Planet
The cosmetics industry has an overwhelmingly negative effect on the planet, which makes it crucial that we consider ways damage caused throughout the life cycle of a product can be minimised.
Responsible consumption and production are one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals to significantly reduce waste by 2030 through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse to encourage sustainability. This is a development goal that many industries must contribute an effort into achieving, as they are responsible for the damage caused to the environment as a result of the extraction of raw materials but also inclusive of every step up to the distribution of the final product and the waste created from its disposal.
In 2021, the UK produced over 2.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging with only 44.2% being recycled (DEFRA, 2023). The EU has set out to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and one of the key issues they are tackling is the packaging sector, the United Kingdom’s legal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% from 1990 levels will be a great contributing factor towards reaching climate neutrality across Europe (Brader, 2023). The UK Plastics Pact is promoting reusable options and increased use of recycled plastics to reduce the total amount of packaging on supermarket shelves.
By following the circular economy model, the cosmetics industry can minimise waste by extending the life cycle of products. The carbon footprint of many businesses can be significantly reduced by re-designing the packaging of products to be more eco-friendly. Application of circular economy principles to packaging can transform the economy in a way that will reduce consequences such as leakage into oceans. Creating an economic incentive to build plastic collection and recovery infrastructure that repurposes plastics will lead to less leakage, especially of materials with a higher after-use value which reinforces the United Nations’ goal of sustaining life under water (MacArthur, 2016).
An example of a brand with an innovative approach to sustainability within the industry is Lush, where environmental issues are at the centre of the company’s ethos. The majority of Lush’s products can be purchased without the need for any external packaging and any products in pots or bottles are made with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. Many other brands such as the Body Shop, Dr Sam’s and Fenty have integrated re-fillable packaging into their product range and to further entice consumers, some of the brands offer incentives for using the more sustainable scheme such as discounts on purchases.
Reference List:
Brader, C. (2023) Mission zero: Independent Review of Net Zero. Available at: https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/mission-zero-independent-review-of-net-zero/ (Accessed: 07 October 2023).
European Green Deal: Putting an end to wasteful packaging, boosting reuse and recycling (2022) European Commission – European Commission. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7155 (Accessed: 07 October 2023).
Plastic waste and recycling in the EU: Facts and figures: News: European parliament (2023).Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20181212STO21610/plastic-waste-and-recycling-in-the-eu-facts-and-figures (Accessed: 07 October 2023).
The UK plastics pact (2021) WRAP. Available at: https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/plastic-packaging/initiatives/the-uk-plastics-pact (Accessed: 07 October 2023).
UK statistics on waste (2023) GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste (Accessed: 07 October 2023).