A BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE?
By Selomi Garnaik
In the present times of social media obsessions, the meaning of beauty and lifestyle is largely equated with the make-up usage and consuming a huge amount of personal care products. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites are piled up with influencers promoting various beauty products, persuading people to follow various skin care routines and a lot more. One can find a huge number of people in the comment section being mesmerized by the use of such products which gives birth to a largely consumerist attitude. The beauty and cosmetic industry has been spreading like fire since the last few decades. According to Euromonitor International study, India ranked eighth globally with sales worth $14 billion and China’s buisness in this sector is around $62 billion.These numbers are big and so are its impacts. Little are the people aware of the consequences beauty products have on the health of living organisms and above all, the way it degrades the environment and its ecosystem.
The use of beauty and personal care products have become an imperishable part of our everyday life. Be it a deodorant, a moisturizer or a sunscreen- these products have become a core part of our daily self-care routines. These cosmetics and personal care products are used in massive quantities, and their frequent usage leads them to get back into the environment in similar proportions. There are various ways in which cosmetics and their usage affect the environment as a whole. On one hand, it is the packaging of the cosmetic products or waste generated from it that degrade the environment while on the other hand, the chemicals that are present in those cosmetics that affect the health of humans and other living organisms. We never know, the cost of maintaining ourselves is being paid by our environment.
COSMETICS AND ITS INORGANIC WASTES:
The colourful and the stylish packaging of the cosmetic products might compel us to buy them, but the consequences of these packaging materials on our environment is destructive. The problem of packaging in cosmetic products is compounded by the use of mix products such as paper, fibre, plastic and metal fused with plastic, which makes recycling exceptionally tedious. The cosmetic industry is a substantial contributor of the overall plastic pollution that the world is facing. This plastic waste continues to emit carbon gas and other greenhouse gases into the environment at an alarming rate. Also, as the plastic packaging is non-recyclable, it requires the companies to use more fossil fuels to produce new plastic, rather than reusing the packaging. While looking at such facts one might decide to go for those products that use more environment friendly packaging but practically it is a challenging task to do. Only a few cosmetic brands have switched to environmentally friendly packaging but, however the prices of these products are outrageous, leaving customers with no option.
Another harmful ingredient found in rinse off cosmetics like scrubs and toothpaste — ‘Plastic microbeads’, which are small, solid, manufactured plastic materials and don’t get dissolved in water. As they don’t dissolve in water they affect the life of aquatic animals, emit greenhouse gases for decades and largely contribute to the ongoing plastic pollution in the ocean.
Additionally, the wet wipes and face sheet masks that are now widely used, have a composition of fabric and plastic, which makes it impossible to recycle. When these materials don’t get dissolved, they often clog the sewer system and water channels. The cosmetics might make a person look beautiful but the waste it generates essentially makes the world look ugly and devastating.
COSMETICS AND WELL-BEING OF LIVING ORGANISMS:
Talking about the packaging of the products is just one-part of the story. The cosmetic products themselves contain some harmful ingredients that affect the well-being of the living organisms. The chemical benzophenone and its derivative oxybenzone, which is widely used in the sunscreen to provide protection against UV rays, But these chemicals on the other hand causes cancer among the humans and contributes to endocrine disruption, organ toxicity, DNA damage among the young corals. Such effects severely affect the food chains and disturbs the ecosystem.
The plastic microbeads have the ability to absorb toxins and transfer up in the marine food chain. This absorption of toxins coupled with bio magnification have devastating effects on aquatic life.
Another anti- bacterial agent triclosan found in soaps and other cleaning products, is known for poisoning the aquatic environment. It not only destroys the aquatic population directly but also has indirect detrimental effects on apex predators.
Some cosmetics like lipstick, nail colour, eyeliner, contain heavy metals such as — lead, arsenic, zinc, aluminium which are known to be linked with cancer, organ system toxicity, development and reproductive toxicity. As per studies conducted by Lee and Sarita D. on health hazards associated with perfumes, found that four chemicals in perfumes are proved to disrupt human hormones leading to severe health issues. But still these products are used in huge quantities sometimes because of unawareness, at other times because of sheer indifference.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
The above facts might make us feel guilty about the dozens of cosmetic and personal care products lying around in our washrooms and in our dressing wardrobe. This is where we need to find solutions to reduce the impact of cosmetics on the environment. The solution has to be thought first on an individual level — “Reducing Consumption’’. A 2017 survey by beauty e-tailer Skin store found that the average woman used no less than 16 products on just her face. This is in addition to the personal care items like toothbrushes, razors, massagers, applicators etc. The social media influencers and the beauty experts have successfully encouraged the need for multiple products using persuasive advertising techniques. Here, we need to ask ourselves — If we really need that product? Or are we really just falling prey to the consumerist culture? A small step of just reducing our consumption of cosmetic products can make a big difference to the environment. For eg- one should think of buying new products only when one has completely run out of the product instead of piling up new products in the dressing wardrobe. People often collect personal care products from hotels , which again leads the hotels to buy new products when another customer checks in. This can be avoided and these small changes in our daily lives will help reduce our cosmetic consumption. Also, we can be more conscious while choosing our beauty products and go for those products that are more environmentally friendly than the others, for example choosing those products which do not have plastic microbeads in them. This will eventually persuade the companies to look for alternatives of plastic microbeads to be used in cleansers. On an individual level, one can incorporate more home-made remedies and herbal techniques in their personal care routines.
When we are looking at the solutions, the companies also hold an important responsibility to take care of the environment. The companies should aim to make their packaging more recyclable, refillable and reusable. Such initiatives have already been taken up by Mac, Hindustan Unilever ltd and Mama Earth. Kama Ayurveda is already using PET recyclable plastics and has also iniciated to exchange old bottles for recycling in one of their outlets in Delhi. They are planning to incentivize this by offering a discount or samples in exchange for these old bottles. Such innovative practices can be put forth by other companies to be environmentally friendly, without cutting down much on their sales.
