What Does “Sustainable Beauty” Really Look Like Today?
By Amanda Elser Murray
Originally published by POPSUGAR
Take MAC Cosmetics, for example. When it first launched back in 1984, there was little education around recycling best practices and how plastic usage might impact the planet. Understanding this, in 1990, the company launched the industry's first take-back program Back to MAC, where you could bring your finished tube of lipstick to any MAC store and they would recycle it for you. Similarly, looking to the future, brands will need to reimagine the wheel.
"That was 34 years ago, and it was revolutionary at the time, but it was merely taking what we can and making it better," says Aida Moudachirou-Rebois, general manager for the brand. "Even today it's hard to recycle cosmetics because each part is made of many different pieces and materials. But now when we design the product we make sure we have sustainability in mind. We use post-recycled material and all our secondary packaging is made of FSC carton boxes. We have designed our store to be sustainable with the energy that we use, and we've [prioritized] our direct-to-consumer business to reduce our carbon footprint. We are constantly looking for ways to improve."
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