Why are sustainable skincare and cosmetics products important?
The severity of the global climate crisis has only made itself more evident over the past few decades, causing us all to re-evaluate our personal habits and look for ways to minimize our impact on the planet. More than ever before, people are interested in where their food, clothing, and personal care products come from and what kind of impact they have on the environment.
Unfortunately, the beauty industry is one of the worst offenders in terms of environmental impact. Massive amounts of waste are created by the beauty and cosmetics consumption every year. Close to 76.8 billion plastic units per year¹ are created by the beauty industry! But luckily, some brands are doing their part to change things through sustainable production and packaging.
By choosing an organic and vegan skincare brand, you’re supporting the planet’s well-being by supporting farmers of natural, healthy ingredients and helping to prevent animal cruelty practices. Vegan skincare is made from plants and minerals as well as safe synthetic ingredients, eliminating the use of any animal-derived ingredients that are typically found in beauty products.
Whether you’re vegan, environmentally-conscious, or just interested in how skincare and cosmetics companies are adapting, we’ve got all the details you need on how you can support the planet-friendly beauty industry.
How can skincare be planet-friendly?
Brands like Hello Beauty Club are creating a new standard for sustainable skincare. If you’re interested in how you can support this positive change, here are a few things to look for from sustainable skincare or cosmetics:
Renewable raw materials
Sustainable cosmetics are defined as cosmetic products using natural ingredients produced from renewable raw materials: think things like natural oils, agricultural plants and botanicals, and naturally-derived pigments and fragrances. Because these are farmed and not produced in a lab or factory, these raw materials can be renewed again and again without draining the environment of its natural resources.
Plus, these raw materials are super effective in skincare. High concentrations of fatty acids and vitamins in ingredients like olive oil, argan oil, safflower oil, and shea butter make them an ideal cosmetic ingredient for softening skin. These natural oils also have anti-inflammatory and healing properties on your body, especially your face. This makes them perfect for conditioning, toning, and soothing your skin, which is why they’re included in Hello Beauty Club products. Give our Natural Face Serum with Retinol + Vitamins C, E, F or Natural Argan Face Cream a try if you’re ready to try out some sustainably-sourced skincare.
Functional packaging
If you’re a frequent purchaser from online retail sites, you’ve probably witnessed a lot of unnecessary packaging used to ship products to your door. Whether it’s too-large boxes, paper packing, or excess marketing materials – a lot of waste is created through the convenience of having items shipped directly to you.
In an effort to minimise their impact, Hello Beauty Club uses functional alternatives to plastic in their packaging, such as bamboo, glass, and recycled cardboard. These materials are naturally-derived, making them way more sustainable than the hard plastics that many traditional beauty products are packaged in.
How can you help? Support brands who are committed to using less unnecessary packaging and always recycle or re-use packing materials that your products come in. Putting your dollar towards food, beauty, and clothing brands that prioritize sustainable supply chains and packaging can make a huge difference to the future of sustainable skincare. And if you’re visiting shops in person, bring a reusable bag from home to carry your items home in to avoid using a paper or plastic bag.
Reusable products
Tons of the personal care products we use on a daily basis (think cotton pads and swabs, tissues, and shampoo bottles) are single-use only – meaning they need to be replenished often and go straight into the bin after you use them. Because of single-use products and packaging that utilizes hard plastics, the beauty and personal care industry creates a huge drain on the earth’s resources, as well as contributing harmful waste to the earth’s land and oceans.
Because bamboo is a recyclable, sustainable alternative material to traditional cotton pads it’s a better choice for the environment. Single-use pads create lots of unnecessary waste, but Hello Beauty Club’s Reusable Bamboo Make-up Pads Kit can be cleaned and reused time and again.
So ditch your single-use cotton pads for a more sustainable alternative. You can feel good knowing less water and other natural resources were used in creating these reusable pads and you’re creating less waste by re-using them. It includes a net so you can easily wash and care for your pads for continued use. Reusable products are a great place to start if you want to begin lessening your daily impact on the environment.
If you want to go even further, find some creative ways to reuse the packaging for your beauty products. Save small jars (like those that eye cream come in) and use them to take small amounts of your skincare with you when you’re traveling or on holiday. It’s a great way to free up some space in your suitcase as well!
Larger skincare and cosmetics jars are a great place to store and keep jewelry safe while traveling. You can even use old cosmetics jars as a container for DIY candles – make sure they’re clean and dry before pouring wax and adding a wick.
Looking for a sustainable skincare gift set?
If you’re in need of some gift inspiration but want to also keep the planet in mind – Hello Beauty Club has got you sorted. You can feel proud to give any of our planet-friendly and sustainably-packaged skincare products for birthdays or during the holiday season. Not only is thoughtful packaging a way to lessen your environmental impact, all the products are vegan and cruelty-free. Just another reason natural skincare from Hello Beauty Club should be at the top of your list for any gift-giving occasion.
We offer four essential products in our Natural Skincare Box, so you’ll be ready to get your complete natural skincare routine started in one go. It includes the Organic Ginger Eye Serum,
Natural Argan Face Cream, and a Natural Face Serum with Retinol + Vitamins C, E, F and comes in a beautiful gift-ready box.
1) “The Beauty Industry Has a Plastics Problem | Teen Vogue.” 26 Dec. 2018, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-beauty-industry-has-a-plastics-problem. Accessed 30 Nov. 2020.