Plastic Free July offers an opportunity to come together to protect our planet and the people on it.
The Plastic Waste Pollution Crisis
Every year an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean – equivalent to a full garbage truck dumped into the sea every minute. The problem is getting worse, with the annual flow of plastic into the ocean projected to triple by 2040. Less than 14% of plastic is recycled globally, and small beauty packaging is even less likely to be recycled.
Plastic waste pollution is a threat to both environmental and human health. Marine animals mistake plastic debris for food, leading to ingestion and entanglement. Plastics then break down into microplastics over time, contaminating our water sources and entering our food chain. In communities without proper waste infrastructure around the world, people often resort to burning their trash, exposing them to harmful toxins.
Sustainable Packaging at Beautycounter
At Beautycounter, a commitment to sustainable packaging is part of our Blueprint for Clean. It’s why we set a goal for 100% of our packaging to be recycled, recyclable, refillable, reused or compostable by 2025. As of March, we were 70% of the way toward our goal, and we expect to deliver our goal on time. Some highlights include:
- Our refillable The Clean Deo packaging.
- The Countertime line that we launched in glass and sourced from a supplier 5,200 miles closer to home.
- The post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) across our bottles, tubes and closures.
What’s more, because beauty packaging is often small and therefore difficult to recycle, we launched a Packaging Collection Program last year in partnership with Pact Collective.
Ultimately, just like product safety, we believe that Raising Up Beauty for everyone will require better public policy. Stay tuned for more information on how you can join us!
What We All Can Do
While collective efforts are crucial, individual actions also make a significant impact. Consumers have the power to drive change by making conscious choices. We can all adopt simple daily swaps, such as using reusable bags, water bottles, and coffee cups. We can opt for products with minimal packaging, less plastic, and more recyclable and refillable options. And we can also help cleanup plastic waste that’s already in the environment.
Beautycounter recently engaged in a beach cleanup, with more than 150 of our team members fanning out across Santa Monica beach near our headquarters in partnership with LA Waterkeeper. It was an up-close-and-personal reminder for our community of the challenge of microplastics in our beaches and waterways and the importance of our work on sustainability.
Here are some additional steps you can take to understand your footprint and to make a difference!
- Take this quiz to assess the plastics you bring home.
- Most households are throwing out half their recyclables. Do a home audit of your trash and recycling, looking through what you’ve sorted into each bin after a few days to see if everyone in your household is on the same page.
- Use this handy tool to determine what can be recycled in your local community.
- Do a cleanup with LA Waterkeeper or another similar organization in your local community.
- Demand transparency and eco-consciousness from the brands you love. Let them know by social media or email what you like or what you want to see changed.
Tackling plastic waste pollution is a critical step toward a more sustainable future. We hope you will join us to make the beauty industry better while also making meaningful improvements in our lives and communities!
To learn more about our commitment to sustainable packaging, check out our main page here!
