Plastic pollution and presence of microplastics in human blood has raised concerns among many consumers who buy skincare and beauty products. To address this issue which is on the rise, many beauty and skincare brands are now showing how they are being environmentally conscious. Sustainable practices in the beauty and skincare industry are starting to take place.
Case in point, American skincare brand Versed uses recycled plastic to make its products in order to reduce landfill plastic waste. PCR (post consumer recycled) products are made by Versed most of the time. Through PCR, materials are broken down and can be reused to make new skincare products, eliminating the waste it would create if it simply went to decompose in a landfill. Versed explains on its website, “Virgin plastic, on the other hand, is brand new and costs the Earth a whole lot more.”
Versed claims that some of their products are made with 79 percent PCR plastic. According to a report by Huffington Post, the carbon footprint of manufacturing 100 percent PCR Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), like in a water bottle, is 60% lower than virgin PET. And the process includes all the energy to collect, recycle, and remanufacture the plastic.
However, packaging is not the only thing that makes a product environmentally conscious. There are factors like production methods, clean energy, harvesting techniques, and ingredient sourcing that also play a crucial role in improving wasteful or unethical practices.
To tackle that, many companies have come up with a refillable option for hard-to-recycle categories, like fragrance bottles, moisturisers and more. Case in point, manufacturing locations for Krigler Perfumes teams reuse and refill vessels. Speaking to Vogue, Ben Krigler, the fifth-generation perfumer said, “Ship or bring back empty bottles and we can recycle them—and our stores are also trained to refill bottles.”
Besides this, Tata Harper Skincare’s moisturiser product now features airtight packaging and a 100 percent recyclable refill pod. The signature green glass packaging only needs to be shipped once, and then it can be refilled with the refill pods. In a similar move, skincare brand Glow Recipe also introduced refill pods for its moisturiser.
Are you excited to indulge in sustainable beauty practices?
