Sustainability And The Beauty industry: Why It's Good Business To Invest In Sustainable Products

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.

Sustainability: It feels like it’s become a bit of a buzzword in multiple industries as of late. Businesses around the world are changing their best practices to reach the holy grail of being labeled a green business and at sometimes exorbitant costs. But what about the beauty industry? 

The beauty industry is probably one of the industries with the most waste. And when it comes to beauty products, using disposable single-use plastics and non-recyclable materials seems like a given. After all, travel-sized beauty products are a requirement when it comes to getting through the TSA line, and millions upon millions—yes, you read those numbers correctly—are produced each year and tossed in landfills or our waterways because they can’t be recycled.

Beauty waste is a big problem. How big? Big enough to fill the Pacific Ocean with packaging waste. In fact, 120 billion units of beauty and personal care packaging are produced each year. Going even deeper, the New York Times and others recently reported as much as 95% of full-size beauty packaging is not getting recycled. That’s why even if products say they are “recyclable,” outlets like Allure will no longer denote those products as recyclable. 

What most people do not know is that tiny plastics, including single-use travel sizes and minis, do not get recycled due to their small size. This is why New York and California have banned travel-size products in hotels beginning in 2025 and 2023 respectively.

Luckily, one company has had the foresight to find a solution: The world’s first beauty reusable. The company, Palette by pak, is creating new categories in the industry (beauty reusables), leading a movement (the beauty packaging revolution), and reimagining sustainable beauty through innovation, form, function, and design. 

More consumers want their products to be upfront and honest with their packaging. About 77% said plastic is the least environmentally responsible type of packaging, and consumers often consider a company’s environmental footprint before purchasing products. And with consumers making their stance and preferences known, smart investors and business leaders should follow suit—after all, the customer is always right. 

ESG funds—basically investment funds that include companies that score the highest marks in environmental, social, and governance factors—are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people are putting their money where their environmental concerns are.

More than $1 trillion has been invested in ESG funds in the last two years. But many still see a trade-off between choosing a more sustainable future and achieving business growth and profit. But they shouldn’t. According to insurance giant Swiss Re, not acting on climate will destroy around 18% of GDP by 2050—and that number is equal to a deep economic depression.

The global beauty industry is worth more than $500 billion and will likely reach more than $805 billion by 2023. And globally, consumers spend an estimated $382 billion on beauty (cosmetics) products each year. Those numbers are hard to ignore. If just a third of those products were sold in reusable and refillable containers or—at the very least—were recyclable, it would have a huge environmental impact.

Each consumer spends an average of $199 a year on cosmetics—and many spend a lot more. Imagine the difference companies like Palette by pak could make in this mammoth industry by cutting down on beauty waste. Next time you pull out your cosmetics bag for a trip, think of how small changes like reusable containers can affect the future of our country and the world. 

Image sourced from Unsplash

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.