5 Makeup Companies Fighting Against Waste
Makeup, skin care creams, and other beauty products are a wonderful way to feel good about yourself and affirm your identity. But the makeup industry is also notorious for generating large quantities of cheap, disposable plastic. With the waste crisis and the zero-waste movement growing in the public eye, some companies and entrepreneurs are fighting back. At Rust and Fray, we greatly admire that, so here are five beauty product companies that are changing the makeup world for the better.
Axiology - Supporting Recycling and Women
Axiology’s plan for helping fight against the worldwide waste crisis intertwines environmentalism with feminism. They use paper packaging for their products that comes entirely from post-consumer paper recycled in Bali. The reason they source from there is that Bali does not currently have a recycling infrastructure in place yet that is accessible to everyone, so trash management is crucial. Axiology works with women owned companies with high rates of female employment that go around collecting paper trash and recycling it into paper products, giving these women a safe, healthy, and empowering employment opportunity.
Elate Cosmetics - Bamboo and Seed Paper
Sourcing from bamboo is a growing trend that combines chic looks and a rapidly renewable plant-based material. Elate Cosmetics uses bamboo instead of the industry standard plastic containers for their products, drastically improving the environment impact of their packaging. But Elate has a few more tricks up their sleeve as well. Firstly, they use some paper products in their packaging, andeven then, that paper is plantable seed paper. Second, they use a minimal amount of post consumer plastic, but if you let them know you’re going zero-waste they’ll even eliminate that.
Kjaer Weis - Refill system.
Kjaer Weis uses metal packaging in their products which definitely helps promote their luxury makeup aesthetic. But the more important aspect of metal is how reusable it is, and Kjaer Weis takes full advantage of that to help promote their environmentalist agenda. They have a massive selection of refills available for purchase, including everything from lipstick to mascara. With people ditching single use bottles, utensils, and a new push to ditch single use straws, it was only a matter of time before the makeup world joined in.
Zao - Refillable Bamboo
Zao combines the best of two worlds by offering sustainably made bamboo containers and an innovative refill system. While they don’t offer everything in their collection as refillable, you still have access to a large selection of products that are easy to purchase and easy to refill, all in the chic bamboo cases. ¿Porque no los dos?
Alima Pure - Carbon Neutral
Alima Pure offers some of their products in reusable compacts. Again, not as much as the other companies mentioned but still better than none. The thing that makes Alima Pure really stand out though is their commitment to reducing a different type of waste: carbon. Alima Pure makes every effort to reduce their carbon footprint, and also has become a 100% carbon neutral company by offsetting all the carbon produced by them. Even better, they have been carbon neutral for the past decade.
Whether you’ve decided to eliminate as much waste from your life as possible or are simply looking for a little change you can do to be more environmentally conscious, these five companies offer ways for you to cut down on waste and lower your impact while still working on beautification. Rust and Fray is always looking for innovative environmental solutions, so if you know of more brands to feature or have an idea for reducing waste, let us know in the comments below or tag us on your latest Instagram post. And as always, be sure to share and follow our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!