It's much easier to go plastic-free than you would think
According to a study, 73% of UK consumers want to live more sustainably. And 69% of consumers want to reduce their plastic consumption. Thankfully, there are no so many plastic free beauty products on the market. Meaning it’s much easier to make the switch that you thought.
Why is plastic free beauty so important?
Did you know there’s no such thing as ‘good plastic’? Every bit of plastic that’s ever been made, still exists now; reclaimed plastic, recycled plastic, recyclable plastic can all end up in landfill or our oceans. Shockingly, only 5% of the world’s plastics are recycled effectively.
The UN predicts that by 2050 our oceans will contain more plastic than fish, and some 99% of seabirds will have ingested plastic, something they’re calling a ‘planetary crisis’.
The consumer demand for brands to take sustainability seriously is high. Even the Queen is getting in on the action. Did you know that she’s banned plastic from all of her Royal palaces?
Last month, The British Beauty Council held a webinar called Plastic Free Beauty: It’s Time To Make A Change with Yolanda Cooper, founder of We Are Paradoxx; Daisy Kendrick, Sustainability Expert from Ocean Generations; and Ben Proctor, Director of On Repeat – an innovative packaging solution. They discussed why it’s important for the industry to play an active role in the world’s sustainability efforts, greenwashing, as well as offering up advice.
The bathroom is the most toxic room in the house. That’s because we don’t recycle things as well in there as we do in the kitchen. In most kitchens there are separate bins for everything, but in the bathroom there tends to just be a small one. Making the switch to plastic free means that you are cutting out so much of that waste. From the best shampoo bars and glass bottles, to reusable cotton pads and bamboo toothbrushes, it’s never been easier to make the switch.
Here’s to all of us making an effort to cut down on our plastic consumption going forwards.
We’ve collated a pretty handy list of plastic free beauty products, which we hope will get you started on your own sustainable journey.
Ethique Sweet Orange & Vanilla Bodywash Bar, £5.49 | Holland & Barrett
By using one of these bars, you save one 350ml plastic from being produced and 0.9 litres of water from the formula. Ethique's entire range is create in bar form. The world's first full range, zero waste beauty brand.
Davines Momo Shampoo Bar, £14 | Davines
Whilst it might feel quite strange at first using a bar of shampoo on your hair, you'll soon realise that there really is no difference to the results. All of the Davines goodness is still in there and your hair will love it just the same.
Milly & Sissy Zero Waste Fresh Apple Hand Wash, £5.50 | Holland & Barrett
This is such a simple and clever idea. Using a glass bottle, or an old soap bottle you've just finished, you mix this powder with water to create your own hand soap. Plus the compostable sachet can then be popped into your compost bin, and the labels into your paper recycling.
L’Occitane Lavender Foaming Bath, £27 | Feelunique
L'Occitane are one of those brands that has always, from conception all of those years ago, had sustainability at the heart. Did you know that they've never supplied plastic bags in store? This aluminium bottle is super simple to recycle - just put it in with your Diet Coke cans.
Haeckels Salicylic Powder, £27 | Haeckels
This is good skin, good conscience in a bottle. A glass bottle to be exact. With a glass stopper. Both of which can be easily recycled. Oh and you might spot a plastic-like seal around the top. Don't worry, that's not plastic, that's a natural seal created from algae. Nifty, eh?
Procoal Glycolic Facial Egg Cleanser, £8.99 | Lloyds Pharmacy
See even really great skincare ingredients don't have to be packaged up in plastic. Work this egg into damp skin to help slough away dead skin cells, to improve skin texture and give your complexion a must-needed boost.
Herbivore Pink Clay Cleansing Bar Soap, £11 | Cult Beauty
Everyday cleansing never looked so sustainable. Rid those pores of their congestion and wash away the day's grime.
Lush Linnet Glow Stick, £12 | Lush
This gorgeous sheeny cream highlighter comes in solid form. Much like your typical twist and go highlighters, this one comes without the plastic casing. Instead it has a peelable, vegan wax at the bottom for easy application.
Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation, £39 (for the refill) | Naturisimo
The idea with all Kjaer Weis products is that you buy the compacts and then just buy the refills as and when you need them. There's no plastic involved whatsoever.
Floral Street London Poppy EDP, £60 | Floral Street
How often do you buy a new perfume, only to find the box packaged in cellophane? All the time pretty much, right? Well that's what Floral Street didn't want. Each of their fragrances comes in a smart pulp carton made from recyclable paper packaging. This is then held together with a reusable brightly-coloured band.
We Are Paradoxx Detox Dry Shampoo, £20 | Lookfantastic
We couldn't compile a list of plastic-free beauty products and not include We Are Paradoxx. Their Detox Dry Shampoo comes in this fully recyclable aluminium casing. Just dust into your roots for fresh hair.
Wild by Nature Deodorant, from £25 | Wild
You get your magazines and your contact lenses on subscription, so why not your deodorant? Choose a chic aluminium case (which you can personalise with your initials) and get the aluminium-free, plastic-free, compostable refills sent straight to your door. Winning.
