The Beauty Industry gains billions in revenue each year – makeup, skincare products, hair care products, body care products and the likes. More often than not, we close one eye to the pollution arising from the beauty industry because we use the products to boost our confidence and take on the world at our best. However, just by doing so, we neglect our environment – the oceans and even the atmosphere. The Beauty Industry impacts the environment as such:
- Plastics and other parts in Packaging
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in hairspray and perfumes
- Excessive use of Palm Oil in cosmetics
- Microbeads in body scrubs
and.. the list goes on.
Each year, the growth of the beauty industry in revenue is sky-high. It is even deemed as recession-proof (Reaney, 2012). The beauty industry has steadily grown into a $500 billion dollar business annually and is set to chart an additional 7% expansion to reach an $863 billion dollar valuation in just the next five years (Rai, 2019). Hence, with such growth and potential, the pollution rate of the beauty industry will only continue to rise if we do not do anything about it.
Furthermore, with the prevalence of pop culture and social media, once a famous artist endorses a certain product, many will claw their way to the nearest Sephora and queue long hours to get their hands on the product. This promotes a culture of unnecessary waste.
As a rational and mindful consumer, we have to be conscious of the environment and support brands who are environmentally friendly from the production stage to the packaging stage.
Our next few blog posts will explore these themes in greater detail.
References
Reaney, P. (2012, July 05). Sales of beauty products get boost from recession. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-beauty-sales-recession/sales-of-beauty-products-get-boost-from-recession-idUSBRE86417C20120705
Rai, V. (2019, December 28). Unseen 2019: The ugly side of beauty waste. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/unseen-2019-the-ugly-side-of-beauty-waste-11577446070730.html