Environmental sustainability in the cosmetics and personal care industry
Environmental sustainability in the cosmetics and personal care industry
Human beings have sought – since ancient times – to find ways to improve their physical appearance, which is evident in the remaining monuments of many nations that illustrate man’s submission to nature. For extracting perfumes, cosmetics, etc. We find that the ancient Egyptians – for example – made many decorative tools, and also created many cosmetics, which is clearly visible on the walls of temples and artifacts.
With time – and differences in location and societal norms –Cosmetics developed significantly, gradually shifting from relying on natural extracts from animals and plants to relying on chemical compounds and processed materials.
Modern cosmetic products may be easier to obtain and easier to use, but we must also consider the implications of using these modern cosmetics, as is the case with most consumer items; These products have a significant carbon footprint and environmental impact that we must not ignore.
The wide diversity, countless types, and numerous brands have made the cosmetics and personal care industry a growing industry that generates billions of dollars in revenue every year. However, the global trend towards transforming the industrial sector – in general – towards sustainability has put the cosmetics industry under pressure. To take serious steps towards making it a green industry.
A growing category of consumers – fortunately – is aware and aware of everything they use and its impact on the environment. This has consequently led to a gradual increase in sustainability in the beauty industry, to meet the needs of this conscious consumer. From here, we will review in the following lines the most important topics related to sustainability in the cosmetics and cosmetics industry.
The impact of the beauty industry on the environment
The cosmetics field is growing at an unprecedented rate, thanks to the emergence of brands that focus on keeping up with customer needs to a high degree, and this leads to the development of many innovative products every year. But these products entail an environmental cost that is – perhaps – invisible to most of us.
There is a long list of challenges facing brands looking to reduce the environmental impacts of their manufacturing processes, and these impacts include empty cosmetic packaging and the resulting plastic and other materials. As well as the amounts of wasted water, carbon emissions, and cruelty to animals by using them in inhumane experiments to manufacture and improve products, and we will discuss these points in the following lines:
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Packaging containers and boxes
Most often, the process of packaging cosmetics depends largely on the marketing and advertising side more than the practical side, as product packaging represents a top priority for many companies in this industry. Through it, the user can feel the quality of the product inside the package and the value of the brand. Therefore, we find that the higher the price of the product, the more unnecessarily complicated its packaging is, and thus produces more waste.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to recycle cosmetics containers and packaging materials; Many of the boxes and bags these products come in are made from a mixture of materials, and separating these materials is often incredibly time and effort consuming!
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Waste water
Water may not be the first ingredient that comes to mind when thinking about cosmetics, but the fact of the matter is that water is mainly used in a wide range of these preparations, from personal care products to creams and others, as water is considered the appropriate medium in which many chemicals dissolve.
Therefore, many call water the ideal solvent in the cosmetics industry, as it can be used with emulsifiers to obtain thick-textured products from water mixed with oils and other fats.
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Carbon Emissions
Some people might be surprised to learn that cosmetics contain the same volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as cleaning products, printing inks, pesticides, and wood finishing materials. These are compounds that are considered air pollutants, and we find these volatile organic compounds in cosmetics, such as perfumes, deodorants, and hair sprays. Studies show that these VOCs largely cause carbon dioxide emissions.
Another aspect is the ingredients derived from fossil fuels, which are the ingredients used in cosmetics, especially packaging processes, which also contribute to the carbon footprint resulting from this industry. Therefore, emissions from the cosmetics and personal care industry are a major problem that needs to be addressed, even if these products are extracted from natural sources, as they can be treated in unsustainable ways.
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Microplastic pollution
Plastic pollution resulting from the cosmetics industry is not limited only to the waste of containers and packaging materials, but also extends to the products themselves, which contain within them many particles of microbeads.
Microbeads are small plastic particles, usually used as an exfoliant in body scrubs and some other beauty products. Therefore, consumers can pump millions of these plastic particles into sewers and bodies of water simply by using cosmetics that contain these microbeads.
The direct result of water pollution with microbeads is that they reach the bodies of fish and marine organisms – and, by extension, humans – thus increasing the phenomenon of plastic pollution that our oceans suffer from.
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Animal cruelty
Testing cosmetics on animals is inhumane and unjustified, and has, in one way or another, caused large segments of consumers to turn to vegan beauty products over the years. Some animals are subjected to cruel experiments to test the properties of cosmetic products. These experiments include skin and eye irritation experiments, where the animals’ eyes and bodies are exposed to chemicals.
Another cruel experiment is the lethal dose test, in which researchers inject animals with a lethal dose of chemicals used in a product; To distinguish fatal from dangerous.
Sustainable practices in the beauty industry
As we indicated at the beginning of the article, the increased awareness of large segments of consumers has contributed to their keenness to purchase products with limited environmental impacts, which is something that has prompted many sectors – especially the industrial sector – to research and develop into finding appropriate methods. To increase the efficiency of production processes, ensure the sustainability of supply chains, reduce product waste, and maximize recycling.
Therefore, some sustainable practices have emerged in the cosmetics and personal care industry, with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint on the one hand, and responding to the needs of consumers with environmentally friendly products on the other hand. Here are some of these practices.
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Improved formulations
Products labeled “green” or “sustainable” have emerged in the cosmetics industry, which are products made from natural ingredients derived from renewable resources; Therefore, it does not result in any contamination of the environment with components such as microbeads, or other chemical compounds.
Green cosmetics formulations include bio-oil chemicals extracted from nature, which constitute the backbone of green cosmetics. Because it is derived from renewable plant sources. For the purpose of water conservation, we find many new skin care products that do not rely on water, and these products have become increasingly popular recently, not only because they are more environmentally friendly, but also because their production costs are lower.
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Sustainable packaging materials
We clearly see the pollution caused by plastic containers and packaging materials in the cosmetics and personal care sector, as the plastic waste of these containers can be found in different forms.
To solve this problem, there are two main methods that cosmetic companies are considering, the first: relying on biodegradable packaging materials, and the other: completely abandoning plastic materials in packaging containers.
Some other practical solutions include providing cosmetic containers that can be returned again for refilling and filling, instead of buying a new container, or using plastic materials – in the worst cases – in an organized manner that allows them to be recycled easily and conveniently.
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Intelligent product design
The cosmetics and personal care industry – as we reviewed – causes environmental problems, problems that are due in large part to packaging waste. But the other thing here is that developing new products and producing them on a large scale is a process that requires many experiments, to arrive at the best formula that suits the general need among most consumers.
Designing products in an intelligent manner based on surveying consumers’ opinions, to accurately determine their needs, can clearly contribute to reducing laboratory experiments. Thus reducing the violations these experimental animals are exposed to.
Another thing is that the product’s packaging is designed intelligently, allowing the user to reuse this packaging for other purposes easily, or at the very least facilitating the task of recycling ports.
Towards a sustainable and beautiful future
It is not reasonable to take care of ourselves and our beauty more than we take care of our environment and its sustainability. Just as our health and appearance are important matters, the health of the environment is inevitable and has no alternative. Therefore, cosmetics and personal care tools that pollute the planet must disappear from our homes and stores. In an effort to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.
As for the major companies and brands in the cosmetics industry, it is time to start transforming this industry into sustainability, and making it an environmentally friendly industry, an industry that truly beautifies the human appearance and preserves the beauty of nature. Perhaps the growing consumer awareness will be a suitable motivation for these companies to seriously implement strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
