Over the next 65 years, annual production of plastics increased nearly 200-fold to 381 million tonnes in 2015.
For context, this is roughly equivalent to the mass of two-thirds of the world population. The booming $500 billion per year global personal care industry relies on plastic. In short, beauty pollution is worse than ever, with the global industry creating 120 billion units of packaging every year, most of which isn’t recyclable.
Additionally, 13 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in our oceans each year. The amount of plastic packaging on U.S. products (not just on personal care items) has increased by over 120 times since 1960—with almost 70 percent of that waste piling up in landfills.
This sounds horrible but why is this bad for me?
The consequences of plastic pollution are detrimental, not just to fish and marine life (although they do indeed suffer with issues like entrapment, ingestion and bio-accumulation of harmful toxins) – the problem is as much to our own detriment.
The fish we eat and water we drink are harbouring unprecedented levels of toxins due to the plastic in their environments. From Day 1, Melanin Essentials has vowed never to use plastic and we will stick to this forever. By 2022, we plan to be completely zero-waste. Read more below about why this is important.
Why Zero Waste?
Why Zero-Waste and what does that even mean?
Well, most products and packaging sold today are designed for a single use, and because they are not always accepted by public recycling systems, they end up in our landfills and oceans.
We are happy to offer a new way to shop our products, without the waste. Why own and pay for the packaging when all we really want is the stuff inside? Now, through Loop, you can place a 100% refundable deposit to borrow the packaging, and we'll professionally clean and reuse it once you're finished. Or you can order directly from our website and choose to clean and reuse it for other things.
So say goodbye to stacks of cardboard boxes, ice packs, and bubble-wrap. We deliver waste-free to your doorstep in the reusable Loop Tote (link) or through our 100% recyclable and biodegradable packaging. Shopping and beautifying has never felt SO good and guilt free.
Clean Beauty: If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin!
At Melanin Essentials, we encourage conscious consumers to think about what we are putting into our bodies, and it doesn’t stop at what we eat and drink. Not only is our skin the largest organ, but our skin is also very absorbent, and when you use products such as moisturizers, cleansers and toners, the ingredients within these are getting absorbed into our bodies.
Why Natural & Organic?
People with sensitive skin will know how easily irritated it is, and products with chemicals and other strange ingredients in them such as Benzoyl Peroxide (used to treat acne) often leave skin feeling dry, red and sore.
With our organic alternative, whether you are targeting spots, wrinkles or just want your skin to feel clean and healthy, Melanin Essentials Skin Enhancing Body Butter will be kinder to your skin, and will work just as (if not, more) effectively. Naturally sourced ingredients such as mango butter, shea butter, and jojoba oil are all wonderfully healing, natural ingredients that will leave your skin feeling smooth and nourished instead of sore and irritated like other products with harmful chemicals.
