As Earth Month comes to a close, we’ve seen a lot of innovation, initiatives and promises from brands pledging to make major strides within their organizations when it comes to all-things sustainability. Considering the beauty industry produces more than 120 billion units of plastic packaging a year and less than nine percent gets recycled, we need to do better. Here, brands to support that are making some meaningful change.
Target Power
While stores like Credo Beauty, Follain and Whole Foods have been leading the charge within the clean beauty space, I’ve been incredibly impressed by Target and their ability to bring quality, ethical brands to the masses at an affordable price point.
Blended with coconut water, wild rosella flower and hyaluronic acid, Rhyme & Reason Nourish & Gloss Shampoo and Conditioner ($9 each) are more than 92-percent naturally derived, cruelty free, vegan and leave my hair so shiny! The packaging is made from 100-percent recycled plastic including the bottle cap and is fully recyclable. Plus, a portion of proceeds are donated to 1% for the Planet.
Baylis & Harding GOODNESS Natural Hand Wash ($6) boasts a clean, vegan formula and is 98-percent naturally derived and 95-percent biodegradable. It’s available in four delectable scents—Rose & Geranium, Sea Kelp & Peppermint, Lemongrass & Ginger, and Oud, Cedar & Amber—and the brand also selects a charity every year to give back to.
Davids Antiplaque & Whitening Premium Natural Toothpaste ($10) is vegan, leaping bunny certified, free of dyes, sulfates and fluoride and packaged in a recyclable metal tube. Spoiler alert: It’s one of the brands featured in NewBeauty’s May TestTube!
While pursuing the aisles of Target be sure to be on the lookout for Jada Pinkett Smith’s new sustainable, plastic-free body-care line, Hey Humans, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s new hair-care line, Anomaly, made from 100-percent plastic trash diverted from landfills and ocean-bound plastic. Did I mention products from both brands are under $6?
Plastic, Repurposed
Did you know that every day in the U.S., more 60 million plastic water bottles get thrown out, most of which ends up in landfills? While we’ve seen advances in the beauty industry when it comes to repurposing this plastic, the same is true for materials we’re seeing in the fashion industry.
MZ Wallace: During our latest NewBeauty Live Awards Event, we partnered with MZ Wallace to give away with their Zoey Cosmetic Case ($45). I’ve been a long-time fan of the brand—their classic Large Metro Tote ($235)—has easily been the most-used bag for trekking around the New York City due to its versatility, durability and lightweight nature. Even better, they use materials comprised of both pre- and post-consumer waste, including single-use plastic water bottles, to create their iconic bags. To date, MX Wallace has repurposed close to two million plastic water bottles.
bkr: For anyone looking to make the swap from plastic bottles, I’m a big fan of bkr ($38), the makers of superchic glass water bottles with silicone liners. I like to pair mine with my Pretty Connected Nikki Chains, ($30 for the mini, $36 for the long), so I can wear it like a bag and never forget it at home.
Planting Trees
Two Beauty Awards Winners have been making major strides for our ecosystem. Winner of Best Face Oil, Eminence Organics Camellia Glow Solid Face Oil ($88) is a solid oil that melts in your skin to glow and hydrate. Warm a tiny bit within your fingers, breath it in and press into skin and neck. During our Beauty Awards event, Eminence Organics announced they hit over 17 million trees planted!
Caudalie Resveratrol-Lift Firming Night Cream ($69) was developed in partnership with Harvard scientists and features key ingredients such as resveratrol, hyaluronic acid and mahogany bark extracts. Plus, the brand participates in 1% for the Planet and will hit 8 million trees planted this year.
Check out the full list of NewBeauty Award winners here.
The Natural Wonder
Iceland’s The Blue Lagoon takes it to next level with their new serum launch, BL+ The Serum ($180), featuring their BL+ complex, which contains geothermal water packed with silica and microalgae with added vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. The formula works to hydrate, promote collagen production, prevent UV-induced collagen degradation, fight against environmental aggressors, and reduce free radical damage. Read more about their commitment to the environment here.
TerraCycle
Global recycling leader TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by companies around the world the help collect hard-to-recycle waste. A favorite amongst beauty brands and retailers, the brand’s collaborations are making recycling beauty products easier than ever.
As of late last year, Nordstrom announced their BEAUTYCYCLE program, which allows customers to bring in their empty beauty products (even beauty brands they don’t carry!) to any Nordstrom location in the U.Ss, where they will then work with TerraCycle to clean and separate the products into metals, glass and plastics for proper recycling.
Kinship, whose packaging is made from ocean waste plastic, announced their own recycling program recently. If you have more than three products to recycle from any brand, email them at [email protected] they’ll send you a pre-paid label.
Newcomer HERB + FLORA is also collaborating with TerraCycle and accepting product to their New York City office. The clean beauty brand was started by industry veterans looking to reproduce the anti-aging benefits of exercise and features packaging that is either recyclable, refillable or made of recycled materials.
