Unboxing Overpackaging

Earlier this month, I placed an online order with Sephora to buy a tube of Bobbi Brown lipstick and a face illuminating powder by Too Faced. Sephora has a policy that you get three free samples with an online order. I chose three, but one turned out to be sold out, so only two were sent. In addition, there was a promotion for a Sephora cosmetics bag filled with deluxe samples.

When the package arrived, it was in a box much larger than one that could have held just a tube of lipstick and a face illuminating powder, due to the two samples plus the cosmetics bag full of samples.

There was the box (about one foot by half a foot by half a foot), a large amount of brown paper, bubble wrap, an insert with the packing list, two samples, the lipstick, the powder, and the cosmetics bag full of samples and their accompanying packaging.

For only having ordered two items, this was a large bulk of packaging. Overpackaging was evident everywhere. Why does the tube of lipstick need to come in a box? Why not just have a sticker seal?

Why does the powder come in a box with an insert? Couldn't a seal be used instead of a box? Or couldn't the box have the directions on it instead of an insert?

Look at this fancy box that just gets thrown out. It shines and glimmers. What resources were required to produce this waste?

Why does a cosmetics bag need tissue paper and a plastic bag around it? Talk about overpackaging.

The cosmetics bag full of samples came in a plastic bag with tissue paper. Why? So much packaging.

Then the samples all have their own packaging, whether it be plastic, metal, paper, or mixed.

More samples, more packaging, more waste. This does not include the other two samples that came with the order.

I understand that items have to make it somewhere safely and that we don't want to use items that are unsealed, but surely there is a better way to do this without using so many precious materials.

Vain?

Talk about overpackaging. There's not even any products in this shot, only the boxes that they came in and paper inserts.

A large generator of packaging seems to be cosmetics and skincare. Companies, in a bid to attract customers in a  crowded marketplace, seem to be trying to outdo themselves with more and more fancy, "pretty," and bulky packaging. Overpackaging now seems to be the norm.

These are just papers and boxes that came with products, not the products themselves.

Are we vain for buying cosmetics and skincare at an ever increasing rate? Or is our society becoming increasingly shallow, making us feel increasing pressure to appear attractive? Is it a little of both? Are companies vain for using increasingly showy packaging or are they just bowing to pressure from consumers who want more and more luxe looking items?

There are other problems with living in a time and place of abundance. We might try a new product and find out that we hate it or that it looks awful or causes a skin reaction. Then we might buy something else instead and end up with a pile of items that we no longer use. Then there's those fancy companies who put only enough of a product in one package for a tiny mouse to use it three times. Then you have to buy another one with all of that packaging that comes with it. Or perhaps you don't wear makeup often and it always has some arbitrary expiry date on it. It might be six months, twelve months, or perhaps two years, but eventually, you'll feel like it's probably not safe to use anymore and you'll be buying more and throwing out the old stuff with all of it's packaging. And the samples! Sometimes you get more samples with a product than you do of the product that you wanted in the first place itself. Then you have the packaging from the product you bought and the packaging of all of the often single use samples (and perhaps even a makeup bag which you might never use because you already have one or two or twenty from other samples).

Some of the "free" (we all know there's a premium we're paying somewhere in the price of the product if we're getting all this "free" stuff with it) makeup bags I've received over the past few years.

The problem with a lot of makeup packaging is that it is made with mixed materials, so it's hard to recycle (I know I'm not the only one who receives angry little stickers on her recycling box for trying to recycle items that refuse to fit into just one category). For instance, take a makeup compact. It is usually made from metal, plastic, and glass (because they usually have a mirror.) All of these component parts are glued together usually very sturdily (unlike the old days where a compact was reused over and over again, the makeup part of it just popped in and out of the compact). Then if there is a brush or sponge included in the compact, there is the addition of whatever material it is made from to the mix of existing materials.

A selection of some compacts. Some free, some purchased.

Many different materials make up compacts.

Overpackaging seems to be increasing, instead of decreasing with more and more environmental awareness in our society. This is a strange phenomenon. If we have more information about the impact of our consumerism on the environment, then why are we consuming more and more and more? The cosmetics industry seems to be using packaging as a way of trying to attract or keep customers who are overwhelmed in a crowded marketplace (wouldn't a reduction in price or an improvement in quality or quantity of the product work better- judging from reviews by some people online over "ugly" packaging, maybe not).

My sister and I love to get the mascara sampler pack, Lash Stash, at Sephora around the holidays each year. The sampler is housed in a giant shiny and highly coloured box. Inside the box, is a plastic insert to hold the mascaras (and sometimes an eyelash curler, false eyelashes, or an eyeliner). Sometimes there's also a paper insert. Then there's all of the tubes of sample sized mascara (and sometimes an eyelash curler, false eyelashes, or an eyeliner). Each of these products (excluding the eyelash curler) is housed in some sort of packaging (plastic usually). And all of this Lash Stash packaging is replicated tens of thousands of times, purchased by tens of thousands of people (sometimes year after year). Imagine how much waste one person would generate if they bought Lash Stash ten years in a row? Some of the packaging is recyclable, but some of it isn't. And even if it's recyclable, why can't the mascaras and whatever else is included that year, be put in one very small box or a Ziploc bag? I've read comments on the Sephora website that certain products aren't packaged in a pretty enough manner. Really?! What's going to happen when we no longer have the resources to produce all of this elaborate and massive packaging (let alone the products themselves)? Surely there must be a balance between producing a package that will protect and preserve the product and not look ugly and a package that is housed in another package with more than one insert and requires massive resources to produce.

The year before last's mascara sampler, Lash Stash, from Sephora.

The inside of this more than foot long box.

Last year's sampler was even more elaborate.

Multiple layers of shiny, highly coloured packaging.

Inside the gold box, a paper insert over the products.

Under the paper insert, a plastic insert to house the mascaras, eyeliner, and eyelash curler.

To their credit, MAC Cosmetics has had an incentive based recycling program for its cosmetics containers since the 90s when I first started buying items there (back in the day, three containers equaled one eyeshadow or lipstick). Currently, the program is bring in six MAC containers and they will give you a free lipstick (and presumably they recycle the containers that might not otherwise be so easy to recycle given their mixed nature). No doubt this saves a lot from the landfill and probably encourages some customer loyalty. Why don't more companies do this? If they do, I'm not aware of which companies do.

What will it take for us to stop wasting precious resources on packaging or at the very least stop overpackaging items like cosmetics and skincare (a container, within a box, with a paper insert, and perhaps plastic over the box, etc.)? Should companies be following MAC's lead and be trying to entice customers to bring back containers with the promise of something free? Should more companies be making refillable compacts and lipsticks? Should companies be "encouraged" by governments to use less packaging through taxes or regulations that require packaging that is easier to recycle or not unnecessary and duplicative? Or is it up to us, the consumers, to try to halt this tide of waste? I don't know the answer.

Zero Waste- From Mug to Planter

My sister bought me two of these cat mugs for my birthday a year and a half ago (Urban Outfitters).

I used one of them every day and loved them. They hold about half a litre, so perfect for a tea lover who gets swept away with writing and doesn't want to get up and refill their cup all the time.

Lamont remained unimpressed with the mug. I'm more handsome, he thought.

By one year post purchase, the one cup that I used most often was showing its age. But I still used it every day.

Yesterday, the handle broke off the one cup that I used every day and I immediately thought, planter!

A baby spider plant is perfectly happy in the now handleless mug. #zerowaste, my friends.

A World of Waste

I'm not an environmental expert or zealot, but overpackaging has become an increasing concern to even me. I keep noticing unnecessary packaging and thinking about how many resources we are using in producing this packaging. A lot of packages are made from mixed materials and are therefore difficult to recycle (I've received angry stickers from the recycling workers for trying recycle some items).

In the old days, a lot of women had lipstick and powder compacts that were refillable. Apparently these are available, but most women don't know this/ don't know who offers them/ and or it isn't offered in the brand they use or the area they live, so they just keep buying a new compact, tube of lipstick, etc. every time they run out. The old compact or tube (and some of these are very elaborate) is either thrown out or perhaps it's recycled or maybe it can't be recycled because of mixed materials (lots of compacts mix plastic, metal, and glass).

Most of us are part of the problem (hermits and complete non-consumers excluded). Humans love shiny, pretty things (even those who don't want to admit it, will eventually have their eye captured by something). Does packaging really matter that much? I've read comments/reviews on Sephora for example, from customers complaining about the packaging of various beauty products as being plain or ugly or looking "cheap." This feedback is read by thousands of other customers and many people listen to others' reviews when deciding what to purchase, especially online. Cosmetics and skincare companies are competing with hundreds of other companies offering similar products and they need to stand out, so that their product is purchased (whether in store or online). How can you stand out to grab a first impression or get someone to change brands? Looks. Hence the overpackaging.

Then there are the arbitrary expiry dates. We've probably all noticed how different products in the same category ex. mascara, all have the exact same expiry window (six months after opening). If all these brands are so vastly different (mascaras have wildly different claims like length, thickness, long lasting, all of the above, sexy, sophisticated, etc.), then why do they all have the same shelf life? Perhaps others have noticed random expiry dates on ancient rock salt, epsom salts, and others things that should be relatively enduring. I mean if you're boasting that something has been mined from the earth after existing for centuries, it should be able to survive in your house for more than a couple of years. I'm naturally suspicious and cynical, so I have to think that a lot of these best before dates and shelf life after opened guides are just random and are put on the package to make us throw out a half used bottle or tube of whatever and buy more. After all, if we all used things forever, no one would ever buy any new products and then how would companies sell anything? But maybe some expiry dates are valid. I don't know; I'm not an expert.

What about free samples or products free with a purchase or value sets? I'm sure many others have received a gift set or sample with a purchase of a makeup item or skincare item or may have bought a value set (perhaps at Sephora around Christmas- mascara sample sets, lip gloss collections, etc.). How many of us can't use up these items or don't want them or decide they don't like the item and it just becomes clutter or garbage or eventually yet another "expired" item. Not to mention, the packages that these items come in are often gigantic and very resource intensive (I'm thinking of the giant boxes the mascara sample sets come in at Sephora or the numerous plastic or cloth makeup bags that end up collecting dust in the cupboard from various makeup and cosmetic manufacturers). Could we do without these samples or the packaging that they come in or both?

I'm guilty of collecting sample sizes of things like shampoo and condition from hotels and skincare products free with purchase and then using them on my travels, so that I can travel light and abandon them along the way and free up space in my much lighter luggage for souvenirs. But could I live without samples and create my own value sized products for travel? Probably.

Another contributor to increased consumption of products with lots of packaging is the rules with regard to airline travel and liquid and gel carry-on sizes (this includes things like liquid foundation, mascara, and lip gloss). These rules (products 100 mL or less and all products having to fit into a 1 quart Ziploc bag) have made life really annoying and have made many people into double consumers. They may buy a large shampoo for home and then a travel sized one for travel (and some of these packages are not easily refillable, so they may then buy replacements, leading to even more packages being thrown out). People that try to make their own travel sized toiletries with refillable bottles sold for this purpose, have sometimes had their toiletries confiscated, because the bottles are blank and don't say how many milliliters they contain, even though they are clearly tiny (or if you try to bring the last bit of your large toothpaste on the plane, even though there is almost nothing left and everyone can see that, the agent won't let you keep it because the package says more than 100 mL). I don't know what solutions there are to these problems (other than perhaps doing what I do, getting hotel toiletries and refilling them with my normal toiletries over and over and travelling with these).

Some years ago, I decided to start saving just a selection of empty/expired beauty and skincare products (and a few perfumes, mostly due to their very elaborate packages) and some of the packaging that came with them. I thought that eventually, I'd try to do something with them. In the posts that follow, I've taken some of these empty and expired products and some of their additional packaging (boxes and inserts and stuff) and I've done a photography project with them using my LG G3 phone and a Canon Digital Rebel XT camera. I couldn't believe how much stuff I had to use when I emptied out the big basket of empties and packages and dug through the cupboard and my makeup area to see what skincare products and makeup products were "expired" according to their label.

The volume was overwhelming and it was hard to show it until I started to spread it out over the Persian carpet in my living room, the back deck, and driveway at my place for the photography project. Even then, it was almost impossible to get everything into one shot without it being piled partially into the big basket. And this is just SOME of the packages and empties I've used over the past several years in my household. Imagine if I had saved everything like all the empty shampoo and conditioner bottles, sunscreen, and lotion containers? Imagine if everyone on my block gave me their empty beauty and skincare products. What about the whole city? How much is Canada producing in waste from packaging of cosmetics and skincare products in a year? What about all of North America? The world?

My cat was not impressed and looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind (finally).

Have I lost the plot?

I couldn't get me and all the stuff into one shot (even using a selfie stick).

I don't want to preach, because I'm not a zealot or an expert in environmentalism, but surely we can ratchet back how much we have in the way of packaging and what we use for packaging and have more refillable products.

The people that stopped on the street when I was working on the project in my driveway agreed that there was too much packaging and that that extended to other items as well in our households and day to day life.

For instance, why do medications and vitamins come in half empty giant bottles with tons of cotton stuffed in the top? Why not conserve the rest of that plastic? Why does a tube of toothpaste or a container of dental floss come in a plastic container and then that's packaged again in a plastic and/or cardboard package? Couldn't we just put a sticker seal or something around the product to show it hasn't been opened and get rid of the rest of the packaging?

So, this isn't meant as a blog to preach to people about the dangers of consumerism, it's just observations from a humble consumer, who knows that she is very much a part of the problem, but hopes that a solution is out there and that we will arrive at it before every last resource is used up and our world is nothing more than a wasteland.