Beauty shouldn’t cost the earth By Paula Chin, Sustainable Materials Specialist, WWF
e know we are facing an environmental crisis and must play our part to safeguard our future. Nature is in freefall and climate change is putting our home – our planet – at risk. But what does beauty packaging have to do with the climate and nature emergency? The answer: a lot more than you may think...
The Problem
More than 120 billion units of cosmetics packaging are produced globally every year, a lot of which is not recyclable. This is often due to the complexity and size of the packaging which recovery and recycling systems can’t handle. Every piece of packaging which is produced, used and thrown away is a valuable resource taken from the planet in ways which often damage the natural world and adversely impact local communities. Currently, we’re using natural resources faster than the planet can regenerate them – and only 8.6% of these resources are recovered and recycled. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), resource extraction and processing are responsible for 90% of global biodiversity loss and half of all carbon emissions. This isn’t just about plastics – it’s about all packaging materials. Though the impacts of plastic pollution are well-documented, other materials cause impacts that are less visible to the consumer. While we urgently need legally binding targets to prevent mismanaged plastic waste polluting nature, we also need to be mindful of the impacts caused by other material supply chains. Glass, metals and paper are materials that are often touted as “sustainable” alternatives to plastic, but these materials can also leave damaging environmental and social footprints throughout their supply chains. Switching from plastic to other materials doesn’t always solve our problems, instead, it can shift environmental and social burdens to a different supply chain.
The Solution
All is not lost - truly sustainable beauty packaging can be achieved through three key steps:
1. Elimination of unnecessary packaging – For
beauty products ‘unnecessary packaging’ is packaging that doesn’t provide a practical function for the consumer such as a doublewalled container for face cream. More brands are selling “naked” products where possible which is an encouraging step in the right direction.
2. Adoption of reusable and refillable packaging
– Brands such as The Body Shop had a reuse and refill approach to their packaging which was ahead of its time. We’re starting to see more brands adopt reusable packaging systems for their products and this helps to keep valuable resources in use for longer.
3. Supporting circular packaging solutions – As
consumers, we can check which packaging can be recycled locally and support brands and retailers who encourage the return of packaging for recycling. Look out for packaging which contains post-consumer recycled materials as this reduces the overall carbon impact. These steps support a transition to a more circular economy and promote greater resource efficiency. Beauty choices are personal – such as which mascara we rely on and which moisturiser we swear by. But if each person has more awareness of the impacts his or her product of choice is having on the planet and the people who inhabit it, we will start to make a difference and collectively tackle the climate and nature crisis, one lipstick at a time.
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