Let’s talk sustainability
Sustainability in the beauty industry
Cosmetics, hair products, skincare products, and many others will -almost inevitably- end up in the garbage. This garbage will ultimately end up somewhere, such as in a landfill or even in our oceans. And to make matters worse, containers for beauty products are harder to recycle because of the chemicals and ingredients that many times can cause contamination.
Choosing brands and products that use sustainable packaging is one way to cut back on the amount of waste that ends up in our landfills and oceans. Selecting one material over another requires high levels of research. Which one is better? Aluminum, PET, or glass? It all depends on the purpose of the packaging and what a company decides to do with it once it has served its purpose. We’ve put together a few facts that might guide consumers and, hopefully, other brands to reconsider the materials they use for their products.
According to RecycleNation.com, plastic should be the last option. It is extremely complicated to obtain the oil and natural gases needed to produce PET, and the process to obtain them is harmful to the environment as well. Plastic can only be recycled once or twice before being thrown in the trash, where it will decompose in a couple of hundred years.
Alternatively, glass and aluminum are 100% recyclable and can go through the process over and over. The downside of aluminum is the resources needed for its production. “ …bauxite must be mined from the earth ...which is harmful to the environment and can lead to water contamination, erosion, and habitat destruction.” (RecycleNation.com, 2017)
Ok, but what makes a brand sustainable?
A brand is sustainable when it operates in a way that projects the importance of environmental and social benefits as a differentiating factor. Sustainability can be reflected in some or many of the operational processes of a company. For example, if the packaging used to deliver products is made of materials that can decompose or that can be reused several times for other purposes.
Shop sustainable haircare
There are many details that a company should consider when producing something while giving back to the planet
Cutting down on waste is likely to move from simply being a trend to becoming a lifestyle soon. With sustainability at the top of everyone’s mind, The Hair Routine has developed products with glass containers, biodegradable paper packaging, print on labels and refill option. From reducing our overall packaging to investing in post consumer recycled materials, we are proud to put sustainability at the core of everything we do.
