Did you know this week is National Recycling Week? The National Recycling Week, as we know it nowadays, was established by Planet Ark in 1996, and since this date, it has been held every year during the second week of November (8th to 14th of November 2021). This year they're celebrating its 25th anniversary! And, the focus of 2021 is: To Celebrate National Recycling Week YOUR way! Those who don't know what we're talking about are encouraged to pay attention and stay with us.
What does this all mean for the beauty industry?
Let us now tell you that at this time, the beauty industry produces 120 billion units of waste every year, with the majority of this waste not being recycled, contributing to one of the most significant impacts on the industry's carbon emissions.
Even though we're far from being a circular industry, a few brands deserve strong applause for their work. The brands listed below are looking beyond when it's time to return empty products in exchange for rewards.
Trilogy, an established clean and natural beauty brand on the market for over 20 years, underwent a brand refresh earlier this year. Here are some improvements that the revamped Trilogy packaging makes as part of a new era in skincare innovation and giving back to the environment:
- Switching 280,000 plastic spatulas to bamboo
- Replacing plastic with glass: 100,000 plastic tubes and bottles changed to glass.
- Replacing virgin plastic bottles and tubes with 60% post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR)** replaces our virgin plastic bottles and
- Removal of frosted treatments from glass to reduce production processes
- All cartons are certified by The Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.
Another brand that has undergone a makeover this year is the luxury French skincare brand, which recently opened its first-ever Green Store in Sydney. In its new form, the Boutique is a fully-functional, 5-star rated Green Store that embodies incredibly eco-conscious initiatives, including:
- L'Occitane's innovative Refill Fountain is where consumers can refill some of their favourite L'Occitane products over and over again via the one-time purchase of a Forever Bottle. Made from long-lasting, lightweight, 100% recyclable aluminium, these bottles are helping pave the way towards a plastic-free future and not only allow consumers to diminish their environmental footprint significantly.
- Benchtops and the ice-breaker sink were all manufactured with TerraCycle glass supplied by L'Occitane's in-store TerraCycle program. Partnering with Betta Stone, an Australian based company that is the leader in producing bench-tops from recycled glass, L'Occitane is the first company to successfully re-purpose waste that helps close the loop on the circular economy.
The New Zealand brand has always been known for its dedication to the environment and creating beautiful, hard-working products. And, recently, this year, they proudly set a new benchmark in the beauty scene, the announcement that they are the world's first carbon-positive beauty brand while unveiling its new 100% circular designed product range - all endorsed by Dr Jane Goodall.
Carbon positive to Emma Lewisham means taking care of its carbon emissions throughout its entire supply chain, from the harvesting and production of raw ingredients used, transportation, product packaging to the end-of-life for each product. The reason why? To put reduction plans in place before positively offsetting what could not be reduced afterwards. The brand has offset its remaining emissions by an additional 25% to become the world's first beauty brand to be verified carbon positive at a product level.
In September 2021, the Lük team took the first steps towards getting certified as a 'Business for Good' by starting the process to become a BCorp. They aim to strive for the reduction of plastic through product development and product renovation whilst working closely with the Australian Packaging Covenant. These days they are removing unnecessary packaging and marketing materials in their supply chain by increasing recycled and environmentally friendly materials.
The Lük vegan Lipstick Crayons are their most sustainable product yet, producing almost zero waste without scarifying efficacy as it delivers a creamy matte comfort to your lips while respecting the planet.
These are just some of the brands we love for their recyclable practices; now, it's your turn to contribute to the planet and make the most out of this planet-friendly week.
If you liked this article, check our latest feature on The Power of Tea Break with Cleanse and Co here.
