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I frequently get asked about what I do for plastic-free makeup, and honestly I haven’t had the best answer. I continue to use the products that I already had and generally only replace them with plastic-free alternatives once they are used up. But after reading about lead in lipstick and other unhealthy chemicals two years ago, I checked out all the cosmetics I owned against Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database and ended up doing a huge purge of most of my makeup.
What I kept: one combo eye shadow/liner stick, two colored lip gloss sticks, and one twist blush. Pretty much everything else went to the Hazardous Waste facility. No kidding. And since I rarely wear makeup, except for when being photographed or on special occasions, these products, packaged in plastic, have lasted all this time.
Still, I worried about the ingredients in the makeup I had left. What we put on our skin is as important as what we eat. It all ends up inside our bodies. So during my eco-friendly spending spree a few weeks ago, I came across a shop in my neighborhood called 100% Pure selling personal care products and cosmetics that the company states are made without “synthetic chemicals, chemical preservatives, artificial fragrances, artificial colors, harsh detergents or any other unhealthy toxins.” What’s more, their makeup is colored with fruit pigments rather than synthetic dyes or minerals.
Awesome! Except at first glance, all I saw were plastic containers. Hmm… I thought. Pure on the inside. Not so pure on the outside. Still, I persevered, and found, at the back of the store, a few metal containers of lip color and blush.
Terrific. I can at least replace this less than healthy stuff:
However, once I got my purchase home, I realized my mistake. The lip color container was lined on the inside with plastic that I had been unable to see in the store:
I don’t know if the chemicals from the container can leach into my lip color, and I wear makeup so infrequently that it probably doesn’t matter. But, as we know, plastic has other impacts, especially once it enters the environment as waste. And is the metal from the tube actually recyclable if lined with the stuff? I doubt it.
What’s more, I do realize that there are lip gloss alternatives that come in plastic-free pots. But I just don’t like the idea of sticking my germy fingers into them and then touching my mouth. I have a hard enough time remembering to wash my hands as often as is recommended, which is probably why I get sick so often.
The blush container, however, does seem to be made from all metal and glass:
So, being me and not one to quietly accept the status quo, I wrote to 100% Pure to ask about their packaging choices and was pleasantly surprised to receive a response from CEO Ric Kostick almost immediately:
from Ric Kostick
to Fake Plastic Fish
date Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 11:10 AM
subject Fw: Natural cosmetics in synthetic packagingHi Beth, Thank you for the letter! I LOVE your passion!
YES! This is one of our company-wide initiatives for 2010 is to move toward more sustainable packaging. We have lotions launching in biodegradable tubes, we are also testing paper packaging. We constantly put pressure on our supplier factories to invest in these technologies…I totally agree that we need alternatives to plastic, there is too much plastic in the world and all the phthalates (and probably other chemicals) are not good for our bodies, nor are they good for the animals!! We are PASSIONATE about helping animals!
We’ll keep you updated as we roll out our eco-friendly packaging.
Keep up your mission!
Very Best,
Ric Kostick, CEO
Purity Cosmetics
100% PURE
And a few days later, I received another email from Brand Ambassador Melanie Isett adding to Ric’s message that the company is
in the active process of sourcing new packaging for new items that
