How to make your makeup bag more sustainable: what's stopping you?

Lockdown has given many people the opportunity to change their habits, and becoming more sustainable has been no exception. The first things we look to change are what we eat, wear and use around the house – but what about the contents of our makeup bags?

Over the years, animal testing has become a massive factor in deciding which makeup brands we purchase from, and sustainability is slowly creeping up behind it. Ask yourself if the products you own and regularly put on your face align with your morals; if they don’t, it’s time to switch things up.

It’s not only about what’s on your face, but what you use to apply and remove it with. Namely, we need to work towards eradicating cotton pads from our makeup removal and skincare routines. Although cotton is renewable, and is something we’ll continue to grow for a long time to come, the amount of water required to produce it will take you by surprise – it can take up to 20,000 litres to produce 1 kilogram of cotton. Unthinkable, right?

Makeup wipes are just as bad, so don’t get any ideas; they’re full of plastic, as well as the fact that they come in plastic packaging, and don’t biodegrade. If you’re willing to ditch single-use cotton pads and makeup wipes, look no further than one of Etsy’s best selling sets of reusable makeup remover pads. Made from bamboo cotton, they’re also vegan and cruelty-free. If you’re worried your makeup will stain them after their first use, have no fear as they’re made from black cotton. You can shop them for yourself here, but why not gift them to someone else too?

Although it’s not appealing for your bank account, investing in makeup brushes that’ll last is the way to go. There are very few brush alternatives available, but that’s okay – as long as you look after what you own and don’t have to replace them, or buy new ones for the sake of it, you’ll be making more of a difference than you realise.

Packaging is one of the biggest challenges that needs tackling in the beauty industry. Looking out for refillable or biodegradable packaging is the first step we need to take, which of course will lead us in the right direction. Last year it was reported that 120 billion units of packaging are produced globally by the cosmetics industry. Complex lids, multi-layered boxes and cellophane are infamously known to end up in landfills and our oceans as they tend to be non-recyclable and non-biodegradable. Don’t be part of the problem by purchasing products which contribute to this unjustifiable figure.

If you’re putting off the switch to a more sustainable makeup routine, it’s important that you question why this is the case – what’s stopping you? If cost is a concern, slowly implementing these changes is better than doing nothing at all. We all know the sustainability industry comes at a cost, but sacrificing the money in your bank account is no cost when you consider the benefits to our planet.

Edited by Madeleine Gill