I have been asked by a number of readers to write a post of eco-friendly and sustainable make up brands as part of my ‘Sustainable Swap’ series. Despite not using much make up myself (mainly due to the far-reaching consequences of the industry) I feel it is a very important topic and one that everyone should be educated on. After lots of research into the depth of the internet, I discovered unsurprisingly that this is a huge topic with so much to cover that simply can not be condensed into a single post. So here is the first part of this article series, beginning with the destructive impacts of the cosmetic industry and why it is important to re evaluate the products you use and buy.
As mentioned, I don't really own much makeup so don't have my own pictures to share, so enjoy this one provided by Wix
British households spend 400% more on personal care products than they did in 1985 according to a study by Vice. This amounts to 120 BILLION units of packaging being produced globally each year to house the products that are so demanded. Predictably, with huge demand for beauty and care products comes major, devastating impacts for our planet. The cardboard envelopes that encase products such as perfumes and moisturisers contribute to the loss of 18 MILLION acres of forest each year. Crazy right?
Here are the main consequences of the cosmetic industry. Don’t worry, my next article will be a bit more positive and help you reduce the damage done to our planet by your make up and moisturizers.
The Packaging Problem
As mentioned above, an enormous amount of packaging is produced to contain products. Not only does this create a huge amount of emissions from the production of plastics and other materials, but this carbon footprint increases when packaging ends up in landfill too. Shockingly, 56% of people in the UK do not recycle recyclable bathroom products (but we are suddenly able to recycle 90% of kitchen products?). This indicates that all this recyclable packaging is going to landfill because of the inconvenience associated with washing out a shampoo or conditioner bottle. If the current levels of consumption continue alongside lack of recycling, by 2050 there will be 12 BILLION tonnes of plastic in landfills. Unfortunately, not all packaging your make up comes in is recyclable in the first place, or it is not made clear which parts are. I was shocked to learn that lipstick cases are often weighed down to make them feel more expensive, making them unrecyclable!
Microbeads and Plastic
As I am sure you are all aware off, a large portion of plastic ends up in the ocean, 5.25 trillion pieces to be exact. It is estimated there to be 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean. Plastic containers and packaging from your beauty items that go to landfill may find themselves in the ocean. Here they eventually break down into smaller and smaller pieces, consumed by all animals from plankton to turtles to whales. Approximately 1 million sea birds die from plastic and at least 2/3 of global fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion (with 1/3 of UK fish stocks found with plastic in them). But packaging is not the only plastic attack marine and aquatic life is under.
Microbeads as tiny plastic balls used in body scrubs and exfoliators, with some products containing over 300,000 microbeads per tube/pot. As I am sure you can imagine, once washed down the drain these microplastics have had devastating impacts on our water ways and oceans. Thankfully, the UK banned the manufacturing of microbeads in 2016, which came into force in 2018 meaning they can no longer be found in beauty and care products on our shelves; however this is sadly not the case in other countries.
‘Natural Beauty’
Recently, there has been an increased demand for cosmetics that are made from ‘Natural’ ingredients. This has led to big beauty brands wanting large quantities of natural ingredients as quickly and cheaply as possible, resulting in devastating impacts, both environmental and human. Brands that are adding these few natural ingredients are rapidly depleting our planets natural resources. Many ingredients in demand come from the tropics, such as vanilla and cocoa, leading to increased deforestation rates to make room for plantations. I shouldn’t need to explain the regional and global consequences of this. Demands for natural minerals such as mica has been linked with illegal mining of protected forestland, child labour and modern slavery. Mica is natural material that is the base of a glittery substances found in many make up products such as blusher, eyeshadow and foundation. The main supplier of mica is India, where child labour is prevalent in the mica mining business, with a huge percentage of the export being unregulated. Ask yourself, is that shimmery lipstick really worth it? The destruction of children’s lives and the rainforests? When produced without a conscience, the large-scale use of natural ingredients in cosmetics disrupts ecosystems, depletes non-renewable sources and breaches human rights.
Cosmetic Chemicals
Many cosmetic products contain a cocktail of chemicals that preserve its shelf life and allow for the various textures and feels of the product. The issue is that these chemical compounds don’t easily breakdown and can accumulate in our ecosystems. Once washed down the sink, the chemicals enter water systems, travelling into lakes and seas where the water containing them vaporises. Once in the atmosphere the contaminated water condenses and returns to the soil as rain. These cosmetic related chemicals have been found in agricultural soils and household dust particles. Grazing livestock can be affected by these toxins suffering reproductive failure, genetic and developmental changes and cancers. Here are some frequently used cosmetic chemicals to look out for:
- BHA and BHT can cause death to fish and shellfish as well as cause genetic mutations in amphibians
- Sodium Laureth Sulphate changes fish behaviour and increases mortality
- Dioxane causes insect death
- DEA reacts with nitrates in the environment creating a highly carcinogenic compounds, as well as being highly toxic to amphibians, crustaceans, fish, nematodes, flatworms and zooplankton
Chemical and water pollution isn’t the only thing we should be worrying about. New research highlights the air pollution caused by cosmetics such as perfumes, deodorants and hairsprays. The air pollution from these products can impact the environment just as much as car emissions. In Los Angeles it was found that scented products emit the same level of chemical vapours as car emissions in the form of ‘volatile organic compounds’.
Palm Oil
Forest destruction for palm oil plantations has had a lot of media coverage lately, and we have all become aware of the far-reaching impacts of this product, and the cosmetic industry is no exception. Like other every-day products, palm oil can be found in a large proportion of beauty and self-care products and are contributing to rapid deforestation and climate change. The equivalent of 300 football fields of forest AN HOUR are being cleared and replaced by palm oil plantations.
Carbon Emissions
Although I can’t find a figure for the carbon footprint of the cosmetic industry, its not hard to imagine that its pretty big after all the factors I have just discussed. From the release of carbon from deforestation, the energy used in the manufacturing and production processes and carbon emissions from products in landfill, cosmetics contribute to your carbon footprint.
I hope you now feel more educated on the consequences of our cosmetic products, be that your shampoo, moisturiser or make up, they all have an impact. This article hasn’t even touched the animal welfare issues related to this industry. Hopefully by the end of this article series, I will have empowered you to be able to make eco-conscious decisions when you’re buying your next product or looking to dispose of your old ones. Every choice you make matters, and I hope I will be able to educate you on how to make better, more sustainable ones.
Sources
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ne8vkb/beauty-influencers-environmental-impact
http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/