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.