Sustainable Cosmetics

My project originally was to create a theoretical makeup brand that prioritized sustainablity. My original goals for this makeup line were that it:

1. Used natural/minimal/non-toxic products
2. Was cruelty free
3. used reduced-waste packaging

From looking at other brands, I considered the specifics:

-square packaging for stackability

-bamboo casings

-vegetable-based inks

-biodegradable cardboard packaging

-natural/minimal ingredients

-fruit pigment?

-ethical pigment sourcing

-refills

I started designing a logo. It was based on a brand called “Elate” that used bamboo casings for its products. I called it Uplift,and it was going to be a knock-off, slightly-better verson of Elate. Eventually, I decided I was wasting time designing a whole new logo for a brand that didn’t even extist; I starting thinking about how to make the bamboo idea more sustainable, or even find alternatives.

My thoughts jumped to “recycling.” I found makeup containers made of biodegradable cardboard.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/287475895/eco-eco-friendly-packaging-lip-balm?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=biodegradable+packaging&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

Makeup with “natural” ingredients tend to expire faster because of less chemical preservatives in the product. This was pointed out, and the idea was proposed to find containers that broke-down soon after the products started to expire. I found Tomorrow Machine, a studio that created sugar-packaging for food products.¹ The sugar packaging would slowly break-down, creating essentially no waste while effectively protecting the product.

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/tomorrow-machine

After all this brainstorming I stumbled across actual brands that value sustainablity and live up to this claim.

https://www.burtsbees.com/ Burt’s Bees

https://www.aveda.com/ Aveda

I also found Seed Phytonutrients.² They use 70% less plastic than a traditional bottle. And their produtcs are wrapped in a compostable shell. There is a seed packet inside that you can plant when you are done with the bottle. Finally, there is the pump left. You can send it back to them for them to re-use. Essentially, the product is contained in a hard plastic bag, with a shaped, compostable outer shell to protect. They have hair/body products but no makeup. Unfortunately, their prices are on the higher end. For example, their Hair and Body Oil is $42 for a 2oz bottle.

https://www.instagram.com/seedphytonutrients/

However, what I didn’t consider the specifics of were: an inclusive shade-range, affordable pricing/budgeting to sustain a sustainable brand, ingredient sourcing, the fact that powders have a longer shelf life than wet/cream products and how this might factor into brand sustainablity.

A potential conclusion of this project is that the cosmetics industry as a whole should be done away with. There might be an exception for moisturizers and oils. However, they are medically relevant; our skin is an organ. We don’t even need shampoo. We can just use soap.

Whether or not cosmetic products are sustainable, is the mentality behind the industry sustainable for our well-being? We are constantly chasing after new trends. We anxiously slather on anti-aging products, but everyone ages; we know this. The pressure never ends, to achieve the latest “attractive” look, to buy the latest big-name brand - Kyle Jenner, MAC, NARS. And all the way, material waste is generated. Of course, it is complicated. I started this project because I enjoy putting on makeup. I enjoy buying it too - I feel like a part of the makeup community. I wonder if I still identify that way, knowing that it damages the world around us.

It is not solely the consumer as an individual, the store that sells the makeup, the companies that tell and give consumers what they want to buy. The pressure that makes us feel bad, the colors that make us feel good. What compels people to buy makeup is all these things and more. If we abolished the amount of physical waste that plagues the product industry, along with the attitudes that people have to look a certain way, my conflict towards the makeup industry would dissapear. But in the end, stores, ads, and expectations are still there.