When shopping for beauty products, we closely examine ingredients to figure out which product is least harmful to our skin. But is the same attention being paid to how these products are impacting our environment?
To tell the truth, people are getting more conscious about protecting the environment. As a result, more and more brands have started focusing on sustainable packaging solutions that are less harmful to mother nature. Meaning, they are leveraging packages that are eco-friendly in some form or produce zero-waste.
Wondering, how this can help the environment?
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According to a study by Zero Waste, each year the global cosmetics industry is producing about 120 billion units of packing, much of which is not biodegradable. The majority of the beauty products are packaged in plastic that can take approximately 1000 years to decompose. And that’s not all, the industry also uses other unsustainable materials like mirrored glass, plastic wrappings, and foams to encase their products, which aren’t recyclable.
If packaging solutions aren’t recycled, they would go into landfills or litter our environment. Thankfully beauty brands, both big and small, have started cleaning up their mess, as consumers’ conscious choices and increasingly available information on sustainability has forced them to make the shift.
Here’s how consumers made simple swaps to force brands revisit their packaging strategy and restore a greener beauty regime.
Swapping Liquid Soaps with Bars
Bar soaps have emerged once again because unlike their predecessors the new and improved generation of soaps is good for skin in many ways. More importantly, these are sold in sustainable packages such as cardboard boxes and Kraft paper boxes that are easy to recycle, while plastic takes years to decompose.
Due to this, several brands are leveraging sustainable packaging materials to develop custom cosmetic boxes that fit their needs and business goals at one fell swoop.
However, if you don’t like the idea of using soap dishes, there is no harm in using soap pouches such as the ones introduced by Hydrophil. This can prove quite useful because it keeps the soap bars dry between uses which allows them to last longer.
Since it is made of fully biodegradable sisal, it enables you to store soap in a modish way and use it till the very end.
Ditching Plastic for Aluminum & Glass Packing
Evidently, going plastic-free packaging is the ideal way to keep the environment green. Though numerous brands are now making solid products, one cannot deny that naked is not for everyone. Plus, there is still a huge demand for packages that are both eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.
For this reason, brands are ditching plastic for aluminum as it is proving to be a decent alternative for cosmetic box packaging. Also, it has a better recycling average compared to plastic. About 55% of the aluminum cans are recycled compared to only 5% of the world’s plastic. On the other hand, glass too is vying to grasp consumers’ attention as 34% of glass containers are being currently recycled.
Sure, when it comes to cost Kraft paper boxes and cardboard takes the lead, as these are the mainstream options, especially where weight dictates. But, one cannot completely rule out aluminum and glass. Particularly, when numerous brands are using glass bottles and aluminum containers to package their products in order to keep them in optimal condition.
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