Pretty With a Purpose

By Lindsey Galloway

We know you scrutinize the label of the ingredients on your skincare products, but how much attention do you pay to the containers they come in and what you do with them when you’re done? Mother Earth shouldn’t have to pay the price of vanity, so reduce your toll on the environment in these four ways:

Reduce. For products you use every day (think shampoo and moisturizer), buy bigger quantities so you can reduce the amount of packaging that gets tossed. Natural beauty companies like Organoderm and Nature’s Gate make oversized products for long-lasting use.

Reuse. Why throw away a perfectly reusable container when you could refill it with the same product again? Method sells soap refills in petite packaging, and Brazilian cosmetic company Natura will happily refill your makeup palette with the same or different colors.

Recycle. Look for products made with glass or plastics with the numbers 2, 4, or 5 for easy recycling. Avoid number 7 plastics, which can leach hormone-disrupting bisphenol-A (BPA). We love the elegant glass packaging by Talulah and Suki, and appreciate the sturdy, plastic-housed shea butters from Perfect Organics. Some companies like Tarte, will even give you a discount on your next purchase when you return the packaging to them for recycling.

Renew. Skin care companies like Organic Essence now make completely biodegradable packaging, so you could just toss the whole shebang into your compost bin when you finish with it. Or if you buy products from Pangea or Cargo Cosmetics, you could plant the packaging in your garden and wait for the embedded basil or flowers to grow. ­—LG

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