It was Earth Day on 22 April 2022. Click here for more information
Earth Day – a celebration of the planet we live on – should happen every day and not just one day. My personal tribute to the Earth is I actually work barefoot as much as possible: a reminder of where we came from and our final physical destination.
How is Earth Day relevant to the beauty industry?
It’s Earth Day, and here is my two pence. I want you and me to be more conscious consumers. Over-consumption is terrible for the planet. But my bug-bear is actually sizing.
I’ll take lipsticks as an example. I ordinarily look at just the whether a particular lipstick shade/texture suits me or not. But there are other factors that you and I should consider when purchasing one of our favourite cosmetics.
Lipstick packaging tends to be non-recyclable
I haven’t found a single significant brand that produces recyclable containers, such as MAC, Bobbi Brown, or Charlotte Tilbury. The next best thing is refillable packaging, and I would encourage you to use these.
Charlotte Tilbury produces lipstick refills, which are great and cheaper than regular lipsticks. BUT its unavailable only for some of the shades. More expensive brands (e.g.) Christian Louboutin, Hermes produce refills – but this should be an industry standard.
Lipsticks vary a lot in pricing, and do you really need to buy a mini lipstick?
I hate mini lipsticks – they offer terrible value for money and this is made worse by the fact, that there is about 10%-15% of your lipstick that no-one ever uses. A complete waste.
Lipsticks like other cosmetics, use Mica
Mica is a safe ingredient and the issue here is ethical. High quality Mica is mined in India and is a favourite amongst cosmetic brands. The problem is that Indian mica is sourced from states, including
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Both states Bihar and Jharkhand, straddled by the so-called “mica belt”, account for a significant share of Indian mica. This same region is prone to labor abuses and the use of child labor
https://responsible-mica-initiative.com/mica/mica-challenges
Mica is probably the most controversial ingredient in your lipstick – it shouldn’t be this hard for consumers to find ethically sourced mica. Period.
This is one of the principle reasons why I don’t like buying make-up from brands that are made in India. Not many of them talk about ethically sourced mica and its difficult to not assume the worst.
An alternative trend is some brands don’t use Mica at all. For example, RMS Beauty do not use Mica in their products at all. Alas its not readily available in India
Forest Essentials?
Forest Essentials lipsticks, similarly don’t use Mica but rely on plant pigments and that in itself is a good enough reason for me to revisit all their lip balms…I hated them, but I think its time for a rethink
Further reading