Cosmetic brands, especially big brands that are concerned with transitioning to more natural and biodegradable ingredients, need to be aware of their ecological footprint. It is not a truly natural cosmetic brand if they are not prioritizing packaging that is better for the environment than single use plastics. Beauty brands are starting to become more aware of this such as Lush Cosmetics and more up and coming brands like Axiology with their zero waste lipsticks.

There are many different ways that a brand can have packaging that is not as hard on the environment. Lush Cosmetics chooses to use post consumer waste for their plastic containers and biodegradable packing peanuts that dissolve in water. The biggest effort they make by far, is to forgo packaging all together. They use butcher paper or reusable scarves to wrap solid body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and more. 

Options for sustainable packaging

Here are some of the most common ways of eco friendly packaging that is on the market today. 

The first category is paper based materials. These are mostly compostable or at least recyclable. It is up for debate which is better for the environment, but the general rule of thumb is if if the paper is soiled you should compost it and if it is clean you should recycle it because it uses less carbon and can be reused. 

-Paperboard (think stiff and thick paper that is hard to bend)

-Cardboard

-100% recycled paper (this paper has already been recycled once so it uses less energy)

The next category are reusable materials. They may not break down super easily and they may use a bit of carbon energy, but you can use them multiple times. They also do not use any plastic/petroleum. Think quality over quantity here.

-Aluminum

-Glass

These next materials come from natural resources. It is not using petroleum in the product and also has the chance to come from sustainable sources. They can also break down fairly quickly and don’t sit around in the environment for very long.

-Wood

-Bamboo

-Cork

The next category is everything that is easily biodegradable and is made to replace plastic altogether. It can be made out of a lot of natural materials but mostly it is made from sugarcane. The concern here is they are harvesting crops specifically for this purpose which wastes land that could have grown food. The best is when it is made out of materials that would have been waste already so it is more sustainable.

• Plant based plastic AKA bioplastic

• Sugarcane based materials such as plastic or paper

• Soy ink for labels

• Cornstarch packing peanuts

• Tree shavings that would have been waste

• Biodegradable adhesive

The last category is probably the most popular right now which is companies using post consumer resin (PCR) which uses recycled plastic to make new plastic bottles. This is cheap and allows the brand to have the convenience of using plastic while having a natural brand. It leaves a much smaller carbon foot print and the only drawback is we are keeping plastic as our main resource for packaging so it will still be produced. 

What can you do to be sustainable?

There are constantly new ways of packaging that are eco friendly. The issue is that they are not widespread enough yet and are not easily accessible since this is a fairly new consumer want. The best of course is no packaging. In the skincare/haircare aspect of Aurora Ellen, I do the best I can to be sustainable with the resources I have. I make as many of my products either packaging free or in glass jars that can be refilled or used for many different purposes. 

As a consumer, look for brands that have refills or do not use plastic at all. Look for products where you know you can reuse the jar. Go for paper packaging for powders or oil based products.The biggest thing you can do is try and eliminate packaging altogether.

Make the switch to bar soap instead of body wash. Shampoo bars instead of liquid shampoo. Conditioner bars instead of cream conditioner. Lotion bars instead of cream lotion. 

Get creative! There are so many small switches you can take to be more sustainable. Let big brands know that you truly do care about eliminating the need for single use plastic.