Evolution of Smooth is an environmentally friendly company with a vision that designs balms and body care to be unique and fashionable. This couldn’t be more true! From their colorful designs, fun shapes, and amazing flavors and scents, eos has seriously changed the body care industry. Since eos is focused on creating safe and naturally sustainable ingredients, they have also partnered with TerraCycle which aims to promote recycling and reducing waste from any eos based products. How cool is that?
Next, I survey the survivors. I’m able to pardon a few of my favourites that have recently become fully recyclable thanks to deals with TerraCycle, a U.S. company that specializes in dealing with hard-to-recycle waste. The plastic packaging for both Eos lip balms and Weleda Skin Food products can now be mailed to TerraCycle for free (you just have to sign up online for a postage-paid envelope). I can return my tube of L’Occitane en Provence hand cream and Province Apothecary toner, including the spray pumps, to their respective stores to be taken care of. And, mercifully, a few of the natural skincare brands I love come in recyclable glass bottles, so my serums are safe.
A few weeks ago, I stood in my bathroom, casually contemplating what mascara to wear that day. I have several options in rotation; there’s the eye-opening full volume mascara (which I’m convinced makes me look less tired), the waterproof one (I think it was drizzling outside, so I was tabling that option), my classic brown-black for when I go au natural-ish…
But as I surveyed my stash—and the surrounding mountains of makeup and skincare on the counter—a wave of eco-anxiety washed over me. Perhaps all of this was a little much? Suddenly, all those great products looked more like a massive pile of would-be beauty trash. At first, I felt a bit sick. Then, I was inspired to do something about it. As an experiment, I decided to go zero-waste for an entire month. And yes, it was about as difficult as it sounds.
It’s time to #breakupwithplastic
If you’ve ever seen the image of a seahorse clutching a used cotton swab by wildlife photographer Justin Hofman, you know where I’m going with this. Our oceans are living—or more to the point, dying—proof: Disposable beauty consumption is out of control.
“By 2050 we’re going to see more plastic in the ocean than fish [by weight],” says Kelsey Scarfone, water programs manager at Environmental Defence Canada, a national non-profit eco advocacy agency. Need a frightening factoid that hits a little closer to home? “Even in the Great Lakes we’re seeing the same level of plastics,” she says.
And we’re not exaggerating when we say that the consequences are dire. According to Scarfone, “when plastics break down the problem becomes even more insidious—we’re now seeing microplastics in our food supply.” Sure, plastics from personal care products account for just part of the problem, but all of those bottles, tubs and tubes do add up.
Recycling isn’t as effective as you think
If you think all that plastic is getting recycled just because you toss it in your blue bin, you’re fooling yourself. All told, only 11% of our plastic waste in Canada is successfully making its way through the recycling system. This is due to recycling program inefficiencies, poor consumer compliance—meaning people aren’t rinsing out their containers first, or throwing them in the recycling bin at all—and plastics that simply aren’t recyclable in the first place.
That last one is a huge problem. Yes, the technology may exist to recycle these plastics somewhere, but there’s no guarantee that your municipality’s curbside recycling program can accept them. For example, the City of Toronto can’t accept black takeout containers because they’re the same colour as the conveyer belt at the sorting plant, which makes it difficult for the plant’s technology to “see” them.
And here’s where it gets even more confusing. There are two types of recycling symbols: Resin identification codes have three flat arrows and a number in the middle, while Mobius loops have three twisted arrows and no number. It’s very easy to mistake a resin identification code for the recycling symbol, but these codes only indicate the type of plastic—they don’t necessarily mean it’s recyclable. Environmental Defense is currently lobbying for a national strategy to make the system easier to understand and stop so much plastic from ending up in landfill or the environment. (You can help by signing their petition.)
My new approach: Reduce, refill, and yes, recycle
I begin my mission by Marie Kondo-ing the heck out of my beauty counter. Everything that’s in a plastic or no-good landfill-destined container is shelved for the month. (For the record, I will use them up later. It would be pretty silly to toss a perfectly good, albeit plastic-clad, hair mask in the name of waste reduction.)
Next, I survey the survivors. I’m able to pardon a few of my favourites that have recently become fully recyclable thanks to deals with TerraCycle, a U.S. company that specializes in dealing with hard-to-recycle waste. The plastic packaging for both Eos lip balms and Weleda Skin Food products can now be mailed to TerraCycle for free (you just have to sign up online for a postage-paid envelope). I can return my tube of L’Occitane en Provence hand cream and Province Apothecary toner, including the spray pumps, to their respective stores to be taken care of. And, mercifully, a few of the natural skincare brands I love come in recyclable glass bottles, so my serums are safe.
But recycling is only part of the solution. The next frontier in the sustainable packaging story is bulk beauty. I buy a box of glass bottles with stainless steel pumps on Amazon and take them into eco+amour, a sustainable living boutique in Toronto’s east end. “I’d say that half of our customers come in carrying a kit with Mason jars and a definite plan,” says co-owner Sarah Marcus, who is also co-founder of local natural beauty brand, Lines of Elan. Though the shop sells beautiful glass bottles you can fill with bulk shampoo, conditioner, body wash and more, they also keep a stash of sterilized jars behind the counter, which customers can borrow. “A lot of customers leave with a refill even though they didn’t come in with anything,” says Marcus. And as it turns out, buying in bulk isn’t just good for the environment; it’s also cheaper. You save between $2 and $5 on most of the refill products they carry.
Living that sustainable life is not without challenges
There’s definitely some beauty behaviour modification required to make this zero-waste ethos work, and it doesn’t end at refillable jars. It’s going to take some extra effort to mail back my empty face creams and lip balms to TerraCycle, for example. And I miss single-use makeup wipes.
But face, body and hair care were relatively easy changes to make, and this new focus on packaging has lead me to some incredible discoveries: For one, I’ve swapped my old Sunday self-care sheet masking routine for a powder mask (Odacité Synergie Masque) and am loving my new glow. When the bottle is empty I can toss it in the blue bin—or upcycle it into a flower vase, suggests Laura Townsend, marketing director for The Detox Market, which sells this and many more sustainably packaged beauty products. “The Miron glass is so stunning, we use these as flower pots at home,” she says.
The *real* challenge turned out to be makeup. The options aren’t exactly abundant when it comes to even near zero-waste cosmetics, and that’s especially true for people with darker skin or complexion challenges. Elate Cosmetics, for example, has one of the largest sustainably-packaged lines—its products come in compostable bamboo compacts and refills are wrapped in seed paper—and they still only have eight shades of foundation (which claim to cover up to 16 skin tones). I can probably do with fewer makeup options, to be honest. (Four weeks ago I counted 18 tubes of lipstick and gloss in my makeup mountain… and I almost always wear some variation of nude, anyway.) But that is certainly not the case for women of colour, as Fenty Beauty has proven.
My favourite zero-waste beauty discoveries
Over the course of the past month I’ve slowly curated what you might call a cosmetics capsule collection. It’s everything I need, and nothing more. My new makeup tray generates less waste, leaves more space on my bathroom counter and probably saves me time every morning—I no longer debate which mascara to wear, because there’s only one. (It’s Kjaer Weis lengthening mascara, BTW. It comes in the sleekest refillable stainless steel tube and wears as well as my old favourites.) And yes MK, this new routine is sparking major joy.
eos is an active member of the Global Shea Alliance (GSA)—a non-profit industry association that promotes industry sustainability, quality practices and standards, and demand for shea in food and cosmetics. Also a part of GSA’s Sustainability Working Group, eos products support the use of Shea from registered cooperatives in West Africa, as well as assist in the development of sustainable practices and women’s empowerment by providing a critical source of jobs and income for women Shea collectors.
Additionally, Eos is partnered with TerraCycle, the global leader in recycling complex materials, to make recycling eos products less complex while substantially reducing the amount of waste contributed by the products.
As someone who receives and purchases a ton of beauty products, I’ve always wished there was a way to be less wasteful when I finish them. That’s why I was so stoked to find out that when it comes to eos products, you actually can be more eco-friendly!
Here’s the scoop: you can ship empty eos packaging TerraCycle and earn 100 TerraCycle points for every pound of products that you send. What to do with those points? Use them to redeems gifts or donate them to your favorite school or nonprofit!
If you’re wondering what happens to those empty eos containers, get this: they can be recycled and reused to make things like park benches or bike racks. Cool, huh?
More than half of Americans admit they throw away beauty products. Keep your out of the landfill with these simple changes.
Many companies are making the switch to eco-friendly packaging and incorporating more plant-based ingredients into their products. But there's also another side of green beauty, and it has to do with keeping unwanted purchases and used-up packaging from piling up on our planet. Here are five ways to shop smarter and give back to Mother Earth in the process.
Can’t reach the serum in the bottom of the jar? If a cotton swab doesn’t get it, consider a tool designed to keep products from going to waste. One to try: Recoup Beautiscoop, a wand with two spatulas that fit through the neck of small bottles. But don’t try to thin out the formula. “Water seriously impacts a product’s efficacy,” says Annie Jackson, cofounder of clean beauty brand retailer Credothis link opens in a new tab. Better to turn a bottle over, give it a shake, then let gravity do the rest
Buy It: Recoup Beautiscoop, $11this link opens in a new tab
Recycle Your Empties
Plastic bottles with an imprint of the number 1, 2, or 5 within a triangle are typically recyclable. Their caps, however, may not be. “Cosmetic packaging with mixed materials like metal and plastic are notoriously difficult to recycle,” says Ashlee Piperthis link opens in a new tab, an ecolifestyle expert. Happily, stores like Origins and Credo will recycle caps, empty tubes, and compacts—no purchase necessary. Some brands (like Burt’s Bees, L’Occitane, and Eos) have free recycling programs through TerraCyclethis link opens in a new tab, a company that creates new products from old packaging.
Give Away Old Products
Contact a local shelter to see if it will accept unopened or gently used products. Or send them to Project Beauty Sharethis link opens in a new tab, which will distribute lightly used products (depending on the kind) to marginalized women. Piper recommends disinfecting anything that has been in contact with your skin with a mist or two of rubbing alcohol. (Put it in a spray bottle for mess-free cleaning.)
Reconsider the Packaging
Avoid hard-to-recycle materials by looking for items with minimal packaging, such as bar soaps that often come wrapped in recyclable paper. Lush sells solid bars of skin-care staples like cleansers, toners, facial oils, and serums. If you’re stuck with nonrecyclable packaging, repurpose it. A small plastic tub that held eye cream, for instance, could hold jewelry, other tiny items, or even beauty products when you travel. “I clean small containers and fill them with my face cream when I’m traveling instead of going out and buying travel-size containers,” Piper says.
Learn the Beauty Aisle Lingo
Knowing the meaning of the words on product packaging can help you make better-informed shopping decisions. Here's a guide.
Organic: Products labeled “organic” contain at least 95 percent organic agricultural ingredients. Those claiming “made with organic ingredients” must have at least 70 percent.
Clean: There’s no regulated definition, but it most often means the formula is free of controversial ingredients, including parabens (a common preservative), sulfates (a cleansing agent), and phthalates (often found in synthetic fragrances).
Vegan: No animal by-products, such as honey and lanolin, are in vegan products.
Cruelty-Free: This indicates that the formulas and ingredients weren’t tested on animals. The gold standard is the Leaping Bunny Programthis link opens in a new tab, which audits brands’ supply chains. PETA’s cruelty-free seal requires a written statement affirming the company doesn’t test on animals.
So, you’ve decided to go plastic-free. The only problem is, you’ve spent these many years accumulated plastic products, single-use or otherwise. Your bathroom is full of plastic shampoo bottles, the fridge has tons of food in plastic containers, who knows what other plastic products are lurking in the living room, your work desk, and otherwise? Maybe you’re wondering: What the heck should you do with all the plastic you already have?
This is where Terracycle comes in! Terracycle is a privately-owned U.S. recycling business that accepts tons ofhard-to-recycle materials. More than 80,000,000 people use Terracycle and together, users have recycled 4,104,054,370 items that otherwise would have went to the landfill.
Terracycle recycles nearly everything; from coffee capsules and pens to gloves and makeup containers, Terracycle collects from individuals and companies alike, diverting tons of pounds of unrecyclable, non-biodegradable waste from landfills.
Registering for Terracycle is completely free. After registering, browse through the website to find the right recycling program for you. There are tons! Just to name a few, there is a fabric care recycling program, which collects products and packaging like #5 PP plastic laundry bottle caps, #2 HDPE rigid plastic laundry bottles, and paperboard laundry care packaging.
That’s only one example; Terracycle has so many recycling programs: a free drink pouch recycling program on Walmart.com, an Eos recycling program, a red Solo cup recycling program, and more. Other programs include Febreze bottles, Flonase, energy bar wrappers, Tom’s of Maine natural care products (like the toothpaste at Trader Joe’s!), and Barilla pasta.
After signing up for the individual recycling programs that make the most sense for your household and the waste you create, Terracycle will email you a prepaid shipping label. (Alternatively, for some recycling programs, Terracycle will provide a drop-off location, but most are send-away.) Adhere the prepaid shipping label to a box full of the products you’d like to recycle, then ship it out. Terracycle will reward you in a points system and eventually, you’ll get rid of all that plastic!
During the holiday season, Terracycle offered a Holiday Bonus Bucks program in conjunction with Feed America. Frequent Terracycle recyclers were able to give back to charity the more points accrued. Just 50 Terracycle points provides a meal for an American family facing hunger. Alternatively, if you have a different charity you’d like to donate to, instead of Feeding America, you were able to specify which one you’d like to contribute to.
We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
1. A copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up because the first step to a truly decluttered space is actually getting rid of stuff — and this will show you how.
I mean yes, you can also totally watch the Netflix show an learn everything you need to know to get started! But the book's packed with extra motivation and tips. (Although I don't think it's the end-all be-all of how to live, I've used her system for my clothes and shoes, and it really does work.)
Promising review: "It's soaked with knowledge and super inspiring! As a chronically messy person, this book completely changed my perspective on 'tidying,' what to throw away or get rid of, and how to find joy in your space again, how to reclaim it! Honestly pretty awakening, and I think absolutely everyone could learn something from it." —rainydayshopping
Get it from Amazon for $10.45, Barnes & Noble for $10.58, Indiebound, or find a copy at your local library.
(If the whole system seems a little — or very — impractical to you, though, I also recommend Rachel Hoffman's Unf*ck Your Habitat, $15.29 on Amazon).
2. A Zero-Waste Box from Terracycle, where you (or you + your neighbors, or high school, or dorm) team up to buy a box that you then stuff with hard-to-recycle items, and mail back to Terracycle to be recycled.
Yes, basically you're paying for your stuff to be recycled (the reason your curbside collection doesn't take all of the things = recyclers want to make money. If they can't make money on it, then you have to pay for it to happen). Read more on Terracycle, and order a small "everything" box (well, almost everything) for $184, or a beauty products and packaging pouch for $41.
There are also tons of free recycling programs through Terracycle, where the companies pay for you to recycle the stuff you bought from them (that your municipal program won't accept). And these aren't only hippie/earthy brands! They include Colgate, eos, Febreeze, Flonase, Hasbro Toys, and many others.
Beauty editors and writers are used to getting late-night (or early-morning or literally 24-hours-a-day) texts with zero context and burning questions. No, we don't mean of the "U up?" variety. These inquiries are about skin freak-outs, product recommendations and makeup mishaps... and we've seen 'em all. With that in mind, we welcome you to our series, "Fashionista Beauty Helpline," where we address the beauty questions we get asked most frequently — and run them by experts who really know their stuff.
The beauty editors' "U up?"
Whether because of a now-regretted subscription to a monthly beauty box, short-lived fling with a 10-step K-beauty skin-care routine or a minor obsession with YouTube makeup tutorials, chances are you're the (not-so-proud) owner of more moisturizers, serums, powders and palettes than you can possibly use. And let's not forget that these things expire! But before you clear off that #shelfie and pare down your products, it's best to have a game plan in place — ideally one that doesn’t involve a trash bin.
There are three main options for decluttering your beauty collection the eco-friendly way: reselling, donating and recycling. The right choice for you depends on the specific products you have on hand; whether they're brand new, gently used or mostly used; and just how generous you're feeling.
WHERE TO RE-SELL UNWANTED BEAUTY PRODUCTS
"Recommerce" has all but taken over the fashion industry, and the second-hand shopping trend is extending its influence into the beauty space, too; with sites like Poshmark, eBay and Glambot all allowing beauty products to be bought and sold via online platforms.
To unload unused (as in, never opened and never swatched) beauty products, head to Poshmark or eBay. Both platforms are user-friendly and give you full control of your products, from the pictures to the price. Simply start an account, snap a few photos, upload them to site with a short description and wait for the sales roll in. While Poshmark doesn't allow the sale of liquids of any kind (that includes nail polish and perfume), eBay is a little more lenient with its guidelines: Unused fragrances and aerosols, like hair sprays and dry shampoo, are fine to sell and ship domestically.
But your used skincare and cosmetics aren't necessarily destined for the dump. Glambot, an online marketplace for all things makeup, accepts both brand new products and those that are "up to 50 percent used" — including sample sizes — but the site does have a pretty specific set of guidelines. It only takes items from a handful of high-end beauty brands (no drugstore steals here) with labels in "sellable condition," and doesn't accept products that fall under the umbrellas of hair care, body care, nail care or full-size fragrance. The platform handles product uploads and shipping for you, though, which is a bonus. To sell through Glambot, you can request a prepaid shipping label and mail in a "sell package" for consideration. According to the company, "Sell packages must contain at least 20 full size, qualifying items; international packages must contain 30."
If all else fails, check out Reddit: The community content platform boasts Skincare Exchange and Makeup Exchange pages with tens of thousands of users, where you can share any item, new or used, with community members who may be willing to buy or swap products.
That being said, it's very much worth noting that dermatologists warn against buying or exchanging used beauty products through Glambot and Reddit (or by any other means, for that matter). "Unless the 'used' product is in its original packaging, unopened and not expired, sharing skin-care or beauty products of any sort is not recommended," says Dr. Neil Sadick of Sadick Dermatology. "Our skin is a great host of personalized bacteria; whether we have acne, or eczema or an untidy bathroom dresser, the bacteria grow and thrive, especially in dark containers within a moist environment." Something as simple as not fully closing the lid on a face mask or testing the feel of a new makeup brush can spread these microorganisms. "You don't know if the used lipstick will give you a cold sore, or the mascara an eye infection," Dr. Sadick says. In other words, it's better to be safe than sorry.
WHERE TO DONATE UNWANTED BEAUTY PRODUCTS
If you're not concerned about earning cash for your cosmetics, donation is the way to go. And while foundations like Goodwill or The Salvation Army don't actually accept beauty products, there are plenty of speciality charities across the country that do.
Share Your Beauty, an offshoot of the Family to Family organization, launched in 2014 with the help of beauty influencer Lara Eurdolian of Pretty Connected. The initiative distributes unopened, unused beauty and personal care products to "homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and foster care agencies," according to Pam Koner, the Executive Director of Family to Family. The organization works directly with skin-care, makeup and hair-care brands, as well as industry influencers, to collect excess product; but it also accepts donations from the general public. "Individual donors can ship their beauty products to us or leave them at a drop off point in New York City," explains Koner.
Another option for new, unused and non-expired self-care products is Beauty Bus, an organization that brings in-home and in-hospital beauty services to those "whose illness or condition prevents them from accessing a salon." The donated beauty items are used for both pop-up salon treatments and goodie bags, so that every client ends their service with a beauty-boosting care package. Donations can be mailed to the organization’s headquarters in Santa Monica, California.
If you're saving a stash of cosmetics you've only used once or twice, Project Beauty Share can help you downsize. The charity accepts "lightly used" skin care, cosmetics, hair care and hygiene products and distributes them to disadvantaged women across the country when you ship donations to their Washington sorting center.
The easiest option? Check in with local homeless and women's shelters in your area to see if they accept personal care drop-offs, and make a philanthropic pit-stop on your next lunch break.
Just keep in mind that even if an organization accepts used beauty products, it's never charitable to donate your germs. Anything that comes in a jar that you dip your fingers into shouldn't be given away — it's just too risky. The same goes for cream blushes and eye shadows (bacteria thrives in cream formulas but can't survive in powders), mascaras and anything applied directly to the skin with a wand, like lip gloss. These products are best passed along to friends and family members (hey, they might be more inclined to overlook the germ factor) or tossed.
WHERE TO RECYCLE UNWANTED BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Here's a not-so-fun fact: Most cosmetics are considered "hazardous waste," which means you shouldn't dump the remaining contents of a nearly-empty product down the drain or rinse empty beauty containers in the sink, where they can contaminate the water supply. Instead, call your local disposal center and ask if it accepts cosmetics as hazardous waste. If it doesn't, make sure to dispose of the contents directly into a trash bin destined for a landfill, and wipe down the container with a paper towel in lieu of rinsing it out.
As far as packaging goes, recycling is key. "Each year, more than 120 billion units of packaging contribute to one quarter of landfill waste, much of it produced by the global cosmetics industry," says Gina Herrera, the U.S. Director of Brand Partnerships at TerraCycle. "The complex plastics of squeeze tubes, cream tubs, eyeliner and mascara wands, body wash bottles and powder compacts can take over 400 years to break down in a landfill." That's exactly why TerraCycle exists. The national recycling program accepts virtually all makeup, skin-care and hair-care packaging — from bottles to pumps to trigger heads — and makes sure each piece gets recycled through the proper channels.
TerraCycle offers a few different ways to take advantage of its planet-saving services. One is the Zero Waste Box program. "Individuals can purchase a box specially designed for beauty products and packaging," explains Herrera. "When the box is full, they return it to TerraCycle with a pre-paid shipping label for recycling." Or, you can drop off your #empties to a participating TerraCycle location. Through a partnership with physical L'Occitane stores, "We have a network of convenient drop-off locations across the country for consumers to drop off their empty beauty packaging," says Herrera. TerraCycle simply asks that all excess product has been removed and that the packaging is not wet when sent in or dropped off.
Once your bathroom cabinets are free and clear of clutter, the final step is to keep the first initial of "the three Rs" in mind: reduce. And when you do need to restock your #shelfie, turn to brands that actively offer sustainable solutions. "Currently TerraCycle is working with EOS, Burt's Bees, L’Occitane and Garnier, to name just a few," Herrera reveals (and you can find more eco-friendly brands here). "Through their relationship with us, all of these brands have created a viable system to recycle their packaging and help save the environment."
Eos Products, known for its lip balms, shave creams and hand and body lotions, has partnered with TerraCycle, a global leader in recycling complex materials. TerraCycle gives eos a platform for North American consumers to have their eos products recycled into durable materials, such as park benches, picnic tables and bike racks.
I mean yes, you can also totally watch the Netflix show an learn everything you need to know to get started! But the book's packed with extra motivation and tips. (Although I don't think it's the end-all be-all of how to live, I've used her system for my clothes and shoes, and it really does work.)
Promising review: "It's soaked with knowledge and super inspiring! As a chronically messy person, this book completely changed my perspective on 'tidying,' what to throw away or get rid of, and how to find joy in your space again, how to reclaim it! Honestly pretty awakening, and I think absolutely everyone could learn something from it." —
Yes, basically you're paying for your stuff to be recycled (the reason your curbside collection doesn't take all of the things = recyclers want to 