We all love and need our makeup, but makeup should never impact negatively on the world around us. All too often it does. The makeup industry is worth half a trillion dollars just on its own.
That is a lot of money being spent every single year on beauty products. But how many of us know whether or not our favourite brands recycle? How many of us recycle our used bottles and pads, etc?
Do you know where your products are made and by who? It's really important that you become conscious about what goes on behind the scenes in the makeup industry and start to take more positive steps towards being more eco friendly.
Reuse
Start off slow and small, like these reusable makeup pads. The round cotton pads are made from sustainably sourced materials, and they are structured and designed in a way to make sure they can be reused over and over.
You don’t need to throw these away as quickly because they don't collapse or become lumpy. Just follow the instructions to wash them regularly before they get too clogged with your products. Check out the 10 and also 20 piece bundles which are also infused with lemon.
You can also use items such as sponges for powder products and tanning. Check out their natural exfoliating sponge, which can be washed over and over and still keep its softness and bounce. It's something which you can take with you and use it while on holiday or on a road trip. Rather than using disposables you can use the sponge and not harm the environment even when it comes time to throw it away.
Recycle your empty products
Every single plastic product can usually be recycled. Look for a sign or slogan on the back of your products, search for words like ‘fairtrade’, ‘recyclable’, ‘ethical plastics’, etc. All of these words indicate that the plastic is able to be recycled. Don’t put plastics which cannot be recycled into your recycle box, because that kind of plastic is toxic and needs to be treated in another way when being disposed of.Â
This is even more important why you should only buy products which are not just ethically made but ethically sold. It's no good having a natural and eco-friendly product that comes out of a toxic plastic bottle. You should make it your goal to fill an ‘empty’ box with all your used up makeup products. At the very least you’ll feel good about only buying products which you know won’t harm the world.
Go to beauty trade shows!
Going to conventions is a great way to see which brands are actually doing something to help save the world and which brands are just paying lip service. One of the things that we have noticed is, how products that say they are naturally sourced, and sometimes not ethically sourced.
They may be natural ingredients, but using slave labor is not something you want to endorse. So speaking with representatives for brands and asking what they are doing about paying workers fairly, making sure that the products are sourced naturally and not taking too much from nature is very important.
Coconut oil is very popular in the beauty industry, but taking too many coconuts could harm the local wildlife or the local population. So it's a complex approach that has to be taken.
Spread the word
It's amazing how you can change minds if you just try a little. Speak with your friends about eco-friendly products. The conversation points could be…
Have you seen a difference between natural products and designed products? In other words, do your friends see their skin is clearer thanks to using all-natural products or using products with a lot of chemicals?Â
Do they think that eco-friendly products are cheaper? Economics says that they are because the market isn’t so focussed on making very much on eco-conscious products across the board.Â
Could buying more eco-friendly products help poorer countries? If so, in what ways and how could you support this further?
Our beauty is essential because it's directly linked to our emotional state and confidence. But, we must make conscious decisions about what we buy and what we do with the products when we’re finished.Â
Comments