For the consumers part, it is making a conscious effort to be more aware of selecting brands that have ethical and sustainable practices. While companies are showing a sense of social responsibility by implementing sustainable and ethical practices such as fair wages and minimizing any environmental impact in the process of manufacturing products. Many brands have incorporated sustainability through recycling efforts and rewarding consumers with incentives in exchange for the empty products containers returned. Here is a rundown of how some companies have implemented their sustainable campaigns:

The Long Beach Environmental Alliance (LBEA) began with a cigarette butt clean-up in downtown Long Beach.   The focus has been on collecting discarded cigarettes, a ubiquitous element of refuse that litters streets and ultimately washes out into the ocean.   “All of the cigarette butts are so easy to miss, if you’re driving on the street or walking too fast. If you stop and look closely, they’re there, on the sidewalks, in the gutters and all around our public bus stops,” John Kindred, co-founder of LBEA, said.   Cigarettes pose a huge detriment to both local and global marine life. According to the FDA, cigarettes contain as many as 93 potentially harmful constituents that are either carcinogens, respiratory toxicants, cardiovascular toxicants, reproductive or developmental toxicants, or addictive. In 2018, the Ocean Conservancy group recovered 2,412,151 cigarette butts as part of their International Coastal Cleanup effort. 842,837 of those were collected on American shores.   A study paid for by the University of California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program found that “leachate from cigarette butts is acutely toxic to representative marine and freshwater fish species” through a number of controlled tests.   “All of that gets in the food we eat,” Kindred said.   Kindred started the Long Beach Environmental Alliance in 2017 with co-founder Sokha Ny. Their mission statement reads, “Working together for local solutions to environmental issues through action, passion, and advocacy in the city of Long Beach.”   A cigarette but collection planned this coming Saturday, March 28, was canceled after "Safer At Home" restrictions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic was put into place. When collected, cigarette butts are sent to TerraCycle, a waste recycling organization. The residual tobacco from the refuse is used to make compost, while the non-biodegradable plastic filters in cigarettes are repurposed into construction pallets and other industrial products.   Before the ban on gatherings, the Long Beach Environmental Alliance conducted a beach clean-up event every fourth Sunday at Alamitos Beach. Kindred said cleanups are a great opportunity for students to log service hours.   “I tell the students that there is no greater way to see the impact we make on our environment than volunteering,” Kindred said.   LBEA will be attending a variety of Earth Month events at Cal State Long Beach in April. Events are posted to the group’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LBEnvironmentalAlliance.  

A visão geral da NRF 2020, recém realizada em New York, onde estiveram 40 mil agentes de 100 países representando 16 mil varejistas, indica que as expectativas foram correspondidas.

Today, environmentally conscious parents can feed their babies organic baby food and use recyclable non-BPA plastics. They can buy 100 percent fair trade cotton clothing and hand-crafted toys. These are easy choices.   But many parents still face the diaper dilemma. Baby's go through a lot of diapers and that means either using cloth which is labor intensive for a new mom or dad or going the disposable route. While this is more convenient, 20 billion diapers (even the greener brands) are tossed into landfills in the US every year according to the EPA and they can take 500 years to decompose. One company came up with a better option.   Parents can now ship their baby's dirty diapers  to be composted through a diaper subscription company called Dyper. The company that makes sustainable bamboo diapers has operated a subscription service since 2018 according to Fast Company.   The diapers are free of chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, the chemicals tributyltin, or phthalates, and ink. While the diapers have always been compostable, city dwellers have had no way to do so until now.   “We talked to many moms that wish that they had that opportunity to compost, because they’re living in New York City in an apartment on the 24th floor and they have no option to do that,” but Taylor Shearer, content manager at Dyper told Fast Company.   Dyper just teamed up with TerraCycle to launch its ReDyper program where subscribers can send back the soiled diapers in special bags and boxes that meet the UN's HazMat shipping standards. When the box is full, parents only have to print out a prepaid shipping label and ship them. TerraCycle will compost the diapers to be used in places like the green areas of highway medians.   “It’s got to be super convenient. It’s got to be, frankly, as close to convenient as possible relative to throwing it out,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. The company has run a small recycling center in Amsterdam for Pampers but nothing on this large a scale or with compostable diapers before.   There is an additional charge for the ReDyper system over the cost of the regular Dyper subscription. While these diapers cost more than picking up disposables at a local store, the value of these diapers are that they are eco-friendly.   “The value isn’t just calculated on the specific cost. We are not the least expensive and we’re not the most expensive, but we feel when we take this whole approach of using safe ingredients such as bamboo and nontoxic chemicals, and we don’t print on our diapers and our boxes, and offsetting, and trying to compost and getting people to compost, we feel the value is very real,” Bruce Miller, president of Dyper.   The company pledges to keep reinventing their products and improving their supply chain to become as  environmentally friendly as possible. Now we can protect our babies from chemicals and protect our planet too.

In the US, the new pouch will be available exclusively on TheGerberStore.com for Gerber’s Organic Banana Mango Puree beginning in May 2020.   It will be 100% recyclable through Gerber’s national recycling program with TerraCycle. In Finland, the pouch will be available for Piltti’s Apple Pear Blueberry Raspberry widely sold in supermarkets.   Thierry Philardeau, head of the Nutrition Strategic Business Unit, Nestle, said, “We are proud to have found a solution for the recyclability of baby food pouches.   We began in the US and Finland for two product variants, and we aim to gradually extend the use of single-material pouch to our baby food pouches range globally.”   This is in line with Nestle’s commitment to making 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.   The newly designed-to-be-recyclable pouch is made from polypropylene (PP), a versatile form of plastic available commercially.   This switch is expected to make more plastics infinitely recyclable and increase the value of the material for the recycling industry.   “This launch is an important milestone in how we execute our ambition to create a wider market for recycled plastics that are safe for food.   We will continue to work with other stakeholders to ensure that the infrastructure needed to recycle matches material innovation,” added Thierry Philardeau.

Do you know how to recycle an empty shampoo bottle or an old razor blade? Most of us do not and that is why it is estimated that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Learn how to reduce your environmental footprint by starting in the bathroom . The cosmetics industry produces around 120 billion packages a year and most are not recycled, says Alex Payne , a spokesperson for TerraCycle, an organization specializing in salvaging difficult-to-recycle products and giving them a second life away from the landfill.   Throwing things in the recycling container without knowing what they are and if they are recyclable or not in your city is a phenomenon known as wish-cycling and that unfortunately is more common than you think. Another big mistake is not to empty and clean the containers before throwing them away. If you don't rinse them they can't be recycled! "Many products contain plastic microbeads that end up in the sea when they go down the drain," Payne explains. Look for natural and biodegradable alternatives, like this one with jojoba grain. Bia Exfoliating Wash, by Codex Beauty. $ 45. codexbeauty.com   If you want to contribute your grain of sand, pay extra attention to the materials from which your cosmetics are made, choose recycled and recyclable containers, and try to reduce the amount of plastic in your dressing table. For more information on how and where to throw your products, visit the TerraCycle website . Venus Embrace Swirl Color Blocked by Gillette. $ 12.99. In pharmacies.   Razor blades are one of the most difficult products to recycle because they combine plastic and metal, and we use so many! TerraCycle collaborates with brands like Gillette through programs where consumers can mail in their used blades or drop them off at gyms, stores and institutions that are part of the program and they take care of recycling.

Do you know how to recycle an empty shampoo bottle or an old razor blade? Most of us do not and that is why it is estimated that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Learn how to reduce your environmental footprint by starting in the bathroom . The cosmetics industry produces around 120 billion packages a year and most are not recycled, says Alex Payne , a spokesperson for TerraCycle, an organization specializing in salvaging difficult-to-recycle products and giving them a second life away from the landfill. Throwing things in the recycling container without knowing what they are and if they are recyclable or not in your city is a phenomenon known as wish-cycling and that unfortunately is more common than you think. Another big mistake is not to empty and clean the containers before throwing them away. If you don't rinse them they can't be recycled! "Many products contain plastic microbeads that end up in the sea when they go down the drain," Payne explains. Look for natural and biodegradable alternatives, like this one with jojoba grain. Bia Exfoliating Wash, by Codex Beauty. $ 45. codexbeauty.com If you want to contribute your grain of sand, pay extra attention to the materials from which your cosmetics are made, choose recycled and recyclable containers, and try to reduce the amount of plastic in your dressing table. For more information on how and where to throw your products, visit the TerraCycle website. Venus Embrace Swirl Color Blocked by Gillette. $ 12.99. In pharmacies. Razor blades are one of the most difficult products to recycle because they combine plastic and metal, and we use so many! TerraCycle collaborates with brands like Gillette through programs where consumers can mail in their used blades or drop them off at gyms, stores and institutions that are part of the program and they take care of recycling.

I've never been a minimalist, and I never will be. I love color, live in patterns, and in general just like having options - lots of them. What I don't like, however, is clutter. As a self-proclaimed "beauty girl" and collector for over 12 years (three of which were spent as a beauty editor), it's no surprise I amassed quite the product stash. Sure, I'd done several purges over the years, dividing some products between friends and throwing old ones in the trash. I'd also made my way through quite a few, using them up until the last drop or swipe. All that being said, I still had more than I would ever need. A massive beauty declutter was definitely overdue. Long bubble baths, massages, and indulgent skincare routines are often touted as popular forms of beauty self-care. But I'm arguing that purging your excess products - and reorganizing, cleaning, and maybe even donating in the process - trumps them all. So if you're looking for an excuse to get productive and take a much-needed internet break, this might be the perfect activity. Keep reading as I share my approach to decluttering, including a handful of tips, organizer recommendations, and the final results.

A couple of years ago, luxury retailer Nordstrom collected data from its customers to get a better sense of their actions and sentiments about circularity, shopping and its impact on the environment. Seventy percent of those surveyed said they would drop off items for resale or donation, and 35 percent said they worried about the environmental impact of the clothing they owned. Nordstrom used these data points and others to inform its sustainability efforts. "We’re seeing circularity as an opportunity as well as an impact area for us to think about," said Chelsea Evans, sustainability lead at Nordstrom, during this week's GreenBiz Group webcast about how retailers can embrace the circular economy.  (You can watch the discussion on demand by signing up here.) There is no one perfect approach for a retailer to embrace circular business models or practices. There’s also no one way to prove the return on investment that comes from shifting to this mode of doing business. But there are plenty of compelling reasons to explore it — from doing less damage to the environment to meeting consumers’ growing desires to support businesses that are sustainable. We’re seeing circularity as an opportunity as well as an impact area for us to think about. In Nordstrom’s case, the retailer is using several approaches to embed circularity into its business model. One way it is doing so is by driving demand for products that are made or sourced from recycled materials. It is also getting everyone — including consumers — "on the same page with language" about what it means for a garment to be made of recycled materials. For example, when a company says a piece of apparel is made from recycled plastic bottles, what that really means is that the garment is made from recycled polyester. The retailer has created a section on its site to help customers filter through products that are sustainably sourced. As part of this resource, it includes brands that use at least 50 percent sustainably sourced materials — organic cotton, recycled polyester and materials that are Fair Trade Certified. The decision to create this guide was informed by the 59 percent of customers that said their purchasing decisions had been influenced by information about a company’s social or environmental policies, Evans said. Additionally, Nordstrom recently has launched a recommerce shop through a partnership with Trove (formerly Yerdle) where it takes back products and refurbishes damaged items for resale. "We’re excited to show our customers another way Nordstrom is striving to leave the world better than we found it, and circular fashion is another piece to this puzzle," said Pete Nordstrom, co-president at Nordstrom, in a statement.

Connecting circularity to emissions

Retailer IKEA, which sells an entirely different portfolio of products from Nordstrom and therefore has different needs when it comes to circularity, likewise started with the data to inform its priorities. In 2016, IKEA measured and cataloged the main source of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to its operations. It found that more than 60 percent came from raw materials and consumer product use — at 38 percent and 23 percent, respectively. Lisa Davis, sustainability manager at IKEA, said one of the biggest challenges the company is trying to tackle is unsustainable consumption. "That brings us to how we connected those emissions to our strategy," Davis said, noting that one of IKEA's commitments is promoting circular and sustainable consumption to its customers. In 2016, IKEA collaborated with Goodwill to run a pilot take-back program in Charlotte, North Carolina, inviting customers to bring back furniture that was no longer of use to them. Workers from both organizations inspected the furniture and determined whether it would be taken to a Goodwill store to be resold or broken down and recycled. The following year, IKEA expanded the pilot to 41 stores. Davis said success for the program varied across sites, but IKEA is using its findings to inform future programs and has been working to implement circular economy principles in other parts of its business. Two places where strategies are under development: eliminating food waste and revamping its reverse logistics protocols.

The allure of reuse

Walgreens is another retailer that is embracing circular economy ideals, in partnership with Loop. Loop, a shopping service created by parent company Terracycle, enables customers to buy everyday products  — from deodorant to ice cream — that are packaged in reusable containers. "They’re basically operating off of the milkman model from the 1950s and a little after that but really looking at this very wide variety of products that people are using on a daily basis," said Lauren Stone, director of corporate social responsibility at Walgreens, during this week's webcast. In Loop's current, launch iteration, customers must ship back or find a UPS location to drop off the totes that are used to deliver products. Now in partnership with The Kroger Co. and Walgreens, customers will be able to drop off packaging in person at return kiosks that located are in physical stores. The launch is aimed for fall 2020 in Walgreens stores. Stone said that the Walgreens-Loop partnership will help customers who want to make more sustainable decisions about the retail products they purchase. While the concept of reuse is still novel to many people, by including exclusive, reusable options in stores, Walgreens is seeking to resolve consumer confusion while adding a layer of convenience for consumers who aren't comfortable with an entirely online experience. Don’t wait for a perfect solution because it doesn’t exist ... Take a first step in an area that is of importance to you, learn from that scenario... Walgreens acknowledges both the opportunities and challenges that come with implementing a reuse model in stores. The benefits include the chance for Walgreens to offer exclusive products and improve the sustainability of its operations, while the challenges include educating consumers about the process and making accommodations for the space that the return kiosks and merchandise will take up in stores. Each of these retailers on this week's webcast is implementing different strategies for embedding circular economy processes, and those initiatives will continue to adjust along the way. When the webinar wrapped up, each speaker offered advice to people working in other businesses thinking about embedding circularity into their work. They all echoed the line of thinking that you have to just start. "Don’t wait for a perfect solution because it doesn’t exist," Davis said. "Take a first step in an area that is of importance to you, learn from that scenario, get the data from consumers, get the results and use that to look at how you move forward."

With a large portion of storefronts shuttered across the country, the retail business is being slammed by the fight against COVID-19. In this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions relevant to beauty entrepreneurs, we ask 12 retailers: What can beauty brands do to help you get through this crisis?