Being a more conscious consumer has become more and more important over the last few years and with good reason – if we don’t take action with our plastic consumption, the world as we know it could quite easily disappear, and by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish.
Most of us already use an Insta friendly reusable coffee cup (and enjoy the tiny discount some coffee chains offer) or maybe a reusable water bottle for the gym. But have you thought about your bathroom bin and how to recycle your beauty products? Do you simply throw them out in the recycling bin?Disappointingly, it’s not that simple. We’ve put together a list of brands that will recycle your empty products for you, making being environmentally friendly as easy and gorgeous as possible.
Brands that help you recycle
Back to Mac: returning products to MAC is the original and probably most well-known makeup recycling program. It’s changed a bit over the years but all you have to do is return six empty (and clean) items to get a free full-size MAC lipstick.
A Restless favorite, Lush has long been at the forefront of recycling their empty products. Bring into the store five empty pots of Lush products and get a fresh face mask for free. If you’re acne-prone go for the garlic mask and thank me later! The hydrating oat one is great for all skin types too. It’s also worth mentioning that Lush has a completely ‘naked’ store, with products that have zero packaging. Across all their stores, they prioritize cutting down on waste as much as possible.
A special mention goes to REN, who are at the forefront of recycling and caring about the environment. Their packaging is made using 50% or often 100% post-consumer plastic, and they pledge to be completely plastic-free by 2021. REN is the first premium skincare brand to partner with recycling initiative scheme Loop, starting with six best-selling products presented in glass bottles complete with recycled pumps. After using up your product, simply bring it back to be refilled. The program will be launching in the UK in the beginning of 2020, though Loop is already available in the US and soon in Paris too. Stephen Clarke, head of communications for TerraCycle and Loop Europe said: “All the packaging is durable, not disposable, thus eliminating the waste associated with purchasing packaged products. The packaging is beautiful and can be kept on bathroom counters, increasing their value in the eyes of the user”.
Partnered up with TerraCycle, Garner have set up hundred locations across the country for free recycling of your empty products. You can find their locations on this interactive map. Simply join the program for free, fill out the form and take your items to your closest point. If there isn’t a collection point near you, you can send the items via UPS. So far, they have recycled over 120,000 items. They encourage you to only send through the items that can’t be recycling at home -read on for the full list of those items and how to recycle them. See the below graphic on what they accept.
Courtesy of TerraCycle
L’Occitane (also in partnership with TerraCycle) will recycle your plastic products from any brand. All you have to do is bring empty products to any of their stores. In return, you get 10% off any purchases that day. The only exception to this is that they don’t accept glass products. They also have refillables of some of their products, so you can keep the original packaging instead of taking it straight to recycling.
The Body Shop launched a refill scheme in 1993, and due to popular demand has brought back to life a similar program for recycling. Instead of throwing out your Body Shop creams and pots, bring them back in store empty and clean to be recycled by TerraCycle. If you’re a member of the Love Your Body Club (it’s free to join) you get a £5 voucher for every five products (note all five products must be brought in at the same time). TerraCycle will then recycle and repurpose the raw materials to be used all over again.
Danish eco-conscious brand Rituals have refills of their famous body creams – just keep your empty cream pot and top up with the refill. According to Rituals, you can save 70% in CO2 emissions, 65% in energy and use 45% less water by using their refills.
Neal’s Yard Remedies have vowed to have fully recyclable plastic bottles by 2025, and 100% of their packaging will be recyclable, compostable or reusable. They do mostly use glass unless the case requires plastic – eg. products that go in the shower have to be plastic for safety reasons. They also have a recycling location in their stores where you can bring in pumps, atomisers, superfood packets and empty sample sachets from any brand. Nine of their stores also offer refills of the Bee Lovely Bath & Shower Gel and Geranium & Orange hand wash, and you also get a £2 discount per refill.
Bring in your empty Kiehl’s products (both normal and travel size) and collect a stamp for each; 10 stamps mean a free travel product thanks to their Recycle & Be Rewarded program. You can also collect a stamp every time you use your recyclable Kiehl’s bag to take your products home in. But more excitingly if you buy their latest limited-edition Rare Earth mask, you will contribute towards the making of a 99% recycled plastic boat, that will be filled with all the empties collected through the Recycle & Be Rewarded program. This is part of the latest campaign with John Legend. The boat will then be used for trips taking children and businesses ‘Plastic Fishing’ cleaning up the river and is done in partnership with Hubbub UK.
Courtesy of Kiehl’s
Le Labo offer a refill program, whereby you get 20% off for your refill. This is great on many different levels as flammable objects can’t exactly be recycled, plus you get a discount on your favorite Le Labo scent.
British skincare brand Emma Hardie have a recycling program where you can send five of your empty (full-sized) Emma Hardie products and receive a free product in return.
Weleda and TerraCycle have teamed up to collect the brand’s soft tube packaging that can’t be recycled at home. Plus, the brand makes extremely luxe products without charging a fortune. Please note they only accept the Weleda soft touch packaging (eg. hand creams, face creams), here.
Certified organic makeup brand Kjær Weis are probably the only brand that offers refills across their entire range from blushers to mascara. The packaging of their famous cream blushes is metal, and the refills come in paper packaging – so no need to worry about plastic at all!
