The Environmental Impact of Lotion

Lotion is one of the most important parts of my daily skin-care routine. If I don't apply some sort of moisturizer to my face immediately after washing it, my skin becomes dry and flaky for the rest of the day. It didn't take any research for me to realise that lotion comes in plastic bottles, so this week, I started looking into more sustainable alternatives.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Why is lotion a problem?

As previously mentioned, the majority of lotions come in plastic bottles. In 2018, in the U.S. alone, almost 7.9 billion units of rigid plastic were created just for beauty and personal care products, according to Euromonitor International.

Plastics are problematic because they are made from non-renewable resources, have limited recyclability, and take hundreds if not thousands of years to break down. Lotion bottles, like all plastics, are made from crude oil, a non-renewable resource, which is harmful for two reasons: manufacturing generates significant pollution and the product is not biodegradable. As Sciencing.com put it, "they are difficult to produce and nearly impossible to get rid of once produced". Instead of biodegrading, plastic breaks down into tiny micro-plastics that litter our soil, our waterways, and even our air.

Can I recycle my lotion bottles?

Many lotion bottles are curbside recyclable, but you should be 100% sure to avoid wishful recycling. The small recycling symbol does not mean it is recyclable, it only indicates the type of material being used. With that number, you can check your local requirements to see if it is accepted with curbside pickup.

When in doubt, you can send any beauty products to Terracycle for free via a recycling program in partnership with Garnier. Or, you can drop your cosmetics off at a participating Nordstrom for recycling.

Are lotion ingredients harmful?

Lotions and moisturizers have been around since 3,000 B.C.E. Originially, they were made from natural ingredients like red ochre and animal fats, but they've gotten significantly more science-based since then. While my primary goal is to reduce waste, I do want to quickly touch on the ingredients found in lotion.

Lotion can be either a drug or a cosmetic, depending on its use. For example, when used as treatment a disease, it's considered a drug. While if its purpose is to simply moisturize, it will be a cosmetic. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "The law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market." This means that many lotions have an array of questionable chemicals like parabens, which have been linked to hormone disruption and breast cancer. In addition, cosmetics will often hide some of their ingredients as "trade secrets".

For more information about harmful chemicals found in cosmetics, take a look at this article from Business Insider.

What can I use instead?

There are plenty of moisturizers that don't come in plastic containers. Plaine Products offers both a body lotion and a face moisturizer in aluminum bottles that you can send back to the company to be refilled. Package Free Shop offers options in glass jars, glass bottles, aluminum tins, and aluminum bottles. You could also opt for an all-natural lotion bar like these from Moon Valley Organics. Plaine Products offers both a body lotion and a face moisturizer in aluminum bottles that you can send back to the company to be refilled - use code TINYWASTE at checkout for 20% off.

As always, the best option is always to use what you already have. Read my next post for 5 kitchen ingredients that make excellent mositurizers

Is it ok to use sheet masks to moisturize my face?

Sheet masks have become a popular and effective way to moisturize, brighten, calm, and treat the face, but aren't exactly eco-friendly. They are used for 20-30 minutes, but since they're typically made of synthetic (aka plastic) materials and come in plastic packaging, they will last for hundreds of years in a landfill. If sheet masks are an important part of your routine, consider switching to a reusable silicone mask or making a reusable cloth mask from a cotton pillow case or t-shirt.