How Your Cosmetics are Effecting the Environment

The beauty and cosmetic industry have always been a place with criticism as a result of their history of animal testing. In recent years, however, this has improved and there are many notable cruelty-free and vegan brands, but now there is a new issue on our horizons. As knowledgeable climate change activists, such as Greta Thunberg, receive more publicity, people around the world are beginning to acknowledge the effect we are having on our environment. Individuals have chosen to make changes in their lives, such as purchasing metal reusable straws as opposed to using plastic ones that end up in our oceans. Although these kinds of alterations can eventually make a difference, they are ignoring the industry which has a largely negative effect on our ecosystems.

Many luxury cosmetic brands profit off of the use of ornate and lavish packaging, which often allures costumers to their products. The downside of this type of packaging is how it is disposed of. Most commonly these packages are recyclable, and even when they are, consumers often toss them in the trash. Many sites have stated that the global cosmetic industry alone produces 120 billion units of packaging. Not only are these products difficult to get rid of, but making them in the first place is extremely water and energy intensive.

The largest issue, which is often forgotten or ignored, is the number of chemicals which go into our makeup. Although these have all been tested to ensure they are ok for our skin, it is unclear how they impact our ecosystems. When our makeup washes down our drains, the chemicals are spread through our sewers, oceans, lakes, and streams, eventually reaching the plants and animals in those regions. Through testing it has been discovered that these chemicals don’t break down, but instead accumulate together, and have led to the disease and harm of aquatic life. On top of that, the spread of these chemicals by rain water has allowed it to infiltrate our agriculture soil.