Circular Economy in the Cosmetics Industry
One of the biggest issues in the cosmetic industry is waste. And not just any type of waste, waste that kills the environment.?
Every year, the cosmetic industry produces more than 120 billion units of packaging. This is about 70% of the waste that comes from the industry alone. This includes glass, plastic, paper, and metals.?
The ugly truth?? These materials are not recyclable and are extremely harmful to the environment. Each year, these materials end up in landfills or the sea. They are hardly ever recycled even when they are supposed to be.?
There have been demands for the circular economy to be introduced to more cosmetics brands. Some brands have adopted the model, while some haven't.
Although efforts by some brands have been made, it's still not enough, especially when you consider the amount of waste that comes from the industry.
As a brand that supports and practices the circular economy model, we will be discussing two important questions in this article:?
What is a Circular Economy??
The idea of a circular economy first appeared in 1966 in a book by Kenneth Boulding. It explained the idea of a circular flow of materials and energy in systems of production. It wasn't until 1988 that the word "circular economy" appeared in the book "The Economics of Natural Resources". From then on, it became a common term.?
So what exactly does a circular economy mean? There are many definitions of this term, but here is a simple one
?"The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible."?
In a circular economy, methods are procured to ensure that waste is drastically reduced. Instead of manufacturing new products every time, recycling, reusing, sharing, etc are promoted as better alternatives.?
By doing this to reduce waste, the ecosystem is protected. If the ecosystem is protected, we as humans will have a better world to live in.?
?The Relationship Between Cosmetic Industry And The Circular Economy Model.?
As far back as the 1980s, the circular economy model was being accepted by a few cosmetics here and there. It obviously wasn't as popular as it is now, but brands like Natura adopted this model by introducing cosmetics refilling stations in 1983.?
In subsequent years, more and more brands like Rokua, N&B (Natural is Better), Upcircle, etc have made and still make efforts to produce sustainable cosmetic products.
?However, these efforts are still not enough to make a huge difference.?
As we mentioned earlier, over the years, there have been agitations for more cosmetic brands to adopt a circular economy into their production process. But only a handful of them (like the ones mentioned above)? have effectively done so. The rest are yet to apply this model to an extent that can make a great impact globally.?
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For example, the North American circular beauty market holds about 28.2% of the global market share. To be honest, this is not enough if we want a better ecosystem.
The amount of waste that has been produced by the cosmetics industry alone has continued to increase year by year. Even with the advantages of a circular economy, the cosmetic industry is still producing tons of waste even today.?
As the years have passed, even consumers have also become more aware of the environment and the dangers it is exposed to as a result of waste. Consumers are also demanding more environmentally friendly cosmetic brands.?
This goes to show the relationship that the cosmetics industry's relationship with the circular economy model still has a long way to go.
However, even though they are not enough, we must also acknowledge the fact that more and more brands are adopting this model. Every day, efforts are being made by existing and new brands to include more sustainable methods in their production process. We are one such brand.?
How Plorganic is Implementing the Circular Economy Model
One of the foundations of Plorganic as a brand is the circular economy model.?
Aside from the fact that we create plant-based cosmetic products, our goal is also to help reduce the amount of empty cosmetic containers, especially plastic, that are disposed of in the environment.?
And how are we achieving that? The refilling technique.?
Yes! Just like Natura, we have refilling stations in Rwanda and Zimbabwe where our customers can return empty containers of our products and collect new and already-filled products. To encourage this, we give them a 15% discount on the next product they get.?
Our refilling policy ensures that we reduce the amount of waste in our environment and also reduce the resources we use in our manufacturing process. This means that the amount of plastic and glass we use to package our products is reduced.?
We also educate our customers through our social media handles about ways they can reduce waste in the environment.?
We are very passionate about sustainable ways of packaging our products and this is now one of our main business practices.?
We want a better ecosystem and we are working towards that in our own little way.
Conclusively,
The cosmetics industry is one of the biggest contributors to waste in the environment today. Efforts have been made by various brands to implement the circular economy model. However, even with these efforts, there is still more to be done.?
Join us today at Plorganic as a customer or investor, let's ensure that we continue to promote a #circulareconomy model and #reduce waste in our world.?
For more information about us, please visit our Plorganic Cosmetics page or plorganic-cosmetics.com