At present there is a lot of discussion about the environment, and how we humans live and the way in which certain lifestyles may have an effect on the environment. 

The beauty industry is a fast and seemingly ever-growing industry. You only need to look in a local supermarket, pharmacy, or shop online to see how many beauty products are available to us.  

With this in mind I thought it would be interesting to look at how the industry I have been in for many years, effects our environment and explore ways that we can make changes to help our planet, while still enjoying the benefits of the beauty products available and the industry that many of us love.

Sustainable Beauty Products, generally refers to products that are produced with environmentally friendly formulations, including packaging and practices that also respect the environment. 

We seem to be learning more and more about how the way we live can have a detrimental effect on the environment.  
The use of ingredients that are non-toxic builds a good pathway to supporting sustainable beauty as does packaging that is eco-friendly.

Can We Achieve Sustainable Beauty?
The environment and our lifestyles, has been a hot topic for some time now, and rightly so. It would be amazing to achieve a win, win situation, where we can still enjoy our beauty products while respecting the environment, or even better helping it. 

I am sure we could all do better, myself included.  

This is a topic that I often think about, and I join the people who get perturbed by the excessive amount of unnecessary packaging that encompasses our beauty products, with still so much plastic being used, and ingredients that do not always respect the long-term impact on the environment. With these thoughts in mind, I thought I would explore ways to improve. 

As far as I can see there is not a completely sustainable brand on the market. It would be fantastic to see that all companies within the beauty industry really take on board the challenge of creating fantastic products that completely respect the environment. I realise that this is no easy quest.

Top Tips

  • Check out what the ingredients are in your products.
  • Lookout for companies that use packaging that is either recyclable or biodegradable.
  • Avoid plastic containers as much as possible.
  • Remember to put all recyclable waste in the appropriate recycle bins.
  • Choose brands that are trying to respect the environment and making efforts to produce quality products with planet friendly practices.
  • Look for companies that promote refillable options. Some perfume companies offer this such as Muglar. Calvin Klein CK, Everyone has created a fragrance that is deemed as clean and environmentally conscious, the bottle is made from recycled materials that can be recycled again. 
  • Be aware that sustainable products can be expensive at the moment, so research and you may find a good deal.
  • Use solid soaps rather than liquid soaps that are often packaged in plastic containers. You can find some liquid soap in glass bottles, but the nozzle on the pump still tends to be plastic.
  • Use a clean warm flannel with your cleanser, rather than a face wipe. 
  • When choosing a sun screen, look for marine friendly products that respect marine life and the environment.
  • Look out for natural deodorant sticks and bars. Have a look at Peace With The Wild website which has all sorts of good ideas with a positive view on sustainable products. They also have a book which advises beginners on sustainable practices. 
  • Avoid products that contain Palm oil as the palm oil industry is notorious for wiping out rainforests and releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
  • Remember to put your used packaging and containers into the recycling and encourage the rest of the household to do the same.

Products and suppliers to look out for

  • Peace With The Wild:  As I said earlier this company has some great product ideas.  The book I mentioned earlier is Go Green, a guide to eco-friendly living. 
  • Wearth London: This site has independent sustainable UK brands offering zero waste beauty products. There looks to be some nice gift ideas too. Including bamboo hairbrushes and eco friendly toothbrush sets.
  • Simple Biodegradable cleansing wipes:  If you really must use face wipes then these wipes are reported be made of renewable plant fibres and sustainable wood pulp, so kinder to the planet.  Simple say the wipes take just 42 days to biodegrade.
  • Parla Toothpaste Tabs: This is new to me so I intend to give them a go. Toothpaste tubes are almost impossible to recycle resulting in over a billion tubes being sent to landfill. Parla offers a sustainable, ethical and effective alternative, in the form of a tablet that is dehydrated toothpaste. You chew on it for five seconds then brush with your toothbrush. It is vegan and palm oil free. It contains fluoride to prevent decay.
  • The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate Sheet mask: For those of you who love a sheet mask but want to respect the environment, when used and finished pop the mask in your compost bin and it degrades within a month.

There are many beauty companies that are dedicated to improving their approach to considering the environment and making changes to aim towards sustainable beauty. This is an area I certainly would like to focus on too and I would love to hear from you if you have found a great product or maybe let me know how easy or difficult you have found making these changes. 

There is so much more to think about in terms of sustainable beauty, and there is lots of research and many articles that are ready.  I have just touched on a few ways to improve our carbon footprint and realise that I have a long way to go in adapting the way I also do things.  

Small adaptions to the choices we make could all have a positive impact on our planet, while still being able to enjoy our luxuries.