WHAT MAKES MAKEUP SUSTAINABLE?
While there aren’t rigid standards around the word “sustainable” in the beauty industry, there are many ways to identify more sustainable makeup choices such as packaging that’s better for our planet and formulas that are better for people, planet, and animals. At MOB Beauty, sustainability is a core value and a mission, so minimal and refillable package design using post-consumer recycled materials and 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and plastic-free formulas are brand requirements.
Table Of Contents:
1. The cosmetic industry’s waste crisis
2. How to choose sustainable makeup packaging
3. How to choose sustainable cosmetic formulas and products
4. How to recycle your cosmetics packaging after use
DID YOU KNOW THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY CREATES APPROXIMATELY 1.2 BILLION COSMETIC PACKAGES PER YEAR, MOST OF WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO RECYCLE IN YOUR HOME BLUE BIN?
The beauty industry has an ugly problem: most cosmetic packaging isn’t designed with sustainability in mind, making it difficult—or impossible—to recycle. Many beauty consumers associate luxury with heavy, elaborate packaging, but that comes with high environmental impact. In fact, it’s common for brands to add unnecessary weight to packaging just to create a more “luxe” feel.
It’s time to challenge and redefine this long standing mindset and make sustainable packaging the new standard of luxury!
Beauty packaging that can't be recycled through a curbside blue bin often ends up in landfills or our oceans, where a single package can take hundreds of years to break down—releasing toxins into our soil and water along the way.
Always check with your local recycling facility for specific guidelines, but the following items are rarely accepted in standard blue bin recycling:
- Mixed materials: for example, a single package that contains metal, plastic, and a mirror is considered mixed material
- Small size: plastic packaging smaller than your fist or a yogurt cup is too small to be picked up in recycling machines
- Material type: only certain materials can be recycled via your blue bin, so look for the recycling symbols #1, #2, and #5 on plastic as they are the most easily recycled. Squeeze tubes and colored glass are other examples of items not likely recyclable in your home bin.
HOW TO IDENTIFY MAKEUP PACKAGING THAT’S BETTER FOR THE PLANET?
1- Minimal and refillable design: Less is more, and packaging should be minimally designed to reduce the use of resources and create less waste at the end of its life. The ideal package is just large enough to hold the product—nothing more. Minimal material also requires less energy to transport, reducing the carbon footprint of shipping.
2- Refillable options help to minimize waste while saving you money by eliminating the need to purchase new packaging each time. At MOB, we designed our endlessly refillable and customizable palettes for long-term use. You buy the palette once and purposely choose only products and shades you know you’ll use. Not only is this streamlined and convenient (all your makeup all in one palette!), but when you run out of a shade you replace individually instead of buying an entirely new palette.
3- PCR content (post consumer recycled): The higher the PCR content in the package, the less “new/virgin” material was used to create it. All MOB packaging is made with at least 50% post-consumer recycled material, and much of our packaging is made with 100% PCR material. Brands will often publish the PCR content of their packaging on the website or actual packaging.
4- Sustainable materials & recyclability: Details matter- even small ones! Choosing a wooden pencil instead of a plastic one or opting for aluminum caps vs. plastic makes a difference. Highly decorated/mixed material packages are difficult, if not impossible, to recycle. Outer packaging matters, too, so skip shiny boxes, metallic finishes, and cellophane because these “coatings” and wrappings make packaging hard or impossible to recycle. Look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) symbol which certifies that the paper or cardboard used comes from forests that are responsibly managed. At MOB, we use biodegradable material for our compacts, jars, and capsules, so they can be home composted or recycled end of life, and all our outer packaging is FSC certified and fully recyclable in your blue bin.
HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE MORE SUSTAINABLE MAKEUP FORMULAS?
Did you know that many makeup formulas contain plastic? Micro-plastics are commonly used as a low-cost way to achieve long wear, shine, and a smooth texture, but there are sustainable ingredient alternatives that deliver high-performance and are also better for the planet.
Here are the most common names for plastic found in cosmetic formulas:
- Polyethylene
- Acrylates (and methacrylates- any derivative of “acrylate”)
- Vinyl
- Nylon
Silicone is another ingredient commonly found in makeup formulas (especially foundation and lipstick) to provide smooth texture and glide. Silicone has been called “liquid plastic” and goes down our drain when you wash your face and hair and into our waterways where it disrupts ecosystems and is not good for our planet. Common names for silicone in formulas include:
- Dimethicone
- Dimethiconol
- Methicone
- Cyclomethicone
- Cyclopentasiloxane
It’s also common to find fossil-fuel derived ingredients in makeup formulas, such as mineral oil, paraffin, and petrolatum. These ingredients are non-renewable and less sustainable with a higher carbon footprint.
MOB formulas are always 100% plastic-free, silicone-free, and free of petroleum-based oils, and we opt for plant emollients and other naturally derived ingredients which are often more expensive but are better for our planet and offer the added benefit of nourishing your skin during wear.
Ingredient sourcing matters, and you can look for certifications such as RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) which indicates that the palm oil used comes from sources that meet strict environmental regulations. If you can’t find certifications or symbols on a brand’s packaging or site, reach out to them via DM or email. Typically, brands making the effort to do things better for the planet are eager to share and be transparent in their practices.
At MOB Beauty, sustainability means caring for our planet and its animals which is why we are proudly PETA certified vegan and Leaping Bunny cruelty-free. You can look for these trusted certifications and symbols when searching for makeup that doesn’t test on animals or use animal derived ingredients. Vegan (no animal ingredients used) and cruelty-free (not tested on animals) mean different things. Some brands are one but not the other, so if this is important to you, be sure to look for both!
WHAT’S THE MOST SUSTAINABLE WAY TO DISCARD MY BEAUTY PACKAGING?
1- Check with your local Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to see what packaging is accepted via your blue bin. “Wishcycling” is a term for putting an item in your blue bin that you aren’t certain is recyclable, and it often does more harm than good. Always check to be sure, and when in doubt, toss it out!
2- Clean your empties thoroughly because dirty packaging will keep it from being recycled and can contaminate other items in the recycling stream.
3- The Pact Collective is a great resource for empty cosmetic packaging that’s not curbside recyclable. MOB Beauty co-founded Pact on a mission to reduce beauty packaging waste and provide industry-wide solutions toward circularity. To date, Pact has taken back half a million pounds of hard to recycle packaging, diverting it from landfills and oceans! You can find a Pact bin at your local Credo Beauty, Ulta, and Sephora, and there’s also a mail back program.
Shop conscious makeup at MOB Beauty where all formulas are vegan, cruelty-free, and plastic-free, and packaging is sustainably designed to have less impact on our planet.
THERE ARE SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR COSMETIC ROUTINE MORE SUSTAINABLE STARTING TODAY:
1- Seek out minimally designed packaging that isn’t embellished, heavy, and oversized, and choose packaging made with post-consumer recycled content and sustainable materials.
2- Check your ingredient listings and avoid plastics and silicones in formulas. For starters, avoid these commonly used ingredients: polyethylene, vinyl, acrylates, and dimethicone. If you’re looking for vegan and cruelty-free formulas, check for symbols and certifications from PETA and Leaping Bunny.
3- Check with your local recycling facility (material recovery facility) about what packaging is accepted curbside locally, and don’t “wishcycle”. Only put packaging in your blue bin you know is accepted, and when in doubt, throw it out. For hard to recycle beauty empties, The Pact Collective is a great resource and also offers a wealth of cosmetic sustainability information.
4- Shop with brands that champion transparency and share information around their practices
MOB Beauty is co-founded and led by beauty industry veterans on a mission to make beauty better for our planet, people, and animals. We have our own labs where we formulate conscious makeup to the highest sustainability standards, and we are continuously evolving our packaging solutions to ensure less impact on our planet.
Together, with Credo Beauty, MOB co-founded the non-profit Pact Collective to expand sustainable resources and solutions cosmetic-industry wide, and to date we have collected over 500,000 pounds of hard to recycle material, diverting it from landfills and oceans. Sustainability isn’t a nice to have, it’s necessary for our future and our planet. Together consumers, brands, and retailers can make a difference!