We already talk about it a lot, it's true! Figures such as Greta Thunberg , Dominic Champagne and Autumn Peltier (do you know her? At 15 years old, this member of the First Nations campaigning to protect drinking water) makes noise to raise awareness and raise awareness among our leaders. And so much the better: their flame makes us want to improve, to pose as models for the youngest and to make informed consumption choices. I asked the members of the ELÉ Quebec editorial team to tell you about their favorite brands that are taking concrete steps to make a difference. Here they are!   Our favorite allies The Lush brand collects our empty jars. After bringing five empty jars to a Lush store , we leave with a free fresh mask. And the company reuses these pots! Same principle at M • A • C , where we get a new lipstick when we bring back six empty tubes. For its part, L'Occitane en Provence, in collaboration with TerraCycle, collects empty containers in its partner shops. So they don't end up at the dump. The most beautiful? Those of other labels are accepted too!   +   At the café-repair My neighborhood workshop in Villeray, you can enjoy a hot drink, borrow tools and get help to repair a broken object - and thus avoid buying something new. We want it everywhere, right? +   Les Trappeuses invite us to make homemade products! All their recipes, like that of the anti-aspi and zero waste coffee grounds exfoliant, are on their site.   + H&M accepts all our fabrics and clothing in stores, regardless of the brand and their condition, against a discount to use at our next shopping session. As for what we have entrusted to the Swedish chain, a second life awaits it, by being postponed or recycled.   +   What do we do with our old winter coat? The Montreal brand Norden offers to take it back for a voucher to repair and resell it or give it to someone in need. And if the garment is irretrievable, it will be 100% recycled.   +   Zara has set up the Join Life clothing collection, which allows us to bring back items that we no longer wear. The house donates them to non-profit organizations, which reuse them.   +   L'Escale verte is an eco-responsible social economy company that sells all kinds of ecological and zero-waste products (beauty, household maintenance, etc.), in addition to providing filling services.   +   The following pages are filled with information, ideas and initiatives that I hope will inspire you too.

欧舒丹倡导绿色环保的护肤理念，与专注废品回收解决方案的创业公司Terracycle合作，有效回收定制护肤品时产生的废料，给予消费者更多的“回收优惠”。

Unless you’d like to see this planet’s wildlife and environment continue to suffer as a result of improperly disposed cosmetics products, then it’s time to start recycling our empty beauty products properly. One way to do that is to check if the plastic container of a personal care product has a number 1 or 2 printed inside its recycling symbol, then it’s safe to go into your curbside recycling. However, if it’s not, we recommend searching for a retailer with a recycling program to ensure your empties are being disposed of without hurting the environment.

Here are 12 places to responsibly recycle your empty beauty products in Toronto.  

   

The beauty industry is embracing innovative solutions for tackling waste–and winning more customer loyalty in the process.   There’s no doubt that the beauty industry does a lot of good, from enhancing personal hygiene and contributing to self-esteem, to giving back through charitable causes. There is also no way to ignore the environmental impact packaging from such a massive business has on the Earth. With plastic taking some 400 years to degrade and filling what’s believed to be more than 70 percent of landfills, the prediction that there’ll be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050 seems devastatingly plausible.   According to TerraCycle, a company that helps brands and individuals recycle and upcycle to reduce the level of unnecessary landfill waste, the global cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging annually, contributing to the loss of 18 million acres of forest each year.   Motivating consumers to recycle personal care items has challenges. For one, it takes extra effort since these products are often housed in bathrooms, away from the standard kitchen recycle bin. TerraCycle reports that 50 percent of people don’t recycle bathroom waste including shampoo and shower gel bottles because they feel it is inconvenient. That said, the industry has taken responsibility in the past and made an impact. “While statistics are dire, the beauty industry has had success stories with the banning of plastic microbeads in the U.S., U.K. and Canada but has plenty of room for improvement to become environmentally friendly,” says Alex Payne, a spokesperson for TerraCycle.   While swapping plastic for eco-friendly packaging may increase manufacturing costs initially, the increase can likely be offset with potential government subsidies and more customers who prefer sustainable packaging. In fact, the decision to "go green" in formulation, manufacturing practices and packaging could pay off big. Fifty-five percent of people polled in a recent report by J. Walter Thompson Intelligence titled The New Sustainability: Regeneration stated they are more likely to buy beauty products if the company claims to be sustainable. Interestingly, the same report found that 77 percent of people think products with a negative environmental impact should cost more.   Recycling and Reusing   A handful of beauty brands including Burt’s Bees, Eos Products, LimeLife by Alcone and L’Occitane have teamed up with TerraCycle to offer consum- ers easy and free options for recycling. Customers can access a prepaid shipping label from TerraCycle’s website, fill any box with the brand’s cleaned waste and ship it out to be remolded into new products. Herbal Essences, Josie Maran, Garnier, Tom’s of Maine and Weleda are also part of TerraCycle’s free recycling solution. For a fee, TerraCycle offers an option for other cosmetic brands in the form of their zero-waste box. Empty eye shadow palettes, lipstick tubes, makeup brushes and deodorant sticks can be shipped to the company, and thus saved from the landfill.   Just this year, TerraCycle launched an intiative called Loop to introduce a new circular shopping system in Paris and select states within the U.S. designed to eliminate plastic packaging. “The world is in a waste crisis and we can’t recycle our way out of it. We must attack the issue at the root cause, which is single-use packaging,” explains Eric Rosen, spokesperson for Loop. The concept of Loop is like a modern-day milkman delivery system, rebooted with loads of items from personal care to household. Consumers go online and choose the products they’d like to order, which arrive in durable, reusable containers inside Loop’s exclusively designed reusable tote. “Consumers will no longer own the packaging, only the product,” Rosen explains. Beauty brands with products available from Loop include Soapply, Herbal Essences, The Body Shop, Love Beauty and Planet, Ren Clean Skincare and Pantene.   After use, consumers schedule a pickup time and send Loop’s containers to be cleaned, sanitized and reused again and again, removing plastic and shipping cardboard from the equation completely. Loop is currently available in select states and planning on expanding to new cities in 2020. Loop is made possible with the help of partner retailers like Walgreens and Kroger in each market launched. There is no membership or subscription fee; the only cost a consumer incurs is for the product and a refundable deposit for containers, tote and shipping. Brands big and small are stepping up and making commitments to change. Both Unilever and L’Oreìal have promised by the year 2025 to convert plastic packaging to reusable, recyclable or compostable. Esteìe Lauder Companies are on board too, aiming to have 75 to 100 percent of packaging recyclable, reusable or refillable by 2025 and increasing postconsumer recycled material in packaging by up to 50 percent.   Procter & Gamble (P&G) plans to offer 100 percent recyclable packaging by 2030 and has partnered with Loop to offer refillable options. Just this year, P&G’s brand Pantene launched an aluminum bottle for shampoo and conditioner through the service.   Green Materials and Rethinking Plastic   Alternative material options are gaining popularity in the beauty packaging world as brands shift into a “greener” mindset. Bamboo, for example, is biodegradable, compostable and one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Cosmetic companies like Antonym are using bamboo for eyeshadow and blush palettes and as the base for makeup brushes. Reusable and refillable, glass is an ideal alternative for companies looking to stay clean and minimal, such as RMS Beauty. Like glass, metal is another smart option. Kjaer Weis uses quality metal in makeup palettes meant to be kept and reused as part of the company’s refill system. Already recycled solutions such as paperboard made from recycled paper pulp and recycled plastic are widely used alternatives. Garnier Fructis has adapted this practice for its shampoo and conditioner bottles, with 50 percent of the material coming from postconsumer recycled plastic.   Since plastic isn’t going away overnight, savvy solutions for repurposing are key. The Body Shop recently launched Community Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru, India, an initiative in partnership with Plastics for Change: “We don’t think plastic–as a material–is bad. In fact, it’s one of the most versatile materials ever made and, if used responsibly, can be sustainable. The problem is when we don’t value plastic and see it as trash, rather than something we can recycle and reuse,” says Lee Mann, global community trade manager for The Body Shop.   With this initiative, The Body Shop also recognizes the human side of the plastic story. The program helps to empower the marginalized waste pickers in Bengaluru, who can receive a fair price for their work, predictable income and access to better working conditions. By the end of the year, The Body Shop will have purchased 250 tons of Community Trade recycled plastic to use in the brand’s 250 milliliter haircare bottles, with plans to scale up purchasing to 900 tons within three years. The bottles created contain 100 percent recycled plastic (excluding the bottle caps) with 15 percent derived from Community Trade recycled plastic. “Brands are starting to be more sustainable and aware of their plastic use. We absolutely want to encourage other brands to start using recycled plastic picked by waste pickers,” Mann says.   It appears that all generations, not just millennials and Generation Z, are taking a stand on sustainability. According to J. Walter Thompson Intelligence’s recent sustainability study, 90 percent of adult consumers think companies and brands have a responsibility to take care of the planet and its people. The same report concluded 91 percent of adults think companies and brands that pollute the environment should be fined.   We have officially entered the age of “less is more.” Retailers must factor sustainability into the brands they work with–and they may even want to go a step further and green their own business. Manufacturers and retailers alike will win by delivering big on product, but light on packaging.

As consumers become increasingly aware of the pollution and waste caused by single-use products, items like plastic straws, water bottles and disposable coffee cups have become maligned. But what about our beauty routines?   A quick glance in your bathroom cabinet or makeup bag is sure to throw up a whole host of products, which are single-use, packaged in plastic, and just as likely to end up in landfill.   It is estimated that there is more than 150m tonnes of plastic waste polluting the world’s oceans with an additional 13m tonnes being dumped each year.   Scientists estimate by 2050 there could be more plastic, by weight, than fish in our seas. The government is taking steps to improve this: introducing a manufacturing ban on microbeads – tiny balls of plastic used in body scrubs, toothpaste and facial exfoliators – in 2018. But there is more to do.   So how can you make your beauty routine more sustainable in 2020? The Independent rounds up five simple beauty resolutions you can make this year to help you become a more conscientious consumer.   Ditch cotton pads and face wipes for reusable and biodegradable versions   Removing your makeup is arguably one of the most time consuming and, let’s face it, annoying parts of a beauty routine.   When you get home from a long day at work or a heavy night out, the last thing you want to do is perform a full-on skincare routine. In this scenario, many of us turn to face wipes, which boast the ability to remove makeup and partially cleanse our faces in seconds.     But while they might be insanely convenient, the damage face wipes are inflicting on the environment is vast.   According to research group Mintel, 47 per cent of people in the UK regularly use face wipes, which take years to breakdown in landfills due to their composition of virtually indestructible materials such as polyester, polypropylene, cotton, wood pulp, or rayon fibers.   Earlier this year, a report by Water UK – the membership body for water providers – also found that wipes are behind 93 per cent of blockages in UK sewers with 9.3m of them being flushed down toilets every single day.   While the problem has prompted campaign groups to lobby wipe manufacturers to include a logo on packets reminding people not to flush them, there are alternatives you can use which are less damaging to the environment.   If you can’t bear to part ways with a wipe, or need a quick fix for emergency situations, a number of brands now offer biodegradable and reusable alternatives that mean you can remove your makeup conveniently and with a conscience.   Wipes from brands such as Lancer, RMS, Botanics, Simple and Yes To are made from bio-cellulose fabrics, meaning they breakdown in months rather than years and don't contain any nasty pesticides.   Alternatively, reusable and washable makeup remover pads are now also widely available.   While cotton rounds can work wonders for your makeup routine, environmentally speaking, they are a disaster.   As well as being non-recyclable and non-degradable, it takes a ton of water to produce each single-use cotton pad, which, unless it’s made from organic cotton, is also grown with pesticides which damage the surrounding environment.     The solution is to invest in reusable versions made from soft bamboo, organic cotton or high-quality microfibre pads like the Face Halo – a dual-sided makeup remover which only requires water, is reusable up to 200 wash cycles and replaces the need for up to 500 makeup wipes.  

Swap aerosols for natural stick deodorants

  Whether you prefer to spritz your armpits with an aerosol or a roll-on, it is fair to assume that the majority of us use deodorant every day.   But just how damaging is the packaging used to contain these products which help keep us smelling fresh?   Typically, roll-on deodorants are packaged in two layers of plastic, meaning they are notoriously difficult to recycle.   Considering plastic can take 450 years to biodegrade and with millions of people using roll-ons everyday, the amount of plastic ending up in landfill from roll-ons alone is colossal.   In the same way, the UK uses around 600m aerosols each year, which is equivalent to approximately 10 cans per person.   While the good news is that aerosols are recyclable, the compressed gases that are used in them have a harmful impact on CO2 emissions.     According to a recent study by beauty manufacturer Unilever, if one million people switched their regular aerosol for a newer, compressed aerosol then 696 tonnes of CO2, and enough aluminium to make 20,000 bikes, could be saved.   So, what should you be using instead? Natural deodorants, which come with little or no packaging, are a great alternative as they help to keep odour at bay and have minimal impact on the world around us.   Their naturally self-preserving, aluminium-free formulas also mean you can be confident that the ingredients inside them will be kind to your body, as well as to the environment.   Nowadays, a crop of natural versions are hitting the shelves and even more surprisingly, they’re from some of the biggest names in the beauty business, including Malin + Goetz, Aesop, Cow Shed, L’Occitane and Neals Yard.     Investing in a natural deodorant also offers up an opportunity to explore a range of different formulas, from powders and creams to liquid pumps and crystal sticks.  

Refill, recycle and invest in naked products

  According to research carried out by Garnier and TerraCycle, only 50 per cent of bathroom packaging is recycled, compared to 90 per cent of kitchen packaging.   And, given that the global cosmetics industry produces 120bn units of packaging every year, that’s a lot of waste.   Luckily, there is some progress being made in the beauty world. Lush for example, have massively expanded their ‘Naked’ packaging-free selection of products which now makes up 50 per cent of their core range, including shower gels, moisturising bars and wax-covered lipstick refills that slot into reusable cases.   Between 2015 and 2016, the introduction of Lush’s naked shampoo bars meant that over 15m plastic bottles were never created. They’re also much more budget-friendly, with one bar lasting up to 80 washes, meaning it has the potential to outlive up to three regular bottles of shampoo.     A host of other brands are cropping up in response to growing demand for less packaging, with companies like L’Occitane and Rituals offering refill schemes and brands such as Origins, & Other Stories and Mac Cosmetics offering a reward system when customers return their empty plastic bottles.  

Swap plastic cotton buds for bamboo versions

  In England alone, it is estimated that we use 1.8bn plastic-stemmed cotton buds every year, according to government figures.   What’s more, an estimated 10 per cent of these cotton buds are flushed down toilets.   Plastic cotton buds are just one of the thousands of sanitary products being improperly disposed of that has resulted in the pollution of waterways and the marine environment, but the difference here is that they pose a threat to wildlife too.   According to the Cotton Bud Project, between 2015 and 2018 cotton buds were in the top 10 items found during the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean. During 2018, 22 cotton buds were found for every 100 meters of UK beach surveyed.     A cotton buds long thin shape can pierce the internal organs of marine animals that may accidentally ingest them, and plastic stems regularly turn up in the stomachs of seabirds.   While it should go without saying not to flush cotton buds, you also have the option to replace your plastic versions entirely with stems made of bamboo, such as those from Hydrophil.   Whereas plastic cotton swabs are discarded after seconds of use but live on for years as a pollutant, these versions can simply be thrown in your organic waste or compost bin. What’s more, they also come in recycled cardboard packaging, further reducing plastic waste.   In May 2019, the environment secretary Michael Gove confirmed that cotton buds are to be banned in England from April 2020 after an open consultation revealed “overwhelming” public support for the move.  

Boycott brands that use too much plastic

  As the beauty industry continues to grapple with a plastics problem, many companies have started working towards creating products that include more sustainable packing and ingredients.   However, some are doing better than others.   Of course, what constitutes improvement is an area of contention, but whether it's using biodegradable packaging or harvesting ingredients in a way that's kinder to the environment, there are plenty of brands that are shaking things up.     According to Mintel’s Natural, Organic and Ethical Toiletries report, more than 60 per cent of consumers said they would stop using a brand if they found it to have “unethical practices”.   Similarly, protecting the environment, recyclable packaging and animal welfare were all listed as top issues by consumers, while 43 per cent of those surveyed said they would consider a brand’s stance before buying for the first time.   But, what brands are really making a difference?   As well as the brands this article has already touched upon, consumers can be shop sustainably at a host of makeup and skincare companies, including Disciple, which sells products in glass bottles and uses sustainably sourced essential oils, BYBI Beauty, which used packaging made from biodegradable sugar cane or glass and sells products that are 100 per cent natural, vegan and cruelty-free, and BECo, which sells biodegradable bar-soap boxes, bottles made from recycled materials and products using cruelty-free and vegan ingredients.

As consumers become increasingly aware of the pollution and waste caused by single-use products, items like plastic straws, water bottles and disposable coffee cups have become maligned. But what about our beauty routines?   A quick glance in your bathroom cabinet or makeup bag is sure to throw up a whole host of products, which are single-use, packaged in plastic, and just as likely to end up in landfill.   It is estimated that there is more than 150m tonnes of plastic waste polluting the world’s oceans with an additional 13m tonnes being dumped each year.   Scientists estimate by 2050 there could be more plastic, by weight, than fish in our seas. The government is taking steps to improve this: introducing a manufacturing ban on microbeads – tiny balls of plastic used in body scrubs, toothpaste and facial exfoliators – in 2018. But there is more to do.   So how can you make your beauty routine more sustainable in 2020? The Independent rounds up five simple beauty resolutions you can make this year to help you become a more conscientious consumer.   Ditch cotton pads and face wipes for reusable and biodegradable versions   Removing your makeup is arguably one of the most time consuming and, let’s face it, annoying parts of a beauty routine.   When you get home from a long day at work or a heavy night out, the last thing you want to do is perform a full-on skincare routine. In this scenario, many of us turn to face wipes, which boast the ability to remove makeup and partially cleanse our faces in seconds.       But while they might be insanely convenient, the damage face wipes are inflicting on the environment is vast.   According to research group Mintel, 47 per cent of people in the UK regularly use face wipes, which take years to breakdown in landfills due to their composition of virtually indestructible materials such as polyester, polypropylene, cotton, wood pulp, or rayon fibers.   Earlier this year, a report by Water UK – the membership body for water providers – also found that wipes are behind 93 per cent of blockages in UK sewers with 9.3m of them being flushed down toilets every single day.   While the problem has prompted campaign groups to lobby wipe manufacturers to include a logo on packets reminding people not to flush them, there are alternatives you can use which are less damaging to the environment.   If you can’t bear to part ways with a wipe, or need a quick fix for emergency situations, a number of brands now offer biodegradable and reusable alternatives that mean you can remove your makeup conveniently and with a conscience.   Wipes from brands such as Lancer, RMS, Botanics, Simple and Yes To are made from bio-cellulose fabrics, meaning they breakdown in months rather than years and don't contain any nasty pesticides.   Alternatively, reusable and washable makeup remover pads are now also widely available.   While cotton rounds can work wonders for your makeup routine, environmentally speaking, they are a disaster.   As well as being non-recyclable and non-degradable, it takes a ton of water to produce each single-use cotton pad, which, unless it’s made from organic cotton, is also grown with pesticides which damage the surrounding environment.       The solution is to invest in reusable versions made from soft bamboo, organic cotton or high-quality microfibre pads like the Face Halo – a dual-sided makeup remover which only requires water, is reusable up to 200 wash cycles and replaces the need for up to 500 makeup wipes.  

Swap aerosols for natural stick deodorants

  Whether you prefer to spritz your armpits with an aerosol or a roll-on, it is fair to assume that the majority of us use deodorant every day.   But just how damaging is the packaging used to contain these products which help keep us smelling fresh?   Typically, roll-on deodorants are packaged in two layers of plastic, meaning they are notoriously difficult to recycle.   Considering plastic can take 450 years to biodegrade and with millions of people using roll-ons everyday, the amount of plastic ending up in landfill from roll-ons alone is colossal.   In the same way, the UK uses around 600m aerosols each year, which is equivalent to approximately 10 cans per person.   While the good news is that aerosols are recyclable, the compressed gases that are used in them have a harmful impact on CO2 emissions.       According to a recent study by beauty manufacturer Unilever, if one million people switched their regular aerosol for a newer, compressed aerosol then 696 tonnes of CO2, and enough aluminium to make 20,000 bikes, could be saved.   So, what should you be using instead? Natural deodorants, which come with little or no packaging, are a great alternative as they help to keep odour at bay and have minimal impact on the world around us.   Their naturally self-preserving, aluminium-free formulas also mean you can be confident that the ingredients inside them will be kind to your body, as well as to the environment.   Nowadays, a crop of natural versions are hitting the shelves and even more surprisingly, they’re from some of the biggest names in the beauty business, including Malin + Goetz, Aesop, Cow Shed, L’Occitane and Neals Yard.       Investing in a natural deodorant also offers up an opportunity to explore a range of different formulas, from powders and creams to liquid pumps and crystal sticks.  

Refill, recycle and invest in naked products

  According to research carried out by Garnier and TerraCycle, only 50 per cent of bathroom packaging is recycled, compared to 90 per cent of kitchen packaging.   And, given that the global cosmetics industry produces 120bn units of packaging every year, that’s a lot of waste.   Luckily, there is some progress being made in the beauty world. Lush for example, have massively expanded their ‘Naked’ packaging-free selection of products which now makes up 50 per cent of their core range, including shower gels, moisturising bars and wax-covered lipstick refills that slot into reusable cases.   Between 2015 and 2016, the introduction of Lush’s naked shampoo bars meant that over 15m plastic bottles were never created. They’re also much more budget-friendly, with one bar lasting up to 80 washes, meaning it has the potential to outlive up to three regular bottles of shampoo.       A host of other brands are cropping up in response to growing demand for less packaging, with companies like L’Occitane and Rituals offering refill schemes and brands such as Origins, & Other Stories and Mac Cosmetics offering a reward system when customers return their empty plastic bottles.  

Swap plastic cotton buds for bamboo versions

  In England alone, it is estimated that we use 1.8bn plastic-stemmed cotton buds every year, according to government figures.   What’s more, an estimated 10 per cent of these cotton buds are flushed down toilets.   Plastic cotton buds are just one of the thousands of sanitary products being improperly disposed of that has resulted in the pollution of waterways and the marine environment, but the difference here is that they pose a threat to wildlife too.   According to the Cotton Bud Project, between 2015 and 2018 cotton buds were in the top 10 items found during the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean. During 2018, 22 cotton buds were found for every 100 meters of UK beach surveyed.       A cotton buds long thin shape can pierce the internal organs of marine animals that may accidentally ingest them, and plastic stems regularly turn up in the stomachs of seabirds.   While it should go without saying not to flush cotton buds, you also have the option to replace your plastic versions entirely with stems made of bamboo, such as those from Hydrophil.   Whereas plastic cotton swabs are discarded after seconds of use but live on for years as a pollutant, these versions can simply be thrown in your organic waste or compost bin. What’s more, they also come in recycled cardboard packaging, further reducing plastic waste.   In May 2019, the environment secretary Michael Gove confirmed that cotton buds are to be banned in England from April 2020 after an open consultation revealed “overwhelming” public support for the move.  

Boycott brands that use too much plastic

  As the beauty industry continues to grapple with a plastics problem, many companies have started working towards creating products that include more sustainable packing and ingredients.   However, some are doing better than others.   Of course, what constitutes improvement is an area of contention, but whether it's using biodegradable packaging or harvesting ingredients in a way that's kinder to the environment, there are plenty of brands that are shaking things up.       According to Mintel’s Natural, Organic and Ethical Toiletries report, more than 60 per cent of consumers said they would stop using a brand if they found it to have “unethical practices”.   Similarly, protecting the environment, recyclable packaging and animal welfare were all listed as top issues by consumers, while 43 per cent of those surveyed said they would consider a brand’s stance before buying for the first time.   But, what brands are really making a difference?   As well as the brands this article has already touched upon, consumers can be shop sustainably at a host of makeup and skincare companies, including Disciple, which sells products in glass bottles and uses sustainably sourced essential oils, BYBI Beauty, which used packaging made from biodegradable sugar cane or glass and sells products that are 100 per cent natural, vegan and cruelty-free, and BECo, which sells biodegradable bar-soap boxes, bottles made from recycled materials and products using cruelty-free and vegan ingredients.

From Kesha revealing her natural face full of freckles to Kardashians sharing no-makeup videos, 2019 is the year for a natural, makeup-free kind of beauty.   As celebrities embraced their natural selves online, social media soon followed and hashtags like #nomakeup, #nofilter went buzzing.   Naturally, consumers started to invest in skincare, but not just any skincare. With millennials and Gen Zs now making up half of American consumers, consumers started to demand and respond to sustainable skincare.    According to the NPD Group, within the U.S. prestige beauty industry that reached $18.8 billion in 2018, the skincare category grew by 13 percent and contributed 60 percent of the industry’s total gains.   Out of $6.5 billion worth of skincare sales in 2018, natural brands, which accounts for $1.6 billion, remained the top contributor to the sales growth.   “Knowledge is power. There has never been a time where young people had more knowledge about sustainability and access to information on companies and what they are doing to help create a healthy planet,” Maria Davis, a marketing director at Jurlique USA, a sustainable skincare brand based in Australia, told The University Network (TUN).   All across the globe, both big name and starting brands are bringing out their shade of green with products that are kind to both the natural skin and our Earth.   Despite today’s surging demand and supply of sustainable skincare, the skincare industry had and still has many shortfalls regarding sustainability.   First, the most basic ingredients are sourced unsustainably. Most skincare products require a lot of water to make and can cause water waste. Also, palm oil, which is used in 70 percent of all cosmetics, can cause widespread deforestation and has led to decimated rainforests and deforestation in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.   And deforestation accounts for more carbon emissions than cars and trucks in the world combined, according to the World Carfree Network.   Addtionally, other ingredients that are widely used in skincare industry, such as shea butter, silk, vanilla and cocoa are often sourced in dangerous working conditions and may include human trafficking and child labor.   Second, stemming from a false belief that more is better, both the industry leaders and consumers have grown a habit of overconsumption.   Starting from around 2012, K-Beauty entered into the global skincare market, creating an instant hit. A K-Beauty star would come out and show her 8-step skincare routine that would differ in products for day and night. And disregarding their unique skin type, consumers would fill their shelves with the same products the star used.    However, the truth is that with more layers, just like makeup, there’s a higher risk of your pores getting clogged and you breaking out as a result.   “Layering multiple products doesn’t mean you’ll increase the benefits to the skin. Chances are, you’re increasing the likelihood of the different active ingredients inactivating each other,” Brian Oh, founder of Venn, a minimalist skincare brand, told the Guardian.   Also, other products of K-Beauty, such as single-use sheet masks and cleansing wipes, are dubbed as the plastic straws of beauty industry in terms of their harmful environmental impact. Third, due to the fragile nature of the products, excessive packaging is hard to avoid and often leads to improper recycling or recycling contamination.   According to Zero Waste Week data in 2018, more than 120 billion units of cosmetics packaging were produced globally, the majority of which were not recyclable.   And according to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency, out of 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging generated in 2017, around 70 percent wasn’t properly recycled and went to landfills.   Fortunately, consumers’ demand for sustainable skincare is strong enough to hit the breaks for brands who would have continued with their unsustainable practices.   The general demand for natural and organic skincare is already high.   Specifically, millennials and Gen Zs are increasing in both number and purchasing power. And these growing influential consumers expect companies to value and apply sustainability in their business practices.   According to The Business of Fashion, 66 percent of global millennials are willing to spend more on brands that are sustainable and more consumers are expected to demand that brands be held accountable for waste and carbon footprint.   And a 2018 study by WP Engine revealed that 69 percent of Gen Z consumers are more likely to buy from a company that contributes to social causes, while 33 percent have stopped buying from those with values different from their own.   “They (younger consumers) are very aware, conscious about what they consume and add to landfills in general. There is a new much more alert awareness of that generation,” a Kjaer Weis representative told TUN.   Both starting and big name skincare brands are responding in their own ways.   Jurlique    Founded in 1985, Jurlique is a sustainable skincare with a business statement to preserve the integrity of nature. From its biodynamic farm and clean energy Natural Beauty Plant, both powered by 75 kilowatt solar panels, Jurlique grows and harvests its ingredients sustainably.   Since 2016, Jurlique’s farm has sent zero waste to landfill. Since 2015, Jurlique has not only reduced 20 percent of transport emissions through its freight management initiative, but also reduced its water usage by 18 percent by using rain and recycled water.   “Sustainability has always been fundamental to everything we do here. From our biodynamic farm and clean energy Natural Beauty Plant in the Adelaide Hills, to our commitment to reducing our carbon cycle and looking after our people, sustainability is at the core of Jurlique,” said Davis.   Jurlique hopes not only to be transparent about its business, but also to educate its customers on what they can do on a daily basis to become more eco-friendly.   “Our focus is on transparency and education,” Davis said. “We want to continue to provide honest information to customers about our production and manufacturing processes. As new technology becomes available, we will continue to improve our processes and adopt better ways of creating formulas and packaging.”   Kjaer Weis    Founded by a veteran make-up artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis, Kjaer Weis is mainly a sustainable makeup brand, but it has a sustainable skincare line as well.   “Our founder Kirsten Kjaer Weis, who is a 20-year make-up artist veteran, saw an open gap in the market for a make-up line without compromises on ingredients’ performance and luxury. It didn’t exist,” said a Kjaer Weis representative.   Ninety-five percent of Kjaer Weis’s ingredients come from organic farming, meaning they don’t add chemicals to the soil. And all of its products are refillable, meaning their package does not need to be thrown away after a few months.   Additionally, with a purchase of both cleanser and toner, Kjaer Weis offers its own organic cleansing cloth, which is made from organic cotton remnants from womenswear brand Loup Charmant, for free. Unlike single-use wipes or cotton pads, organic cleansing cloths can be reused after every wash.   Neal’s Yard Remedies   Founded in 1981, Neal’s Yard Remedies is a UK-based brand that came first in many things. In 2008, it was the first high street retailer to become carbon neutral. In 2014, it was the first health and beauty brand to receive 100/100 for ethics by the Ethical Company Organization.    The brand uses the highest possible percentage of organic ingredients, including ethically sourced herbs, botanicals and essential oils, in all its products.   The brand maintains that sustainability is part of its DNA and is committed to creating its great products in a sustainable and ethical way.   As an example, it uses recyclable blue glass and 100-percent recycled plastic bottles for its products. It also offers refills on two of its products.   L’Oréal USA   Holding brands like Essie, NYX, Garnier, Maybelline, Lancome, Kiehls and more, L’Oréal is one of the big names in the industry. As the largest subsidiary of the group, L’Oréal USA has pledged its plans to achieve carbon neutrality in 2019 for all 21 of its U.S. manufacturing and distribution facilities. Currently, the company has 17 renewable energy installations across the country.   Just last month, L’Oréal finished developing the very first paper-based cosmetic tube, a promising alternative to the majority of plastic packages. Its goal is to release the first model on the market in 2020.   L’Oréal’s business statement stays constant throughout the group’s other brands. For example, in 2011, Garnier partnered with TerraCycle to make previously non-recyclable packaging recyclable, diverting approximately 11.2 million empty packages from ending up in landfills. Also, in all its scrubs, Garnier uses Perlite, a natural alternative to microbeads, which are microscopic plastic beads often used in face and body scrubs and litter our seas.   And one of its luxe brands — Kiehl’s — has a Recycle Be Rewarded system that gives one travel size product for every 10 empty packages a customer brings back.   Currently, 36 percent of L’Oreal’s products contain at least one sustainably sourced raw material, such as quinoa husk extract in its Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate or ginger leaf in its Ginger Leaf Hibiscus Firming Mask.   L’Occitane   For its packages, L’Occitane uses only renewable resources or those that are sourced from sustainably managed forests to make sustainable customized packaging. The brand also has committed to using 100-percent recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.   From 2010 to 2016, L’Occitane reduced its carbon footprint by 14 percent.   L’Occitane is committed to using natural ingredients in all its products. For example, it uses ethically sourced almond in its Almond Milk Concentrate and ethically sourced and fairly traded shea butter in its popular, enriching Shea Butter Hand Cream.   LUSH    Lush makes some of its packages from a mix of purchased recycled plastic and recycled black pot material. Also, when a customer brings back five empty packages, they will get a free face mask.   To achieve zero waste, Lush sells 35 percent of its products, including soap bars and bath bombs, in a solid form to remove the need for packaging entirely. The other 65 percent of Lush’s products are packaged in either BPA-free or 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic or metal.   The beauty industry is also using biotechnology to create sustainable skincare products.   An an example, Biossance, a skincare line, makes squalene, a naturally occurring oil traditionally derived from shark livers or olives, from renewable sugarcane instead.   And One Ocean Beauty uses biotechnology to reproduce marine extracts from algae, kelp and seaweed in a lab rather than harvesting them from the sea and tapping into our limited resources.   The trend is definitely there. The numbers show it.   According to Grand View Research, the global natural and organic cosmetics market reached a revenue of $10.31 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach a value of $48.04 billion by 2025.   However, trends come and go. And for any other trend, coming and going could have been okay. But, this one can’t for our Earth cannot go once and come back another time.   While brands have their responsibilities, consumers also have theirs. They have to turn this trend into a lifestyle.  What can you do?   First, buy only what your skin can take in. Especially for sensitive skin, finding the perfect moisturizer that won’t leave you breaking out is hard. Trust me. I understand. I’m one of you. The more sensitive you are, the more research you’ll need to do. And once you find your match, stick with it and leave some room for your skin to work its intrinsic power to heal itself. The last thing you want to do is overwhelm your skin with so many products.   Second, once your skincare routine is fixed, recycle your empty skincare products properly. Make sure all containers are clean to avoid recycling contamination. Then, check the labeling and determine how to recycle it.    If unclear, try TerraCycle, a program that offers free recycling for all beauty product packaging, or Return to Origins, a recycling program that takes and recycles all cosmetic containers regardless of brand.   Hyeyeun Jeon is from South Korea and a graduate from Carnegie Mellon University with a double major in Professional Writing and International Relations. She is passionate about non-fiction storytelling. She loves reading, watching, writing and producing stories about extraordinary lives of everyday people.

While 90% of us recycle our kitchen waste where possible, less than half of us follow the same rules with our bathroom waste. So, what’s holding us back? If you’re not sure how to go green with your beauty waste, read my guide…

 

When it comes to the beauty industry, it is undeniable that more needs to be done to up eco credentials. Sustainable beauty might be on the rise, with more and more brands thinking about how to cut down on non-recyclable packaging and lower their carbon footprint, but what can we do right now to help? The first step is to ensure we are correctly disposing of our waste. But how do you recycle beauty products? Can you recycle makeup tubes? Mascara wands? Shampoo bottles? It can be very confusing! So, before you give up and throw the whole lot out, let me give you an easy-to-follow guide:  

HOW TO RECYCLE YOUR BEAUTY PRODUCTS

TWO BIN RULE

We all have two bins in our kitchens, but most of us only have one bin in our bathrooms, meaning that everything ends up in landfill. The first thing to do is to add a second bin into your bathroom so that you have one for waste and one for recycling. The second challenge is learning what goes in each…  

BOTTLES

Let’s start with bottles. In general, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and other plastic bottles can be recycled. However, you should make sure they’re cleaned before you recycle them (scoop leftover product out and throw in your waste bin rather than washing down the sink, or better yet, actually use it!). Lids can usually be recycled unless they are pumps, trigger head or flip-top opening.  

AEROSOLS

Deodorants, hairsprays and other aerosols are usually accepted in recycling schemes, but check your local collection and make sure they are completely empty.  

GLASS

Any glass jars or bottles can be easily recycled, either with your collection scheme or at a bottle / glass recycling bank. Just make sure they are clean and remove any plastic lids. And don’t forget that glass jars and candle holders often make pretty storage pots around the home so you can recycle them in this way, too!  

ELECTRICALS

Don’t forget that you can often repair or replace parts of old electricals rather than throwing the whole thing out, and if it is simply a case of upgrading, pass your old hair tools on to a charity shop. Cloud Nine has a straighteners recycling scheme, find out more here.  

WHAT CAN’T YOU RECYCLE?

The bottle caps I mentioned above can’t be recycled, along with makeup brushes, mascara brushes, nail varnish and fragrance bottles.  

TERRACYCLE

Brands including REN, L’Occitane and Kiehl’s are now partnering with TerraCycle, to accept old beauty containers to recycle on your behalf, often offering cash-back or free products. You can also visit https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/ and get a box to fill with your empties for them to recycle on your behalf for a guilt-free beauty regime.

As part of the brand’s plan to Reduce, Recycle and React, L’OCCITANE en Provence has cut down on excessive holiday packaging. In a bid to minimise the amount of packaging materials, the company reduced its use of cardboard by 31 tonnes in this year’s Christmas range. With sensible sustainable thinking at its core, L’OCCITANE designed its collection of Christmas products and gift sets with the environment in mind. Using a new, micro-corrugated cardboard structure, the brand reduced the weight of its most popular holiday gift boxes by 20%, which led to an overall reduction of 22 tonnes of cardboard compared to last year. In addition, L’OCCITANE optimised the format of its gift boxes, cutting another 9 tonnes of cardboard without reducing the number of products they contain.   L’OCCITANE is also committed to ensuring all its wrapping paper is made from recycled and recyclable materials. The brand has never used plastic bags in its stores, using paper bags instead. Its gift ribbons are made of a new cellulose-based material which biodegrades within six months, whilst its silk paper is 100% recycled and FSC® certified. As part of its recycling efforts, L’OCCITANE partners with TerraCycle – a collection and recycling programme that specialises in hard-to-recycle packaging – to enable the upcycling of beauty products from any brand. Customers are able to easily recycle their empties at all participating L’OCCITANE boutiques. Currently, over 40% of L’OCCITANE’s 1,572 owned stores worldwide offer in-store recycling, and L’OCCITANE has pledged to expand that to 100% by 2025. Corinne Fugier-Garrel L’OCCITANE’s Director of Packaging Conception Development, "We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but we want to go much further. We are fundamentally rethinking our approach to packaging and products and sharing our expertise with other manufacturers to collectively shape a sustainable future."