How beauty uses plastic, why it is harmful, and what you can do about it
Plastic is forever. You can recycle plastic into new plastic, but it will never biodegrade. Plastic can break down into smaller pieces of plastic (microplastics), but it still exists. We could reduce the need for new plastic by recycling, but only 9% of plastic is recycled (Geyer et al.).
To explain just how harmful plastic is would take a book. In fact, books have been written. In short, plastics have health and environmental consequences.
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What is Plastic?
Plastic is a manufactured material that can be molded into just about any size or shape. And it’s cheap (Association of Plastics Manufacturers). Leo H. Baekeland invented the first plastic, Bakelite, in 1907. Other forms of plastic soon followed (Woloson). Plastic went on to invade nearly every aspect of life. We brush our teeth with plastic toothbrushes. We wear clothing made of plastic (polyester, acrylic, etc.). We even store our food in plastic and drive cars made with plastic.
How Does Beauty Use Plastic?
Most of the plastic we see in beauty is in the packaging. In 2018 the beauty and personal care industry created 7.9 billion units of rigid plastic just for the United States (“Beauty Waste“). As I mentioned above, only 9% of plastic is recycled. The remaining 91% is burned, sent to landfills, or ends up in the wild (Geyer et al.).
Plastic packaging is just the plastic we can see. Many products include plastic ingredients. These tiny plastics, smaller than 5mm, are known as microplastics. Microplastics are used in moisturizers, deodorants, makeup, and many other products we use daily (UNEP 1). More than 500 microplastic ingredients are found in beauty products (“Guide“).
Examples of microplastics used in beauty (UNEP 13):
- Nylon-12 (polyamide 12)
- Polyethylene
- Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)
- Polyacrylate
- Acrylates copolymer
- Allyl Stearate/vinyl acetate copolymers
- ethylene/acrylate copolymer
What’s Wrong with Plastic?
Plastic doesn’t just surround us. It is in us. Bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen mimic, has been found in human blood, tissues, urine, amniotic fluid, and milk (Halden 181-182). Microplastics are in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe (Karbalaei et al.).
The environmental costs are even more devastating. An article published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences states, “Over 260 species, including invertebrates, turtles, fish, seabirds and mammals, have been reported to ingest or become entangled in plastic debris, resulting in impaired movement and feeding, reduced reproductive output, lacerations, ulcers and death” (Thompson et al.).
What Is the Beauty Doing to Get Better?
As a whole, the beauty industry is slow to change. However, some segments are looking for ways to reduce or eliminate plastic. In my post, “3 Plastic-Free Beauty Buys for Plastic Free July,” I discussed three plastic-free beauty products and three more that are low-plastic. Lush Cosmetics doesn’t just make plastic pots and bottles from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, but they also partnered with Ocean Legacy to recycle ocean plastic (“Our Values“).
Refillable beauty is another trend to watch. Refilling products decreases waste in general by reusing the packaging. The list of brands offering refillable products is small but growing. Kjaer Weis and MOB Beauty make refillable makeup.
Many brands have also banned microplastics from their ingredient lists. At Beat the Microbead, you can check if a product has plastic ingredients. Or download their app and scan any ingredient list for microplastics. Just be aware that you might get unpleasant surprises about some products you are using.
What Can I Do?
When you can, buy plastic-free. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. During my journey towards an eco-friendly beauty routine, I’ve discovered that beauty frequently uses plastic that is not recyclable. Unfortunately, I often don’t realize this until I have already purchased something. Fortunately, many brands provide information about recycling on their website. To determine if a brand uses recyclable packaging, use your favorite search engine to search the brand’s name and “recycle” or “sustainability.” If a brand does not provide information, I assume it can’t be recycled.
How to Recycle
You first need to find out what options you have. Many cities offer recycling programs. This is often easiest for those who live in houses and single-family residences where the city collects recycling. Apartment dwellers can also recycle but must drop off their recycling at a recycling center. You will also need to find out what is accepted. For example, some cities don’t take plastic grocery bags (“Recycling“).
Many retailers also accept recyclable materials. Take five empty Lush Cosmetics black pots back to the store in exchange for a free face mask (“Our Values“). Other brands have partnered with companies like TerraCycle to collect recycling. For example, ILIA Beauty will provide a pre-paid shipping label so that you can send in their’s and other brands’ empties. Complete this form for your free pre-paid shipping label.
No matter where you send your empties for recycling, you must prepare them first. Be sure to remove pumps and droppers. Pumps often contain multiple materials, and the rubber top of droppers can’t be recycled. You should also rinse any product still clinging to the sides (Cruel). Or better yet, get a tiny silicone spatula and use every last drop.
I reduced the plastic in my beauty habits, but I haven’t removed it entirely. Ending our plastic dependence involves many entities, including beauty companies, governing bodies, grassroots efforts, and us, working together. As consumers, our buying power is our best tool. By supporting companies that have reduced their use of plastic, we communicate our priorities. We still have a long way to go, but the beauty industry listens to our concerns and responds.
Works Cited
Association of Plastics Manufacturers. “What are Plastics?” n.d., https://www.plasticseurope.org.
“Beauty Waste Is Taking a Toll on Mother Earth.” Waste360, 2020, https://www.waste360.com/.
Cruel, Jessica. “10 Things You Need to Know About Recycling Your Beauty Products.” SELF, 7 July 2018, https://www.self.com.
Geyer, Roland, et al. “Production, Use, and Fate of all Plastics Ever Made.” Science Advances, vol. 3, no. 7, 2017, pp. e1700782, https://advances.sciencemag.org, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700782.
“Guide to Microplastics.” Beat the Microbead, n.d., https://www.beatthemicrobead.org.
Halden, Rolf U. “Plastics and Health Risks.” Annual Review of Public Health, vol. 31, no. 1, 2010, pp. 179-194, https://www.annualreviews.org, doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103714.
Karbalaei, Samaneh, et al. “Occurrence, Sources, Human Health Impacts and Mitigation of Microplastic Pollution.” Environmental Science & Pollution Research, vol. 25, no. 36, 2018, pp. 36046-36063, https://www.researchgate.net, doi:10.1007/s11356-018-3508-7.
“Our Values: Naked.” Lush Cosmetics., n.d., https://www.lushusa.com.
“Recycling Plastics.” EcoCycle, n.d., https://www.ecocycle.org.
Thompson, Richard C., et al. “Plastics, the Environment and Human Health: Current Consensus and Future Trends.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 364, no. 1526, 2009, pp. 2153-2166, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0053.
UNEP. Plastic in Cosmetics: Are We Polluting the Environment through our Personal Care? , 2015.
Woloson, Wendy. “Plastic.” St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Edited by Thomas Riggs. vol. 4, St. James Press, Detroit, MI, 2013.
Updated March 29, 2022
6 comments
It’s a HUGE pity that we even started making plastic in the first place. Sure, it’s helped us out a whole lot, but it’s caused a lot more problems (especially future ones) than it has solved. Obviously, we can’t go back on the past, so really all we can do is help clean up. In all of your posts, you do a great job in showing how to clean up the environment, from little things to small. Thank you for helping save the Earth. We can’t do it without people like you, who advise and write about the world of plastic we live in.
Thank you for joining the conversation! I truly believe that each of us can make a difference. When we discuss sustainable beauty in public forums we are letting the beauty industry know how they must change if they want our dollars.
I totally agree. And not just in beauty, but in everything! Once people start cleaning up the environment, others will follow, and hopefully that’ll end in a clean Earth for us all.