Charlotte Willetts

Since the 1960s, the global production of plastics has been multiplied by twenty, spanning 322 million tons by 2015. Less than 30% of the approximately 25.8 million tons of plastic produced each year in Europe is recycled, leaving the majority of plastic to be landfilled or incinerated (Cinelli et al., 2019). The disposal of plastic waste leads to land, water, and air pollution, consequently endangering animal and human lives through entanglement and ingestion, and contributing to global warming through the release of methane and carbon dioxide from microbial degradation of plastics (Alabi et al., 2019).

Circular economy has been defined as an economic structure established on business configurations that replace the ‘end-of-life’ concept with reducing, recycling, reusing and recovering materials in the production, distribution and consumption processes, hence performing at the micro level (companies, products, consumers), meso level (eco-industrial parks) and macro level (city, region, nation and beyond), with the intent to achieve sustainable development, therefore simultaneously building environmental quality, economic prosperity and social equity, to the interest of current and future generations (Kirchherr et al., 2017).

The term ‘sustainable’ is defined as using natural resources whilst intending to meet human needs and preserve the environment, so that these needs can be met in the present and additionally in future generations. There are several ways a cosmetics business can achieve sustainability: the use of natural/organic materials (grown without toxins, chemical pesticides or herbicides, and using sustainable farming practices), not testing on animals, recycled packaging, and giving back to the planet through donations to environmental research or causes (Csorba and Boglea, 2011).

The United Nations has 17 sustainable development goals that present a shared model for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The twelfth goal is to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns. Cosmetic companies can work towards the targets outlined under this goal through reducing their plastic waste generation through recycling, reduction and reuse, as well as integrating sustainability information into their reporting cycles (United Nations, 2023). Specifically, the industry should adopt sustainable practices such as using biodegradable, natural ingredients in formulations, and avoid the use of microplastics in products. Likewise, product packaging should be recycled and reused, and if this is impractical due to contamination, packaging should also be biodegradable to reduce the amount of plastic waste created (Thukaram, 2019).

Reference list

1. Alabi, O.A., Ologbonjaye, K.I., Awosolu, O. and Alalade, O.E. (2019) Public and environmental health effects of plastic wastes disposal: a review. Journal of Toxicology and Risk Assessment, 5(021), pp.1-13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.23937/2572-4061.1510021 (Accessed on 6/10/23)
2. Cinelli, P., Coltelli, M.B., Signori, F., Morganti, P. and Lazzeri, A. (2019) Cosmetic packaging to save the environment: Future perspectives. Cosmetics, 6(2), p.26. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics6020026 (Accessed on 6/10/23)
3. Csorba, L.M. and Boglea, V.A. (2011) Sustainable cosmetics: a major instrument in protecting the consumer’s interest. Regional and Business Studies, 3(1 Suppl.), pp.167-176. Available at: https://journal.ke.hu/index.php/rbs/article/view/455/949 (Accessed on 6/10/23)
4. Kirchherr, J., Reike, D. and Hekkert, M. (2017) Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, conservation and recycling, 127, pp.221-232. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.005 (Accessed on 6/10/23)
5. Thukaram, M. (2019) A Green Thumbs-Up for the Future of Cosmetics. Chemical Engineering Progress, 115(10), pp.56-56. Available at: https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/cep/20191056.pdf (Accessed on 7/10/23)
6. United Nations (2023) The 17 Goals. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed on 7/10/23)