With constant new evidence of the damage pollution and single-use products is causing to our world, from plastic polluting our oceans to warming the climate as we know as, it is important we start to think about our daily lives and what we can do to prevent this. This isn’t another plead for veganism but a simple change to the beauty routines.
One trip to the bathroom or into your make-up bags and you’re certain to find a world consisting of plastic and single-use products from the packaging and bottles holding our favourite foundation to the wipes we use to remove that tricky waterproof mascara.
In 1950, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034. Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans in many forms from microplastics which not only sea creatures but also humans are bound to digest to plastic packaging which can float around the sea waiting to cause a slow painful death to the inhabitants of our oceans.
The Government are already working on ways to improve plastic related issues. In January 2018 they introduced the manufacturing ban on micro-beads – tiny balls of plastic used in products such as body scrubs, toothpaste and facial exfoliators. But this is only one step in the direction we need to go. So, we’ve found a few solutions to make it as easy as possible for you to transform your beauty routines and make you an Eco-warrior.
- Swap out the cotton pads and face wipes for reusable or biodegradable options
Most of us have all felt the regret of wearing make-up hit us, when we get home from a long day and just want to jump into cosy blankets, but instead you are faced with the time-consuming process of removing our makeup. A simple option would be to grab a makeup remover wipe and partially clean off the art painted on earlier. While this is a much quicker solution to the problem, single-use face wipes contain practically indestructible materials such as polyester, polypropylene, cotton, wood pulp, or rayon fibres. Each day 9.3 million wet wipes are flushed down toilets, causing blockages in sewers and as much harm as microbeads in the ocean.
Even with manufacturer’s friendly reminders not to flush wipes, they still take years to decompose risking pollution. Therefore, you may prefer biodegradable and reusable alternatives, such as eco-friendly wipes which only take a few months to decompose or even swap out your wipes for reusable makeup remover pads made of washable and organic cotton, or even an oil cleanser to break down the make-up. Some products available in Birmingham include:
2. Swapping aerosols for natural stick deodorant
It’s fair to say that we all like to keep ourselves smelling fresh with a quick spray of deodorant or a swish roll-on every day, however what we fail to think about is how this is damaging to our environment. Roll-on deodorants are typically contained within two layers of plastic, making it extremely difficult to recycle causing a colossal sized landfill of waste from roll-ons alone. Similarly, although aerosols have recyclable cans, the issue is the compressed gas inside which contributes to CO2 emissions, warming our climate as we speak.
To avoid damaging the earth around us we should switch out these products for natural deodorants with little or no packaging. For a guilt free, freshening scent natural deodorants are free of aluminium and take care of your delicate underarms as well as the world, in many forms from powders and creams to liquid pumps and crystal sticks.
3. Reuse, recycle and invest in zero-waste products
Garnier and TerraCycle did some research into recycling habits, finding that only 50 percent of our bathroom products packaging is recycled compared to 90 percent of kitchen packaging. Seeing how much packaging is used in the skincare and beauty industries, it means there is a lot of waste caused by this. To minimise this, many brands are already trying to limit packaging or use more sustainable alternatives. The best so far is buying bathroom products without any packaging at all, that’s right, the UK brand Lush have their own selection of naked products, from shampoo bars to wax-covered lipstick refills that slot into reusable cases, all to help reduce waste in our beautiful city of Birmingham.
4. Instead of plastic cotton buds, try bamboo ones
According to Government research into marine waste, an estimated 1.8 million plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used every year in England alone. 10 percent of these are estimated to be flushed down toilets, polluting water ways. Improper disposal of sanitary products containing plastic are an immediate threat to the marine life and pollute beaches worldwide. A safer, Eco-friendly alternative are bamboo cotton buds which are packaged in recycled cardboard boxes and can be disposed of in organic waste or a compost bin to reduce harmful waste. After the tremendous support found in consultation, environment secretary Michael Gove confirmed in May 2019 that plastic-stemmed cotton buds are to be banned in England from April this year.
Although these are only a few simple tips, there are many other actions we can take to reduce our overall plastic waste and still manage to look and feel beautiful. We could all start by taking a look in our cabinets and face up to the damage we are doing, so we can start to boycott brands with unnecessary packaging going to waste and become more conscientious for our beautiful planet.
Here are some great places for you to visit;
https://www.facebook.com/OrganiqueBirmingham/
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/info/clean-and-conscious/ (Currently exclusive to Birmingham)
https://www.honestskincare.co.uk/
https://uk.lush.com/shop/birmingham (Birmingham home to the worlds biggest store)
https://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/features/articles/beauty-insider/the-beauty-insider-vegan-beauty-brands/
https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/
Written By Aliyah Mahmood
Aliyah has studied English Language along with other courses including Health and Social Care and Theatre studies. She is experienced in journalism and is currently working on expanding her knowledge and skill set as much as she can.
