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The Problem

Overconsumption in the beauty industry is a large contributor to plastic waste. The beauty and selfcare industry produce more than 120 billion units of packaging every year globally (Niven-Phillips, 2019). 

Consumers are presented with the latest releases that will solve all their problems every day, with new products being advertised every time they use social media or enter a store. Consumers purchase new products and rarely finish them. When peer was asked about the last time they recall using up a product being purchasing a new one, they could not remember. With such a saturated market, it is impossible for consumers to not feel the desire to overconsumer and thus contribute to the excessive production of plastics and product wastage. 

Alongside the excessive consumption of products, the cosmetics industry has a real issue with excessive packaging. From lavish and over-the-top PR packages to single use sachets, cosmetic products are known to be over packaged and inefficient.

Many products are packaged in glass or flimsy plastics, often sold inside a decorative outer box, sealed with plastic film, with multiple lids, caps, and other seals. These multiple layers are not only unnecessary but are incredibly wasteful and impact the environment greatly. 

Many beauty companies are becoming aware of their environmental impact, as consumers discuss and make others aware of the waste in the industry. To combat this, many companies claim their packaging is recyclable, made from recycled materials, or refillable, but these ‘eco-conscious’ claims often lack any evidence or credibility. 

Cosmetic companies either fail to include disposal instructions all together or claim recyclability of packaging. However, many if not most cosmetic and beauty products packaging, regardless of whether it claims to be recyclable, are unable to be recycled due to their design and contamination from other products. It also is uneconomical to recover many of the resources.