5 Beauty Companies with Sustainable Solutions for Reducing Plastic Waste
Take Action Towards Environmental Sustainability
How often do you ponder the potential environmental impact of your daily, personal care routine? If you answered that question honestly, I would be willing to bet, it was — never. As people around the globe begin to prioritize sustainability when they’re browsing the aisles of supermarkets, beauty stores, and pharmacies, companies are developing innovative products and packaging to reduce their environmental impact. To contribute to the cause, keep reading to discover five beauty brands committed to decreasing plastic waste.
Sk*p
If your shower looks anything like mine, it may be littered with large plastic bottles filled with shampoo, conditioner, or body wash. Before I began my research in plastic waste, I gave little thought to how many of these products I go through a year…let alone in my lifetime! Thankfully, Sk*p is working to ensure we never have to feel guilty about our shower routine again. The innovative hair and body line created BeautyCarton™ packaging that is both sustainable and sturdy. Best part? Sk*p’s positive impact doesn’t stop there! Their products are made with safely harvested, natural honey from their own bee farms, which protects these invaluable creatures and works to balance your skin’s microbiome.
Izzy
Every few months, I find myself sifting through online advertisements in search of the next best mascara. Finally, I think I’ve got the keeper — Izzy. Izzy Beauty created the world’s first zero waste mascara. Packed in a 100% reusable, recyclable, and carbon neutral stainless steel tube, Izzy’s mascara can be cleaned and refilled over 10,000 times. Never again do you have to throw out those plastic tubes or waste time browsing for another! Izzy Beauty even ships their products in zero plastic component containers without outer packaging, eliminating the useless extra plastic! With the Izzy Mascara membership model for replenishment, they incentivize their consumers to reuse their mascara and generate zero waste, which results in a 78% smaller carbon footprint after 25-refills than most beauty brands.
Plus
Over 90% of your body wash is water. I think that deserves repetition — over 90% of your body wash is WATER! This (very unfortunately) means that with every already too-long shower, you’re wasting more water than you think. I learned all of this when I stumbled upon the Plus body wash sheets. Plus makes individual sheets wrapped in a 100% dissolvable sachet, allowing you to use 30% less water with each wash. Almost sounds too good to be true… but, this is how it works. You take a sheet out of the dissolvable packing, add a little water from the shower head, and begin to scrub to get the desired bubbling effect. Once finished, you drop both the sheet and packaging into the drain and they’ll both disintegrate completely.
Ethique
At the height of the COVID-pandemic, my family had bars of soap in more places than I can count. Keeping us safe and healthy was a priority, but then, I recognized all of the plastic dishes they were placed in. Luckily, Ethique created compostable, reusable, and renewable in-shower containers and an eco-friendly soap bar that come in 100% plastic, laminate, and chlorine free, dissolvable packaging.
Bybi
Being greeted each morning with dark circles under my eyes makes me sad. Thinking about climate change and the destruction of our planet makes me sad. BYBI’s bright eyed illuminating eye cream makes me happy! Finally, I can look good and feel good about reducing my impact on the environment. All of BYBI’s products are 100% green, recyclable, and carbon-neutral. They even created the “The Susty Score,” which quantifies the materials and ingredients used in BYBI products and shipping containers to objectively decipher the impact your order will have on the environment. Every year, BYBI founders host “The Susty Summit,’’ where the average consumer can observe their team tackle a sustainable subject, thereby creating an open, transparent look into the inner workings of their company.