Are Zero-Waste Beauty Products Really Worth It?

Mindful consumption could help reduce beauty waste more than changing out your products.

There are several “green” beauty trends: "Clean beauty" removes harmful substances from products, "blue beauty" protects oceans from plastic, and then there is "zero-waste beauty." Zero-waste beauty products offer refillable options or feature packaging that is biodegradable.

But are more options really the answer? Or could this eco-friendly trend just be another way to green-wash the beauty industry? We spoke with two beauty brand owners to see if the movement lives up to the hype—and how we can make more eco-friendly decisions when it comes to our makeup and skincare.

Meet the Experts

• Jenny Patinkin is a beauty expert, makeup artist, author, and founder of Jenny Patinkin, a beauty brand for eco-luxe beauty tools.

• Monika Blunder is a celebrity makeup artist and founder of Monika Blunder Beauty, a beauty brand that is committed to clean beauty.

What Is Zero-Waste Beauty?

Zero-waste beauty is an off-shoot of a zero-waste lifestyle, which aims to reduce one’s carbon footprint by limiting single-use items that aren’t biodegradable or recyclable. While being completely zero waste is unattainable for most people, beauty companies are experimenting with more sustainable options like refillable lipsticks and perfume bottles.

“There is so much innovation happening in ingredient sourcing, formulation, and packaging, and so much care being taken to get to zero waste,” says beauty expert Jenny Patinkin. “It would be presumptuous to assume that those products are not as good as more traditional products.”

Zero-waste beauty comes in response to recent backlash against major beauty brands for their pollution-promoting practices. For context, the beauty industry is responsible for 120 billion units of plastic packaging waste per year. “The waste generated by the beauty industry is no joke and is very troubling,” says Patinkin. “As more and more brands step into the zero-waste sphere, I'm thrilled that the industry is starting to take it seriously.”

How To Be More Conscious of Beauty Waste

Many articles and forums about zero-waste makeup share numerous product recommendations, but that may be part of the problem. “We as consumers get seduced by the promise of a new product multiple times a day on social media and the temptation to abandon what we already own and buy something new is hard to resist,” explains Patinkin. “It creates a vicious circle that generates incomprehensible amounts of waste.”

So what can one do to be more mindful about their beauty consumption? “Honestly, the number one most sustainable thing you can do is to fully use up all the products you already have,” says celebrity makeup artist Monika Blunder. “It does more harm than good to throw them out just so you can replace them, so use everything you have first and then repurchase more sustainable options when it’s time.”

Blunder urges everyone to set resolutions to be more intentional about their beauty purchases. “Buy less, buy more intentionally, and completely use up the things you have.”

"We all have a responsibility to be mindful of our consumption and trash. A lot of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the companies, but you have a lot of power as a consumer by voting with your dollar and supporting brands that you align with morally."

Monika Blunder, Celebrity Makeup Artist

Once you’ve used up your products and have clean empties to recycle, do a little research to find brands that align with your values. “The beauty industry can be excessively wasteful, so it’s nice to find brands that are taking a more mindful and conscious approach,” Blunder says.

Patinkin says Kate McLeod and Axiology are good starting points. “I really like the Kate McLeod Daily Stone. It's a very innovative skincare product. And Axiology lipsticks are very clever because they can also double as blush.”

Remember, it's not helpful to use more sustainable packaging if that means you have dozens of zero-waste lipsticks in your drawer. More than anything else, try to only purchase beauty products that you will use in full.

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