Beware Of The Beauty Industry!
By Abi Gebbie and Lucy Thomson
What is the beauty industry?
The beauty industry creates different types of cosmetic products (things you can buy) for people to use, which includes many kinds of items, such as makeup. The beauty industry is extremely succesful today, with the global beauty industry being worth $511 billion in 2021. It’s value will continue to rise in the future due to the industry’s popularity. The products that are produced (created) from the beauty industry are used by different people for different reasons, for example, some people use beauty products to enhance (improve) their appearance (how someone looks), some need them to stay healthy and people even use them to boost their own confidence.
How does the beauty industry impact the environment?
The beauty industry has mostly negative impacts on the enviroment. It’s an industry well known for it’s high use of plastic, which is what most of the packaging (what the product is kept inside of) is made of. Plastics are made of oil, so when the plastics aren’t being used anymore and start to fall apart, they release harmful chemicals which enter the soil and damage our planet. Big cosmetic companies actually produce cosmetics that contain many of these toxic chemicals, making them directly harmful. It’s not just plastics that are the issue however, many beauty products contain Palm Oil, which forces many tress to be cut down, causing deforestation.
The beauty industry also creates too much carbon (a gas that harms our enviroment), which is done by using fuels that powers both the factories that creates cosmetic products, as well as the vehicles that bring the items to the stores that sell them.
What is being done to help?
Certain companies have heard the large amount of complaints made by people and have started to harm the enviroment less.
- Since 2005 L’Oreal has reduced Carbon emissions (when carbon is released into the air) from its plants by 81% and by the end of 2020 they had 72 carbon neutral sites (where the comapnies make their products).
- Last year Estee Lauder announced that they had sourced 100% renewable electricity and had reduced their amount of carbon emissions greatly.
- By 2025 Arbonne expects to:
– Divert over 90% of its waste globally
– Reduce water consumption by 20%
– Reduce energy consumption by 20%
What can you do to help?
Continue to demand that the companies that make these products change what they are doing so that they stop harming the planet.
You could also do research whether or not certain items that these companies make are Carbon Neutral. A product that is Carbon Neutral is one that will harm the enviroment far less than other products.
- Here are some brands that are Carbon Neutral: Tropic Skincare, HIGHR Collective
and Bybi Beauty. Make sure to buy from brands that value the impact their products could have on the environment. - Reuse and recycle. Buying a refill of a product can save around 70% of Co2, 65% of
energy and 45% of water. - Another option is to make your own cosmetics. This could be something as simple as making a facemask. Ingredients such as eggs, honey and a small amount of turmeric can be very good for your skin. But remember to ask an adult for both permission and help with this before doing anything.
Sources
Polluting our planet: The carbon-heavy cost of the beauty industry revealed
https://www.beautypackaging.com/contents/view_online-exclusives/2021-08-12/sustainable-beauty-the-beauty-industrys-role-in-mitigating-climate-change/
https://botanicaltrader.com/blogs/news/how-your-beauty-products-are-killing-coral-reefs-turtles-rainforests-more
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