planet.
The first pillar we’re talking about this week is planet, more specifically, the way the fashion and cosmetic industries affects the planet. More than 120 million units of packaging of cosmetic products are wasted each year, accounting for 70% of the industry’s waste, (plastic waste and environmental impact of the beauty industry, 2022). Today we will delve deeper into this problem, how both sectors contribute and how they are actively tackling this rising issue.
Circular economy is a structure where every material and product made can infinitely be recycled or biodegraded according to Gwilt (2021, p. 10). As shown in (Ellen MacArthur foundation, 2020) there are three important principles that circular economy is based around: eliminating waste and pollution, not using an outstanding number of finite materials and rebuilding the natural environment. 20% of global wastewater is responsible on behalf of the fashion industry as of Martina Igini (2023), so these three pillars give us a better understanding of how to tackle the damage already dealt to the planet.
Sustainability in relation to fashion and cosmetics is an ever-growing issue that is a top priority for brands to adhere to, we can see big brands do more for this cause with every new collection that arrives, for example, REN, the clean skincare brand has made a pledge to become zero waste since 2018. Their packaging is designed to be recyclable and reusable as more than 85 tons of post-consumer plastic is repurposed through their packaging, and they also contribute to removing more than 2.4 tons of plastic from the ocean. (REN, 2023)
The United Nations sustainable development goals consist of seventeen targets that contribute to the better future of the planet (United Nations, 2023). These goals were set to be achieved by the year 2030, after being set in 2015, there are yearly reports dissembling each goal and what has been achieved in that year to achieve the end goal. The goal that aligns the most with the fashion industry is the ‘responsible consumption and production goal’, with the new trend of companies releasing new products and lines every few months, the problem of consumer consumption is spiralling out of control. There must be a balance between anti-consumption and sustainable consumption (Vesterinen, E. (2022), we can see this in depth with companies using eco friendly packaging and labour. For example, the body Shop has a refill program where customers can refill their products in previously bought packaging to prevent adding to the packaging waste problem as discussed earlier (The body shop, 2023). They also source plastic from waste pickers in India, where they offer the workers a liveable income and honest working conditions to help fight the problem of underpaid workers in eastern Asian countries.
Reference list-
Gwilt, A. (2021) A practical guide to sustainable fashion. 2nd edn. London: Bloomsbury
Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2020) Circular economy introduction Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview#:~:text=It%20is%20based%20on%20three,%2C%20people%2C%20and%20the%20environment.
Igini, M. (2023) 10 concerning fast fashion waste statistics. Available at: https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/# (Accessed: 21 August 2023)
Plastic waste and environmental impact of the beauty industry (2022) Available at: https://zerraco.com/blogs/zerra-blog/plastic-waste-and-environmental-impact-of-the-beauty-industry#:~:text=How%20much%20waste%20does%20the,created%20for%20the%20cosmetic%20industry.
REN. (2023). About us. https://www.renskincare.com/pages/about-us?override=true#Text–template–15594439966767__4b2a3d42-3f0a-4d22-ba03-19dcee593fc4
Vesterinen, E. (2022) Sustainable anti-consumption of clothing: A systematic literature review. Available at: https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/777794/1-s2.0-S2666784322X00028/1-s2.0-S2666784322000158/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEJ%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCICGj03ZYmJ%2BdVPo4fw5nOAKr%2FPOG2i9WWctkEN4GCwarAiEA9ciLTsmwAKaeMncVczuT%2FRyzCWkHg1s6K7LXacqP3lQqvAUIqP%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDJIDQiTCimOYjYqAmyqQBZIDhpH6OW8EIf7V4J4e8iICfqIqtJayZI9MX1IlN9vUqEGmG%2BmOy2gly6MXcC8WQt4UU0Cqds9%2BXoUO82HmYCy61pCZpnPuL706g7VloQkfpgTQoztQcPKQI7Kmo1guka6EF5bGfftZwZfEKARUySQDs%2BJi4OsY5TRqptlAVwlQCw8LBQSKLyHjco5tuJQWT9DL1xAr8R0vrCJ3shDt%2BagB2QMoAuF2Q%2BNHeVnUHQ8tXcEXCAxBCc3N0plmkwKvNmKJTmItD7DteO8yOphMaboQE0rBCs4sapkhKSP7rpy%2FWEC6GFYSfMvouOqPtEeF3qWxNrtJeErI5AkfFLB7Q%2Fu%2BJgjCgo3BFZYMe9DIVKogIfV4rHiZxxJvWH%2FtLkswyLeHjNKJWV9uX3z85YDkOPAi3jdijPH7LKXkWmejVd9P7smRBOHKdhUtNzFkm6WjZS5rXayuUQY01x4KfBBt8jFPO33WWOKCWVO3w4jCGCreLqIP8TIq4pEDhsdNgYY96frCDhsQMVYDIgtAPGZOsLSL9wZ9vh5hnBUp48UT9LhiS6zkUyd9ugm2EHYklCTSwUbwief79NgRBw1BI0x2LBuHRWBRJX%2BJJDGzxe8QxVAbHNDJGdisc4%2FLB7MxhjUWZwYNCFLooEMsPD9gIpwME5domEqVoPXrUqdwflRQ9WJZcf33zdJiEac5wU0s%2BTGFUH77Wj9MDVKU93brQUZQXcBvQwDrrIauNBZmCeWFjLY2yL1EiM1S5MhIDh6qFL3B3YaZBbMLKESF5ZSjOhYqf5exGTo7yHYNE2TKEV1KFYyW3nazk083A1hlhYBjE4nyXiRNMxrFjtaGLjJuKm0XHnasK10zj5cejaStXfDVuxYRMM2Fi6kGOrEB5x8zqFSc4Zf%2BTxenILgKMDx6fR%2B%2F4FkpTMWh0hhM9RnH%2FfplMDA7MQvEQ%2FaUSFl9TWC1OlUq6lTLIzggpTcCVxv2FciJWD%2FF7GNnuPKkTI254dZXJpo4RmlWoU%2FDUqfwK8BohgH0dB0kcQ9vk9f91JeA%2Bz9ElMMwW13Cra%2BzlqNVrFnUXdRR3gI49B9kgmo3J775w7jm2YVFg2QGfnnTutvmXjf7GjlQreKv8NNvHami&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20231008T161539Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYTOPLFKWV%2F20231008%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=268e07b50f3a354cba7e5b32b42c6d6eeb0e6319ddeb0d00c072243042025ff9&hash=d1bdd0cacc7ab4b7f57edf06c78c80c7b8526d638af7754247174934caeac8ef&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S2666784322000158&tid=spdf-1a8e26c4-45cc-4c2f-b713-3a5c8163ece5&sid=08da2bb68ea426476968ff15edda834c9898gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=1d045d5452020707570004&rr=812faf0eed97dcf3&cc=gb
United Nations (2023) The 17 goals. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
The body shop (2023) Our sustainability commitments. Available at: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/about-us/brand-values/sustainability/sustainability-commitments/a/a00063