I spent 20 years working in the beauty industry, many of which were in hair care. We were great at adding ingredients, creating new hair benefits and adding on steps to the hair care routine. All this to sell more products. And of course, it worked. We grew the brands, made more money, got promoted. And started all over again.

Wake-Up Call

Then, I had a “pivot to purpose” moment. Amidst the COVID pandemic and the increasing climate catastrophes, I realised that, despite all of my good intentions, every day I was contributing to the problem.

Once you experience that wake-up call, there is no going back. It was time to change. I had to play my part in the solution.

I went on the Sustainable Marketing, Media and Creative course by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and, as I handed in my assignments week after week, the realization of how much the beauty industry is contributing to the climate crisis truly dawned on me.

The extent of the problem

In the US alone, 550 million shampoo bottles get thrown away each year!

550 million!

Every year.

Only in the US…

And this does not include the conditioner bottles and myriad other products that are now available as part of your hair care routine.

According to Euromonitor 2016, only 7% of these bottles get recycled. If you do the math, it means that over 500 million shampoo bottles end up in landfills or in the oceans every year.

The average number of plastic particles in today’s oceans has reached 170 trillion and is growing exponentially. That’s such a huge number I cannot even fathom what it means!

Plastic pollution has widespread consequences. It is not just about the oceans. It threatens fauna and marine biodiversity, food safety and quality as well as overall health and climate change.

The big multinationals that produce most of the world’s haircare products are busy working on increasing the percent of recycled plastic in their bottles. A few years ago, the leading shampoo brand even did a whole campaign and limited-edition bottle promoting the fact that it was using recycled ocean plastic in its bottles. But when you dig into the details, you find out that it was only 25% of the plastic that was recycled. The other 75% was virgin plastic, continuing to contribute to the industry’s plastic footprint and ending up back in the oceans.

The brand team also designed the limited edition bottle in black, to differentiate it from the rest of the brand. They were unfortunately likely unaware that black plastic is not detected by recycling machines.

We must do better

Last month, the High Seas Treaty was signed, aiming to protect a third of the sea by 2030.  A monumental step forward, after almost 20 years of talks.

Yet last week, we have seen heartbreaking reports from Bali where three whales were found dead on the shores. One reportedly had 115 plastic cups, 25 plastic bags, four plastic bottles and two sandals in its stomach.

Stepping up

It is time for brands to step up and challenge the status quo. Becoming “less bad” by increasing the amount of recycled plastic is not going to cut it anymore!

Today, it is the small, challenger brands that are leading the way, offering plastic free solutions. But we need change to happen at scale. We need the industry leaders to be just that. Leaders. Leading us to the new solutions that the world so desperately needs.

We need true innovation. Innovation which reaches beyond the existing paradigms, which enables us to rethink our consumption habits. We need brands to start new conversations and create desire behind sustainable ways of living.

The crazy thing is that is also makes business sense!

It has been proven over and over again that brands that have a true purpose and a vision of changing the world are performing better than their counterparts.

So this is your call to make an impact. To start talking about real change.

Only then will we start to see a difference.

Here’s a great resource to help you innovate along the way: www.plasticfree.com

As one of the founder’s of Beauty Disrupted, a plastic free beauty brand, signs off: “For the Ocean’s…”

But also for our health, for our planet and for the future generations to come.