WANT GREAT SKIN WITHOUT HURTING OUR PLANET? HERE'S HOW.
The beauty industry is not only responsible for about eight million tonnes of plastic ending up in landfill each year, tiny plastic particles end up into the ocean and some ingredients hurt our marine life.
It's trend we all need to help to turnaround. Here, Kim Guseli, cosmetic chemist and founder of Botanical Skincare Lab, reveals five ways you can have great skin without hurting the planet.
1. Eliminate single use wipes: As well as damaging your skin - they disturb your skin’s acid mantle barrier, exposing it to germs and bacteria - wipes contribute to billions of kilos of waste every year.
Even the so-called “biodegradable” wipes are harmful to the environment as they become microplastics.
Nourish your skin with a more environmentally sustainable option such as a crème cleanser or oil cleanser. Your skin, and the environment, will thank you.
2. Recyclable and repurposable bottles: Does your favourite skincare brand allow you to reuse or repurpose the container, or does it go straight to landfill?
Choose a brand that cares for the environment by ensuring their packaging isn’t single use only, and something you can repurpose, reuse, and recycle.
Empty glass skincare jars are perfect for housing succulent plants. Glass bottles could be repurposed as bespoke vases for flowers.
3. Excess packaging: Is it really necessary, or will it head straight to landfill?
We know how exciting it is to unwrap a box and fold back the pretty layers of tissue paper to unveil our purchases, but unfortunately it harms our environment and eco-system.
Botanical Skincare Lab uses minimal packaging with their products, and clean recycled packaging when preparing orders for delivery.
Raw materials and ingredients arrive at their lab heavily packaged so they contribute to environmental sustainability by reusing this packaging and saving it from landfill.
4. Solar: Harness the planet’s natural energy. Making skincare requires the use of energy for heating, mixing and pouring the products.
If you can, check your products are made in a lab that uses solar powered electricity made from sunlight rather than burning fossil fuels.
Sunlight is a renewable energy source, meaning we will never run out of it. Hand pouring the products also saves in energy costs and adds that extra ounce of love to every product.
5. Check the Ingredients: Did you know harmful ingredients damage not only your skin, but our waterways and marine life? Trace amounts of toxic ingredients enter streams, oceans and waterways through waste water.
This toxic runoff wreaks havoc with the marine ecosystem and disrupts the essential functions of aquatic life. Make sure you choose a skincare brand that values marine life and uses ingredients that won’t harm it.
Choosing nourishing, high quality products that have a lower impact on the planet doesn’t mean you should sacrifice any aspect of your beauty routine.
Make sure next time your are buying skincare products, you are supporting a business that loves our planet as much as you do.
