Ugly Truth behind the Gloss of Beauty Industry & its Packaging

It's never a secret that ugly truths hide behind the gloss of the beauty industry. A third of global landfills are choked with plastic containers, a common packaging material for beauty products; mercury, parabens and other chemicals used in makeup are known to trigger the growth of cancer cells; Chemicals such as P- Phenylenediamine (found in lipsticks) and dibutyl phthalate (used in nail polish) are heavy pollutants. And that's not all, of course.

The great news is that women are more exposed to the possible perils of using toxic chemicals, for both their own skin as well as the environment. Herbal segment alone is growing at a speed rate of 15%, as more consumers are switching to safer products these days.

If one paints by numbers, the potential is really huge. But while natural and organic skin care have seen several players such as Forest Essentials, Kama Ayurveda and Patanjali make a mark, the natural makeup space is still an open field- one that is seeing a serious bout of action now.

Makeup and personal care companies produce a huge amount of packaging-much of which cannot be recycled. But companies such as Lush and Garnier are trying to do better than others.

Let's put it simply, Just because your shampoo bottle is recyclable doesn't mean it will be recycled. TerraCycle, the global cosmetics industry produces 120bn units of packaging every year, and few are accepted by other recycling programmes.

SIX BRANDS ARE SUCCESSFULLY DOING THEIR BIT TO CUT PLASTIC WASTE

GARNIER

This multinational Brand has partnered with TerraCycle on a programme that allows any beauty packaging that can't be recycled by the council to be dropped off at more than 2,000 recycling points across the UK

REN Clean Skincare

It has been an ambitious goal of Zero waste by 2021, using recycled and recycled plastics and refillable solutions for all the products.

L'occitaine

Sells eco-refill pouches of its soaps, shower gels, and shampoos, to help repeat customers reduce their plastic consumption.

Aveda

More than 85% of skincare and hair care products are made of 100% recycled material.