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There are so many products out there from two-hour spot-treatment for a growing zit, 20 minutes to de-puff the eye area with a mask, and 10 minutes to hydrate your complexion with a sheet mask.

A few decades ago, one skin-care product could last you a few weeks or sometimes months. Now, beauty companies are targeting our single-use behavior — the super-convenient, super-wasteful, way of using something only once before discarding it — with a flood of non-biodegradable, non-recyclable disposable products.

Not only is there an array of sheet masks targeted for any skin issue , but there are also sub-products sold to target specific areas like laugh lines or your derrière or your nether regions. There are cleansing wipes available from nearly every brand on the market and packaging of these products come in multiple layers of plastic.

“People haven’t been made as aware of the impact of beauty,” said Freya Williams, the chief executive of Futerra North America, an agency that helps companies with sustainability efforts. “We’re taught in school to recycle, but it’s focused more in the kitchen than in the bathroom, so it doesn’t seem as important.”

“The single-use phenomenon is a fairly recent development”, Ms. Williams added. And, she said, “it’s happening without anybody realizing how much these items are taking over.”

The Overconsumption of Beauty

All of these innovative product introductions, seasonal trends and the promise of clearer, tighter, smoother skin for many consumers is too hard to resist.  Last year, at the peak of popularity a K-beauty trend touted a 10-step beauty routine as the answer to a flawless complexion, but it also came to exemplify one form of self-care.

“We saw an uptick in the number of skin-care products consumers used at the height of the Korean skin-care trend, with many adding an additional mask or product,” said Larissa Jensen, the executive director and beauty industry analyst at the NPD Group market research consultancy.

Each extra serum or mask comes with an environmental impact that many consumers are not even aware of.

Elizabeth Mullans, a dermatologist in Houston, recommends that a streamlined anti-aging regimen just needs the following essential items: sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, an over-the-counter retinol or prescription-strength retinoid, and a vitamin C serum.

“I don’t think you can use too many products — they will all be absorbed into your skin — but these three are going to help the most,” Dr. Mullans said. She added,“stay away from any product that contains collagen because the molecules are too big to be absorbed,” she said. “It’s basically a glorified moisturizer.”

Luxury’s Excess Problem

Many believe the industry’s most challenging obstacle is packaging, with luxury brands being the greatest offender. “The way brands create ‘luxury’ is through layers of heavy packaging, which is often not recyclable and is being discarded,” Ms. Williams said.

 “Making sustainability synonymous with luxury is an opportunity, and it’s something we’re starting to see in fashion,” Ms. Williams said. “Invest in something that’s worthy of your time and money.”

One way consumers can invest in less waste is by investing in anhydrous formulas. This formula eliminates water as a key ingredient to deliver on three things: higher potency (and in turn, greater efficacy); a longer shelf life (without water, there is less risk of bacteria growth); fewer toxins (because there is no longer a need for parabens or preservatives); and water conservation.

The Clean Beauty Push

The clean beauty industry is expected to generate nearly $25 billion by 2025, according to a report from Grand View Research. This only means that products that are marketed as “clean” or “natural” will continue to be popular especially with Gen Z consumers as they gain spending power as they age.

“This focus on ingredients and whether they’re good — if they’re harmful to your skin or the environment — is why there’s a big movement toward clean beauty,” Ms. Jensen said. “Clean beauty ties into the wellness movement and the wellness movement ties into the environment, because it’s about what’s good for you and the planet.”

Every Action Counts

Products that use plastic, like glitter or microbeads, can contribute to ocean waste; certain chemicals in sunscreens can harm marine life; and if an ingredient is not responsibly sourced it can lead to devastating environmental damage.

Unilever recently pledged that all Dove bottles will be composed of recycled plastic, that their popular Dove Beauty Bar will be plastic free later in 2020 and that refillable stainless steel deodorant sticks are in the works in an effort to reduce its use of virgin plastic by more than 20,500 tons per year.

“Consumers think companies aren’t willing to change, and companies think consumers aren’t willing to change, so it’s a stalemate,” Ms. Williams said. “Once consumers aren’t forced to choose between sustainability and performance, that’s when you’ll start to see solutions taking off.”

Fortunately consumers can take action now: Look for package-less products (Lush has long championed them); avoid single-use products; swap disposable cleansing wipes and cotton pads for reusable ones; and of course recycle whenever possible.

 

Source：https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/style/skin-care-sustainability-this-is-the-cost-of-your-beauty-routine.html