There are lots of small steps we can all take every day to reduce our impact on the planet
Change starts at home and while there are so many ways we can reduce waste on a day-to-day level, if you start small with one section of your life you can make great changes in the long term. There are lots of brilliant beauty products that offer a greener alternative to what may be already in your toiletry cabinet, handbag or makeup bag.
We’re shining a light on the businesses embracing sustainability measures and helping to raise awareness around environmental issues this month.
Toothbrush swap
A quick and easy change you can make to your every routine right away is to swap your regular plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one.
Irish company Spotlight Oral Care is well known for its sustainable values and you can pick up a five-pack of bamboo toothbrushes or shop their popular bundles containing some of the brand’s best-loved earth-friendly oral care essentials, including dental floss, toothpaste and bamboo toothbrushes.
Solid shampoo and conditioner
You might not you could make the switch from regular shampoo and conditioner to the solid variety but, trust us, it’s easier than you think.
It’s not like putting regular soap on your hair, shampoo bars actually create a lather and your hair feels incredibly clean afterwards. Based in Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon, Soap Out Loud is an environmentally conscious, natural cosmetics brand with a range of solid shampoos in a variety of scents that could change your mind for good.
Sustainable scents
Perfume doesn’t have to come in a spray bottle. Did you know you can purchase a solid perfume like this one from the award-winning luxury natural product brand, Jo Browne? However, if you’re not quite ready for solid perfume just yet, check out the beautiful range of fragrances from Irish sustainable brand Burren Perfumery. It’s a small, west of Ireland-based company making handmade cosmetics and perfumes inspired by the stunning surrounding landscape.
Skincare saves
Cleanser: Founder Jennifer Rock is on a mission to create a skincare range that is better for your skin and the planet. Alarmed by the amount of plastic that was used in the beauty industry, and more importantly, wasn’t recyclable, she became committed to learning more about earth-conscious innovations and put them into practise with her Skingredients range. The PrePrebiotic Cleanser is a bathroom cabinet hero that suits all skin types and washes away makeup instantly, leaving skin feeling nourished. Packagaing can be recycled, and then the insert refilled once empty.
Hand soap: Top-selling natural soap brand Dr Bronner is asking people to choose climate-friendly soap and to take action for a cooler and greener planet. The family-owned maker has launched a ‘Heal Earth!’ campaign in April, in recognition of Earth Month. The campaign highlights the importance of Regenerative Organic Agriculture for a more sustainable and eco-friendly future. It involves worldwide educational events, promotions, product giveaways, and social media campaigns, with Dr Bronner’s global partners to educate the public about the collective need to ‘Heal Earth!’.
Serum: Origins is a brand that follows an ‘Earth Day’ mentality every day of the year. In addition to its urban forestry initiative to plant trees across North America, Origins has also released the Mega Mushroom Restorative Skin Concentrate – a plant-based phyto-powered barrier defense complex that helps to strengthen skin’s protective barrier, encourage hydration and promote resiliency.
Makeup moves
Sun protection: SPF 5000 may not be a reality just yet but who’s to say it never will? That’s the question being posed by Gen Z skincare brand SkinProud to raise awareness about the adverse effects climate change is having on our skin. The brand is home to a sunscreen called Serious Shade that boasts SPF 50 protection but the people behind the brand are more concerned about what will be needed to protect our skin in the future.
Jumping on the trending hashtag #GRWM (Get Ready With Me), the company has teamed up with comedian Cat Cohen to release a parody Tiktok video entitled “Get Ready With Me for the End of the World”. In it, she presents her followers with the beauty products people will be faced to use in the future due to a drastically deteriorated climate. These include a sunscreen that protects the skin from extreme UV radiation exposure, a micro-plastic removing face mask, and an industrial grade toner that protects the skin from coming into contact with harmful air pollutants.
@cat_cohen 🔥 #GRWM for the end of the world🔥 @iamproud is a REAL brand that champions protecting our planet (and our skin) and, at the rate we’re going, these are the products you’ll be using in your 2050 skincare routine!! do your part this Earth Month and check out Skin Proud’s website for tips on how to make your beauty routine more sustainable, OR donate to the @isxenvironmentalist Earth Month fundraiser! Skin Proud’s real products are gorgeous, affordable, and available from @walmart #iamskinproud #GRWM #skinproud #earthday #earthmonth #intersectionalenvironmentalist #climateaction ♬ original sound – catherine cohen
Foundation: The step before makeup application is a very important one and few brands have the devotion of its followers like Sculpted By Aimee. And despite the enormous success of Second Skin, its first foundation, the company has branched out to include Satin Silk and the tinted moisturiser Tint and Glow to ensure every level of coverage is catered for.
The Irish beauty brand is so passionate about sustainability that it even has a name for its reusable practice – Resculpted. The environmentally friendly initiative asks followers to return their empties to the store whereby they can earn ‘Sculpted’ points which can be used to buy products online.
Lipstick: Another brand embracing the Earth Day ethos is The Body Shop which has just launched two new makeup products that provide the option to refill and reuse time and time again. The stars of the show are the new Tea Tree Face Base which gives beautiful coverage in a range of inclusive shades and Peptalk Lipstick, which has 20 complexion flattering shades to choose from. Both products also offer stylish reusable cases, making them a handbag hero that’s great for the planet too!
The new products are very much in keeping with the philosophy of The Body Shop’s founder Anita Roddick who once said: “Why waste a container when you can refill it? We behaved as my mother did in the Second World War, we reused everything, we refilled everything, and we recycled all we could. The foundation of The Body Shop’s environmental activism was born out of ideas like these.”
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