Plastic Shaming
Lise
Today, I'm ranting about something I call plastic shaming. There seems to be an ever increasing amount of it going on in the green beauty world. If it isn’t a blogpost, it’s a podcast or article with a headline like:
'Has your (indie beauty) company ditched plastic yet?'
'If you care about the planet, don’t even consider plastic packaging'
'Check your company's (and your own) carbon footprint - how much plastic can you dump?’
Here's how I read every one of these:
'You should feel guilty, inadequate, and ashamed of yourself for not doing enough to be environmentally friendly and save the planet - regardless of how hard you may already be trying.'
Plastic shaming.
I realise headlines such as the examples above are designed to create action (and function as click bait), but I am convinced this kind of guilt inducing phrasing is detrimental to indie beauty companies (as well as everyone else).
Let's put a few things into perspective here.
Comparing Global Sales in 2020
The natural beauty industry has boomed over the past decade and (happily) continues to rise. In 2020, global sales of natural and organic cosmetics reached $18.5 billion (REF)
You may be asking how many of the bigger cosmetic companies are included in these numbers. I did, but couldn’t find a specific enough answer, so I am assuming it’s all the smaller indie companies and any company who label themselves (or their products) as green/organic/natural.
Now, $18.5 billion is definitely not peanuts, but let’s compare it with something else that sells globally.
I went looking for something with similar packaging considerations to compare with the natural beauty industry. Similar packing considerations = functional, safe, non-toxic, approved for food/cosmetics, shipping-friendly, etc.
I ended up with a single company that I'm pretty sure needs no introduction: Coca Cola.
Their revenue / global sales in 2020 was $33.01 billion (REF)
That's almost twice ($14.5 billion more than) the entire natural beauty industry, but since we're (mainly) focusing on packaging and plastic, let's look a few details.
Coca Cola sells 1.9 billion servings of coke per day. (REF) (REF)
Every. Single. Day.
Packaging Choices and Pollution
A good portion* of the 1.9 billion servings Coca Cola sells daily are packaged in plastic.
*(I couldn’t find exact numbers of cans vs bottles - feel free to pop information in a comment below if you have it)
When the company started in the 1950's, their bottles were made of glass (and there was a return deposit of 2 cents for each bottle).
But today, they only use plastic bottles. (REF)
They don't use recycled plastic (yet) either . (REF)
Interestingly, they don’t seem the least bit willing to ditch the plastic bottles because, as Bea Perez of Cocoa Cola stated in Davos in 2020:
'Consumers still want them'.
She went on to explain
'Business wont be in business if we don't accommodate consumers' (REF)
I’d be curious to see how their consumer tests were designed in order to be able to arrive at this conclusion. Despite years of massive global campaigns on reducing plastic waste, Coca Cola's customers all apparently 'still want plastic'.
Maybe indie beauty customers (who can be vehement about their choices) don’t drink coke?
1.9 billion servings every day is equal to one daily serving for approximately every 5th person on the planet.
Even accounting for the fact that some of these servings are in cans, that's a lot of plastic. And much of it has ended up in the environment.
Coca Cola ranked among the top plastic polluters in the world for 3 years running (REF)
Perspective: The Big Guys vs Indie Beauty Companies
While there (still) don’t seem to be any genuine plastic-reducing considerations going on at Coca Cola, indie beauty companies are being bombarded relentlessly with plastic shaming headlines and demands to ‘show kindness to our planet’.
Does that seem even remotely fair?
I find it so ridiculously off kilter, I had to write about it.
Am I saying indie companies shouldn’t worry about plastic packaging because one big company is plastic-polluting the world more on a daily basis than the entire green beauty industry?
No, because that wouldn’t be very productive at all. We all have to do our part to show respect for our planet and conserve our environment.
So, instead of plastic shaming indie beauty companies for not doing enough, I am hereby giving you all a well deserved shout out for being the hardest working, most dedicated, ethical, and caring folks this planet could wish for.
I happen to know exactly how much you agonize over every raw material choice and every single packaging decision because you have told me in person time and time again during our many consultations and in online groups and discussion forums.
You most certainly don't deserve to be plastic shamed – you are already making the world a better place.
And having seen how one of 'the big guys' does it, you can now go pat yourselves on the back for actually walking the walk about your company's packaging choices.
Keep doing exactly what you are doing!
There's a Better Way
We can all make a positive difference in reducing plastic waste and improving the environment, but I believe shaming the very people who are already doing their darndest to make a difference in this area just isn't the way forward.
Thanks for reading.
Do Tell
Do you feel plastic-shamed? Please share your thoughts in a comment below.
More Plastic Stuff
This article from 2019 reveals how much plastic a few of the largest companies use per year. Coca Cola uses 3 million tons per year (REF)
The entire soft drink industry produces 470 billion plastic bottles every year. Cocoa Cola is responsible for almost a quarter of this amount. (REF)
BBC: Coca Cola Reveals How Much Plastic it Uses (LINK)
More stats on the beauty industry (LINK)
