BUSINESS
Is Makeup Packaging as Sustainable as it Claims?
By: Sheza Qasim Edited by: McKenna McCormick
The beauty industry produces an astonishing 120 million units of packaging annually, contributing significantly to plastic waste. An estimated 90 percent of that waste is not recycled. One major issue is that makeup packaging can be hard to dispose of properly since it tends to be mixed with other materials. Additionally, makeup residue in the packaging can make it harder to recycle without extreme cleaning. Beyond makeup, sheet masks, press-on nails and other beauty products cause waste too. These items are made of synthetic materials, meaning they cannot be broken down properly. So what are the alternatives to plastic packaging, and are they actually good for the environment?
Refillable beauty products, offered by brands like Glossier, Prada Beauty, and Charlotte Tilbury, aim to reduce plastic waste by allowing consumers to purchase refills instead of entirely new packages. Earlier this year, Prada Beauty released a refillable foundation, where consumers can buy a refill of their foundation for 15 dollars cheaper and replace it in the glass holder. This approach minimizes plastic waste and also is more cost effective for consumers as refills are cheaper than a brand new product. However, there's so much experimentation in beauty, it's not realistic to expect consumers to want to buy the same formula over and over again. Consumers want to try new products, brands, and colors, especially in an era where there seems to be a new beauty trend every week. Additionally, a study by bareLUXE revealed that while 79.3% of respondents consider sustainability important in their purchasing decisions, only 23.4% currently use refillable skincare products. The study identified obstacles such as difficulty finding available options (50.6%), non-availability from preferred brands (36.8%), and concerns about product contamination and spillage (31%).
Rather than using single-use plastic, brands can incorporate glass and metal packaging for their products. Glass is extremely durable, recyclable, and can be broken down to be reused multiple times. In 2021, Drunk Elephant began switching from plastic to glass packaging for many of their products like the Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil. Unlike plastic, which can take hundreds of years to degrade, glass and metal can be recycled indefinitely, helping to close the loop in the packaging life cycle. Glass and metal also preserve the shelf life of some products because they are impermeable, meaning it doesn’t interact with the product. By switching to these materials, brands can lessen their negative environmental footprint significantly, contributing to a more sustainable future for the beauty industry. However, many companies continue to choose plastic over glass because glass is heavier, making transportation costs higher. Glass also comes with an increased fragility leading to product waste which offsets sustainability efforts and leads to product waste.
Sephora launched a recycling initiative with Pact Collective in 2023, allowing consumers to clean their makeup product (unbagged, and free of any makeup), drop it off at any Sephora store, and expect it to be recycled. But it's a little more complicated than that. If the product is plastic, it has to be smaller than 2x2 inches. Afterwards, the products can be “mechanically recycled, downcycled into asphalt or other materials, molecularly recycled, or converted into electricity.” The brand Lush has also had success in offering an incentive to people who bring back five empty containers to their store in exchange for a free face mask. Similar initiatives like Terracycle or mail-in makeup disposables have had success, but with all the extra hoops a consumer has to jump through, it's not feasible to expect a significant decrease in waste from makeup packaging.
In addition, 20 million pounds of makeup wipes are disposed of everyday. These wipes are made from synthetic fibers and woven fabrics that are non-biodegradable, contributing significantly to plastic pollution. As single use items, they often end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to decompose. They are also soaked in chemicals like preservatives, fragrances, and alcohol which can harm both the skin's barrier and the environment. These chemicals can seep into the waterways, posing a threat to marine and aquatic life. Alternatives to makeup wipes are cleansing oils or balms, micellar water, and just using a cleanser.
While the beauty industry and companies have opportunities to cut down on waste, consumers should also be mindful of what products they buy and the impact of those products on the environment. Overconsumption is a big issue in the makeup world, so the reduction of overbuying products can potentially reduce waste as well. If there's more demand for sustainable ingredients and packaging, companies will produce more eco-friendly products. Overall, alternatives are a step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to cut down on plastic waste in the beauty industry.
