps) found in cosmetic vessels and their packages. Coils and spiral bindings, such as the ones found in pump bottles, cannot be recycled by municipal recycling streams and belong in the trash.UNDERSTAND THE SIGNS
The Mobius loop – an international recycling symbol – does not guarantee a product will be recycled through your city’s stream. However, the numbers within the loop indicate the type of plastic used in the product. “The good news is if you have a container that has a number five or one, that product is all made of a single resin,” says Kerr, and that means those products are easier to recycle. Look out for number seven plastics – they’re often made up of multiple resins, making them more difficult to recycle.NOT THE ANSWER
On the surface, biodegradable plastics may seem like a miraculous solution to the waste crisis, but packaging made of polylactic acid (a common biodegradable plastic derived from corn) won’t decompose unless it’s processed at a high-efficiency composting facility. “Biodegradable packaging doesn’t add a lot of value to the compost, and, as a result, composters don’t really want it,” says Waas. “The only sustainable solution is designing single use [plastics] out of the equation.”BUY GREENER
Use your purchasing power to put the onus on brands to streamline the recycling process. “Recycling is an economics challenge in that there is a technical recycling solution for absolutely every product and package,” says Waas. “The question is whether it makes economic sense for it to be recycled.” Most non-recyclable waste is considered as such because the cost to collect it exceeds the price for which the recovered material is sold. TerraCycle, the global recycling program behind Loop, has collection programs with brands like Caudalie, Weleda, Burt’s Bees and EOS, which are willing to absorb those costs. Return your brand-specific empties either by mail (free of charge) or in-store, and they will be remoulded into new products. If you aren’t brand-loyal, companies like L’Occitane, The Detox Market and Deciem have also partnered with TerraCycle and accept any product packaging at select locations. This article originally appeared in the April 2020 issue of ELLE Canada.Ditch Responsibly! How to Get Rid of, Donate or Sell Anything in Your House the Right Way
EARTH-FRIENDLY BEAUTY PRODUCTS
- Lush has a “less is more” philosophy for packaging. Your body will love their ingredients, your heart will love their handmade goods and the earth loves their minimal packaging. Available in store and online.
- Meow Meow Tweet’s products, if used properly, go a long way and their products and cardboard packing are biodegradable. Available online and at Target.
- Love Beauty and Planet packages their products in post-consumer recycled plastic to reduce waste. Our favorite products are their fast rinsing conditioners (which help save water during showers) and their aerosol free hairspray. Available online, at Target and
- Seed Phytonutrients uses shower safe cardboard that can be separated from their minimalist plastic containers for easy recycling. Their paper packaging is compostable, and every product includes a seed packet that you can plant in your backyard! Available Online.
- Ethique knows that bar products are safer on the environment than products stored in plastic bottles. All their products (including their shampoo) are in long-lasting bar form. Available at Amazon.
- Splat Naturals Semi-Permanent Hair Color offers anything but natural colors, but they use minimal packaging and healthy ingredients, so have fun picking an outrageous shade to express your vibrant personality. Available online.
Buy the biggest bottles possible.
Purchasing one extra-large bottle saves a lot of plastic compared to buying multiple smaller bottles.Not all packaging is recyclable.
Terracycle.com allows you to recycle your beauty products for free. Just join, collect your used beauty products, download a free shipping label and send in your waste to be recycled. The following beauty brands are a part of their program:- Burt’s Bees
- Gillette and Venus Razors
- Tom’s of Maine
- Garnier
- EOS
Beauty Packaging Goes Green
TerraCycle
Garnier
Include USA
Tom's of Maine
l’Occitane
Loop
Burt’s Bees
Herbal Essences
Weleda
Josie Maran
LimeLife By Alcone
Eos Products
Packaging Goes Green
TerraCycle
Garnier
Include USA
Tom's of Maine
ZWB
l’Occitane
Loop
Burt’s Bees
EOS
Herbal Essences
Weleda
Josie Maran
LimeLife By Alcone
‘NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL RECYCLING PROGRAM’
2019 in review: From Rihanna’s lingerie line to Aldo’s smart shoeboxes, fashion, beauty and retail became more inclusive and sustainable
20+ Eco-Friendly Gifts for a More Sustainable Holiday Season
Sustainability is the best gift you can give this year.
BY KATIE BOURQUE
Dec 16, 2019
Here's the dilemma: You want to find the right gift for your dad, your grandma, and maybe even your pet — but what you don't want to do is contribute to all the unnecessary waste that occurs during the most wonderful time of the year. In fact, one study found that we throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day than any other time of the year. Yikes. So if your idea of the perfect gift includes being kind to the environment, then you're in the right place.
People throw around words like "environmentally-friendly," "green," and "earth-friendly" — but the Good Housekeeping Institute prefers the term "sustainable," which means that there is at least one specific way that the product benefits the environment in the long run. "Sustainability, for us, is using the Earth’s resources in such a way that future generations can meet their needs," explains Birnur Aral, Ph.D., director of the Health, Beauty & Environmental Sciences Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. So the products on this list all have at least one sustainable attribute, if not more.
If you're looking to gift sustainable clothes, check out our list of the best sustainable fashion brands, but if you're in the market for stocking stuffers, white elephant gifts, and other last-minute presents, our sustainable holiday gift guide features the best eco-friendly gifts you can buy in 2019: