Simple Tips for Sustainable Beauty
What is your carbon footprint?
It’s something I’ve often contemplated — and felt guilty about — especially while driving the kids’ carpool. But here’s one thing I hadn’t considered: the beauty and personal care products that clutter my shower and sink (and under my sink!).
Much of the packaging isn’t recyclable, and that’s a problem. Landfills release a gas called methane that’s 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide (some of that is due to food waste, but that’s for another blog post!).
Trapped gases like methane and carbon dioxide heat up our land and oceans via the greenhouse effect.
Fortunately, there are simple actions we can take to reverse the warming trend:
- Insist on eco-friendly packaging
- Read the label, and make sure the ingredients are not only natural and organic, but packaged and produced in an environmentally friendly way
- Use less water during your beauty routine
- Rinse your bottles before you recycle
TIP: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recyclable materials like glass were only recycled at a rate of 34.7 percent in 2015. To make sure your packaging ends up where it should — as the building blocks for new products — download free shipping labels at TerraCycle.
For more tips, go to InStyle.
