When you fly eco-beauty, it means travelling with your regular beauty products in a more environmentally friendly way. We’re living in a time where it’s now or never to save our planet. It’s the little things like our daily beauty regimes that are buying into the world of mass production and worldwide sabotage of our beautiful planet. If we want our children and grandchildren’s children to see the light, then we better get clued up about how to fly eco-beauty products. This might feel inconvenient, but tweaking the way you travel will drastically improve the state of our planet.
Too Much Plastic
There’s no doubt that it’s difficult to pack a carry-on bag for your flight. Especially when you have to think about packing sustainable products, let alone what you need for the trip. And even if you know how to fly eco-beauty, convenience is still a priority. Sustainability is usually a second thought. What do we generally resort to? Lots of travel-sized plastic products, shampoo bottles, toothbrushes, razors, most chemical-ridden creams, sprays, and lotions. We get it, you have to keep yourself clean, fly eco-beauty or not. Especially during those long, tedious flights. The sad truth though is that these products create tons of plastic waste. This all contributes to our landfills and unsustainable toxins being released into the air.
Whether or not you’re going on holiday or heading out to a work conference, pollution doesn’t stop until we do. Therefore, it’s vital that we find ways like eco-beauty products that will make sustainability accessible, no matter where you are. This means at home, abroad, or flying in the air. Luckily, it’s not too difficult to pack sustainable carry-on products to fly eco-beauty more often. Remember that every effort to travel in a more eco-conscious way helps significantly. If you’re a little overwhelmed, don’t stress because we’re going to give you all the advice you need in this article. You won’t have to sacrifice convenience or quality either.
Fly Eco-Beauty To Save Our Planet From Death
That headline might seem dramatic, but it’s the current state of affairs we live in. Time to hold ourselves accountable.
I bet you don’t realize how your beauty products are really affecting the planet. According to Zero Waste, more than 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the global cosmetics industry. Most of this is not recyclable. Yes, the beauty industry is a massive contributor right up there with travel. Many products come packaged in plastic, which can take nearly 1,000 years to decompose. We’re talking about your average moisturizer, nothing fancy. To fly eco-beauty you need to start changing your usual purchases. Not to mention all the plastic wrappings, paper inserts, cardboard sleeves, foam, mirrored glass, and more, that’s sometimes all present in one purchase.
Another issue with trying to fly eco-beauty or just being more eco-friendly. It’s that most don’t bother to recycle. Garnier research discovered that over 56 percent of Brits (that’s 4.5 million people) don’t recycle bathroom products because of the inconvenience. All these items end up in landfills or potentially litter our environment. Even worse, most of their ingredients are unsustainable and contain planet-damaging chemicals. Therefore, many beauty companies and travelers, have had to clean up their act. Frequent flyers have to fly eco-beauty and shoppers must make more conscious choices. It’s not all bad though, because with new research people are starting to make the mindset shift.
Start making your beauty regime greener and then when you fly eco-beauty it won’t be so stressful. You’ll be prepared.
Airlines Have To Make The Switch
Very importantly, airlines must hop on board. Never underestimate the impact of the travel industry on our planet. Just think about how many planes fly out day in and day out. Think about all that plastic wastage and those toxic chemicals. Anyone that brings a plastic container onto the plane just chucks it out straight afterward. Not to mention carbon emissions. It’s a story for a different day.
Airlines worldwide have had to make major adjustments, like offering single-use plastic-free alternatives to everything from cups to cutlery, headset bags to toothbrushes. Other creative solutions included edible wafer coffee cups and blankets made from recycled bottles. Over 95 different items made from single-use plastic have been replaced with eco-friendly alternatives. Some airlines have pledged to reduce plastic use by 80 percent by 2023.
Support Local Beauty Brands
In fact, innovation and creativity are what we need most at present. To fly eco-beauty we need big beauty brands to help us out with more eco-friendly packaging and formulations. Everything needs to emphasize ‘clean’ beauty, zero-waste, circular economy, and recyclability. To fly eco-beauty, cosmetics packaging MUST be sustainable and responsible with a commitment to society and the environment. There’s a massive demand for eco-friendly packaging and processes and every brand needs something to offer customers and frequent flyers.
If you want to fly eco-beauty style then it also helps to support local brands and entrepreneurs who are making organic products with environmentally-friendly packaging. Big packaging companies state that a massive segment of their customer base, ranging from the very smallest entrepreneur to the largest multinational companies, have expressed a strong interest in finding primary packaging components for their new projects that are eco-friendly.
Why? Because this is what we as customers know is what we have to do. We have to fly eco-beauty style.
How To Fly Eco-Beauty Without Weight
Problem number one with traveling is doing it conveniently but sustainably. The stress and lugging around eco-friendly glass bottles from one flight to the next is exhausting. There’s got to be other options that don’t involve heavy glass, nor toxic plastic.
Your best bet is to look for beauty brands that do not use plastic in their packaging. You also need to try to find ones that don’t use glass either, particularly if you’re going to be flying. Glass is quite heavy and can be tricky to get onto the flight especially is you don’t want to exceed weight restrictions or lug it around. Thankfully there are certain options available, you just need to be a bit more observant. Once you know what they are and where to find them, it’ll get easier and less stressful.
Many beauty brands have promoted reusable packaging for years, but it’s been difficult to create a widespread initiative. It’s all changing quickly now. The beauty industry is encouraging us to fly eco-beauty styles by creating, premium beauty products made with new reusable packaging including aluminum, stainless steel, and glass. For example, bond No. 9, launched eco-statement at Colour Cosmetics because each shade comes in an elegant refillable gold case inspired by Bond’s iconic hourglass bottle. Then, earlier this year, Kat Von D Beauty launched its 100% vegan and cruelty-free Lock-It Powder Foundation in a refillable compact accented by a pop of red metallic on the inside.
If you’re looking to travel lightly, then products like Verdi Bottle are made with less glass and it’s refillable. Apparently, Albéa’s Swyngedauw says Spirale’s latest innovation in perfume pumps can be unscrewed to make the bottle both refillable and recyclable. Therefore, its carbon footprint is reduced by 21% compared to a standard metal screw pump.
Look Out For Lightweight Packaging Options
It helps to look out for packaging that doesn’t weigh a ton but is aligned to helping you fly eco-beauty. This will help create an efficient circular economy in the beauty and personal care industries. For example, Albéa says its Thin-Wall Sleeve+ Slim Cap is the lightest tube on the market. The total weight is reduced by 33% compared to a ‘standard’ tube. Moreover, to produce one million Slim Caps and Thin-Wall tubes we will prevent 36 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the air. This is the equivalent of 36 round-trip flights from Paris to New York for just ONE person.
It seems the go-to for eco-friendly packaging is still glass because of its high level of recyclability and recycled material waste streams. However, when you want to fly eco-beauty it comes with a great amount of extra weight. That’s why brands often provide tubes, bottles, and jars that contain certified Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) materials up to 100%. Watch out for aluminum metal packaging though. It is completely eco-friendly and can be used to create highly decorated aluminum bottles, cans, one-piece threaded caps, and completely sealable jar packages.
In fact, aluminum is a sustainable material and is 100% recyclable. Experts state that aluminum can be endlessly reprocessed and reformed without any loss of metal quality. The recycling process for aluminum uses only 5% of the energy required for primary production. For years, worldwide demand for recycled aluminum has by far exceeded supply.
What’s the best part? Aluminum is lightweight. This means easier travel to fly eco-beauty, lower costs for transportation, and a lower carbon footprint.
Opt For Reusable Products To Fly Eco-Beauty
This will be your best bet because you can purchase refills instead of buying a new container every time. Also, keep an eye out for stainless steel products as these are 100% eco-friendly. It’s not really practical to carry around a dozen glass jars, is it?
However, we must consider luggage options made from recycled materials to avoid the convenience of plastic. You would die if you knew what plastic is made of. I recommend looking around at home before buying anything first. You never know what you might have at home. In fact, packing cubes and travel organizers are very handy. But try to avoid synthetic and expensive ones. Any bag does the job as well so just see what you already have. For shampoo, you can empty pill bottles, or whatever boxes or packaging you can find.
You can also ask friends and family for this as well. This will give you more options and help increase awareness. Give cotton storage bags a try, they make for amazing travel organizers for shirts, shorts, electronics, bikinis, and even underwear. Stainless steel food containers are useful to store food items like teas, seed mixes, spices, and or vitamins.
Etsy also has a wonderful collection of creative and entrepreneurs showcasing biodegradable, plastic-free, wrappers, bags, lunch boxes, and bags. These are all amazing ways to help you fly eco-beauty with ease.
Fly Eco-Beauty With Cosmetic Cases
If you’re under pressure for time, then it might be best for you to opt for an eco-beauty cosmetic case. This is a stylish way to store all of your new sustainable carry-on items. This gives you plenty of room to store your makeup, toiletries, and accessories. Everything is kept safe. The compact mirror also comes in handy if you need to touch up your makeup during your flight.
It’s also smart to use decomposable resealable bags to replace plastic zip lock bags for food or liquids you need to get through customs. Stasher bags are an even better option for traveling. They are hardy and made from recyclable material. They will also last you for many years to come and can be used for other purposes as well (in the home). As they are see-through, they are acceptable for border control areas.
Bottom Line
All in all, you need to keep your sustainable product choices as simple as possible. Next time you’re trying to pack a sustainable carry-on, skip the stress and consider any of these products to fly eco-beauty and travel a little greener, no matter how long your flight is.
Want to know more?
Every kitchen needs a bottle of apple cider vinegar (ACV), and it turns out that your beauty cabinet does too. Here’s why.
References
Packaging and Pollution. Zero Waste. https://zerowasteeurope.eu/zw-library/reports/
Travel Companies Are Saying No To Plastic. Blacklane. https://blog.blacklane.com/travel/the-travel-companies-saying-no-to-plastic/
The Energy Behind Beauty’s New Eco-Emphasis. Beauty Packaging. https://www.beautypackaging.com/issues/2018-04-01/view_features/the-energy-behind-beautys-new-eco-emphasis/
Sustainable Packaging. Why ‘Green’ Is on Everyone’s Lips. Beauty Packaging. https://www.beautypackaging.com/issues/2019-04-01/view_features/sustainable-packaging-why-green-is-on-everyones-lips/
Why Organic Cotton is the Better Option for You and the Planet. One Green Planet. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/organic-cotton-is-better-option-for-you-and-the-planet/
Travel Packing For The Planet. What’s In My Eco-Friendly Travel Kit? The Oceanpreneur. https://theoceanpreneur.com/eco-travel-packing/ethical-sustainable-zero-waste-travel-gear-tips/
