The Beauty Brands Cutting Down on Packaging

The beauty industry has grown exponentially in recent years — it’s projected to be worth $463.5 billion by 2027 — and this expansion has meant that products are more inclusive and accessible than ever. But it has also increased the urgency of issues surrounding waste. As of 2018, the industry was creating 7.9 billion rigid plastic packaging units per year in the U.S. alone, according to a recent study. And while the majority of these bottles and tubes are technically recyclable, the onus to make sure they reach the proper facilities often falls on the consumer — a system whose flaws include insufficient infrastructure, lack of access and user negligence — and, for these reasons and others, nearly 95 percent of recyclable beauty product empties still end up in landfills and oceans.

Fortunately, brands are beginning to prioritize sustainability, and a new wave of independent services have emerged in the past decade that promise more streamlined, dependable approaches to recycling. There’s Loop, which offers refillable containers and send-back deals to consumers; the Green Circle Salons program, which collects, processes and repurposes beauty waste from hair studios; and TerraCycle, which supplies recycling collection receptacles for businesses and individuals (albeit at a cost that might be inaccessible for some). There are also nonprofits, like the Denmark-based Ocean Waste Plastic, that collect and recycle debris mined from oceans and use it to create new packaging. Still, only certain types of plastic can be reworked in this way, and the process can only happen a few times before the materials become unusable.

To address these problems, some beauty companies are now experimenting with more innovative approaches to design, introducing products that come in biodegradable or refillable bottles — or, in some cases, sans any packaging at all. Here, a few of the best earth-friendly options to work into your regimen.

Face

Liquid skin-care products usually require plastic or glass containers. But waterless formulas can be superior in terms of potency and preservation, and lend themselves to a greater variety of packaging options. Drunk Elephant’s Baby Juju Bar + Baby Pekee Bar Duo ($22), for example, is a pair of long-lasting and gentle cleansing bars — a nourishing everyday formula and a clarifying exfoliating one — that can be purchased along with a reusable travel case. Humanrace’s snow mushroom-infused Rice Powder Cleanser ($32), which turns into a foam when mixed with water, comes in a refillable container that can be replenished automatically through a subscription service. And there is now even a sustainable option for sheet mask enthusiasts: the Korean brand andLAB’s moisturizing Biodegradeable Niacinamide 2% + B5 Hydrating Face Mask ($6), which is entirely compostable and housed in a recyclable pouch.

Makeup brands are increasingly turning to paper packaging. Take the natural beauty brand Axiology’s versatile Lip-to-Lid Balmies ($14); the North Carolina-based company River Organics’s Imperfect Lip Balms ($8), which come in four flattering shades; and the minimalist cardboard Eyeshadow Quads ($24) from the vegan and cruelty-free line Athr. Adopting a slightly different approach, the Danish-born, New York-based makeup artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis purposefully makes her brand’s refillable Lipstick ($48) tubes and Compacts ($56) into keepsake objects that are meant to be cherished and reused; crafted from glossy stainless steel, they look and feel like luxurious totems.

Body

Body-care products also tend to come in liquid form, which makes bottles and jars hard to avoid, but more and more companies are introducing refill systems that make replenishment seamless and, sometimes, less expensive. Kiehl’s now offers economy-size recyclable pouches containing its best-selling products, like its rich, cocoa butter-infused Creme de Corps Body Lotion ($76). Bathing Culture’s organic, concentrated Mind and Body Wash ($35) — a standout for its rainbow-striped reusable glass bottle — is available with a 15 percent discount when you subscribe to the company’s refill program. And Loop offers refillable soaps and lotions from a range of brands, as well as a razor blade exchange.

For a totally waste-free (and travel-friendly) body-care regimen, Urban Organics’s refreshing Blue Clay Menthol Shave Soap ($16) bar makes shaving just as easy as aerosol-canned alternatives, and gradually disappears over time. And the waterless Body Wash ($17) — a tiny moist foaming towelette packaged in a biodegradable sachet — from the newly launched sustainable brand Plus, pulls off a true vanishing act: It lathers upon contact with water and dissolves with use, rinsing away down the drain.

Hair

The classic advice to “lather, rinse, repeat” is being challenged by a host of new, solid hair-care options, which are often less harsh than traditional detergent formulas and more amenable to all types of tresses. Davines now offers its popular core collection as a range of four Shampoo Bars ($25 each), while Vaycay Beauty’s Maldives With Marula Oil Moisture Set ($35), created with natural hair in mind, includes both nourishing shampoo and conditioner bars, as well as a beautiful sculpted wooden comb.

For a more potent treatment, there’s Klorane’s new volumizing Oil Control 2-in-1 Mask Shampoo Powder With Nettle ($26 for 8 sachets), which lathers with just a few drops of water and is packaged in biodegradable pouches. If you’re looking for an environmentally conscious liquid shampoo, Hairstory sells refills of its gentle, nonlathering New Wash ($40), arguably the most luxurious option for so-called no ’poo enthusiasts, in fully recyclable pouches. And for those whose hair ties invariably become single-use, Terra Ties makes compostable versions ($15 for 27) from organic cotton and natural rubber. No matter how many you lose, you at least won’t have to worry that they’ll linger in landfills forever.