Zero Waste Beauty: Fad or Future?

In 2017, we have already seen the rise and fall of various beauty trends, from squiggle brows to bouncy blow dries, could zero waste beauty be the next one?

In the age in which consumers want more from their products we now see the era of the sustainable shopper, the shopper who values social awareness and responsibility over cost and convenience. The green beauty sector is thriving, with Grand View Research announcing that “the global organic beauty market was likely to reach $15.98bn by 2020, as demand for organic skincare, haircare and colour cosmetics drives consumers to look for natural and organic labels.”

Zero waste beauty aims to reduce the amount of products we use, and for us to reuse as much as we can, with the end goal being less waste needing to be recycled and blocking landfills. In order to achieve this, a brand should know how their ingredients for their formulas are farmed and produced, take a less is more formulation approach in products to avoid consumer waste, and think responsibly about their packaging.

Packaging is part of a consumers buying experience. We all love that moment when we get home from a shopping trip, pull a beautifully packaged product from its bag and unwrap the little box to find a luxuriously shaped bottle. But, could we really do without all of this?

The glass vs plastic beauty packaging debate is one that is ongoing. Sure, glass packaging connotes high quality and doesn’t compromise a formula’s integrity but it also has a higher shipping cost and let’s face it, we have all smashed our glass foundation bottles at least once and cried a little. But then you have plastic, more convenient, lower shipping costs, but is adding to the two-thirds of plastic packaging that is sent to landfill each year.

In my opinion, it is up to us as consumers as well as brands to think about what we can do to do our part in helping the environment. This could be a brand thinking about whether their packaging can be recycled or us actively taking a stand by purchasing products which need little to no packaging such as solid soap bars, as opposed to liquid facial soaps that come in a bottle.

So what do you think, is this a fad? Or could this be the future of beauty?