Think Refillable Packaging to Protect Planet
By Alex Fox | 02 November 2020 | Feature, Sustainability & the environment
How can the beauty industry reduce its environmental impact?
Did you know 50% of Brits don’t recycle bathroom waste such as shampoo and shower gel bottles. This equates to over 2.7 billion plastic bottles in landfill every year.
With the recent pandemic highlighting the importance of safeguarding the planet and being able to recycle efficiently, there’s been a rise in consumers looking for vegan or eco-friendly cosmetic products. It’s predicted that with sustainable products coming into play, the cosmetics industry will be worth over £300 billion by 2024.
Recently, L’Oreal launched 1,000 make-up recycling bins across UK stores in a bid to change habits and tackle the industry’s environmental impact, but there’s still a lot more brands can do.
Ink London offers refillable product for its pink & white powders
Have you considered the possibility of refillable packaging? For beauty, it has many benefits. The most obvious is that it cuts down waste significantly, by encouraging consumers to return to a store and have their packaging topped up usually at a discounted price – Lush and The Body Shop are just some of the brands offering great rewards for this. However, the industry must ensure that this sustainable shift does not come with a high price point during the original purchase. We need to make environmental choices accessible for all and with this can come an increased revenue for your business.
Refillable packaging also allows your brand to stand out in the market. Think about it, if your business is manufacturing keep forever products, then this allows you to get creative with your packaging. We are living in an Instagram culture where consumers like to own picture perfect items, so if a product looks good, then customers are more likely to purchase and re-use it.
Cosmetics with Compassion
In the USA, Art of Beauty, which manufactures the Zoya polish line, asks customers; do you want to trade in for something greener? Its tag line reads; Help the planet, help your nails, help your wallet.
This initiative is a polish exchange. A spokesperson explains, “Due to COVID19, we know many were not able to take part in our Earth Day Exchange whereby unwanted polish is sent to us to properly recycle. At last we’re back in business and now is the time to exchange old, unwanted polish (any brand) for healthier (10-free) bottles of the world’s longest wearing natural nail polish, Zoya.”
Promising to properly dispose of nail polish bottles according to environmental guidelines, Art of Beauty, AOB is offering money in exchange for them. A $5 credit if given for every bottle exchanged towards the purchase of a new Zoya nail polish (0.5oz polish). The minimum number of bottles for exchange is six with no maximum. If the customer sends in 12 or more AOB, rewards with a Z-wide brush for every bottle purchased, plus a Zoya Naked Manicure Geliecure retail kit ($45 value) added as a free gift.
