The cosmetics industry is worth billions of pounds, and its environmental impact is just as staggering.
Millions of women and some men use makeup and cosmetic products on a daily basis. Foundation, eye shadow, lipstick, mascara, concealer, and so much more are used to hide, enhance, or highlight.
But in our quest for beauty, we don’t just spend a lot of money; we also have a negative impact on our environment.
But why is makeup bad for the environment? There are several reasons, and we will discuss them here in detail.
The 3 Reasons Makeup Is Bad For The Environment
To give you the full story, we have to look at all aspects of cosmetics and their use. If we do that, we can pinpoint three areas where makeup impacts our environment:
- Ingredients
- Packaging
- Application and removal
Let’s look at these three areas in detail…
1. Makeup Ingredients Impact Our Environment From Manufacture To Disposal
The ingredients used in cosmetic products play a big part in their environmental impact. Firstly, by how they are made, and secondly, what happens to them when they are disposed of.
Impact Of Making Cosmetics Ingredients
Most ingredients that you find in makeup are made in a lab somewhere. Creating these synthetic ingredients needs a lot of energy, which means it produces huge amounts of carbon emissions.
In 2021, the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry was responsible for 2.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
On top of that, the source material for many of these lab-made ingredients are petroleum-derived chemicals, or so-called petrochemicals. This means they are made from fossil fuels.
We know that fossil fuels aren’t a sustainable source material. And the scientific community has been quite clear that we have to leave fossil fuels in the ground if we want to achieve the 1.5-degree target agreed in the Paris Agreement. (Rayner, 2020)
But even some of the plant-based ingredients used have a negative impact on our environment. Palm oil is probably the most widely used of those.
It’s not just used in cosmetics, but also in many other products, including food. This high demand has led to an increase in production, which in turn is responsible for deforestation.
According to research, between 52% and 79% of palm oil plantations replaced forests between the 1990s and the 2000s.
And although there is a downward trend, between 2010 and 2015, 18% of new palm oil plantations in the main production areas (the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua) replaced primary forests. (Austin et al., 2017)
Deforestation destroys vital habitats and ecosystems, and contributes to biodiversity loss. But trees also absorb and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide. Deforestation releases this greenhouse gas, adding to global warming and climate change.
It’s estimated that deforestation is responsible for 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions. (Chu et al., 2021)
Another plant-based ingredient often used in makeup is soy. Like with palm oil, it’s also used in many other products and is a major driver of deforestation in Brazil. (de Andrade Aragão et al., 2024)
Many ingredients used in makeup and cosmetics have a high carbon footprint, with a huge impact on our environment.
Disposal Of Makeup Ingredients
The second big environmental impact of cosmetic ingredients is their disposal. By this I mean what happens to them when the product is no longer used.
Disposal, in terms of makeup, happens either by our washing it off our faces or by throwing away cosmetic tubes or bottles.
Makeup bottles aren’t usually cleaned out, instead, they go straight in the bin with makeup residue left inside, the general waste bin that is. According to the British Beauty Council, 95% of cosmetics packaging is thrown away, rather than put in the recycling bin.
This way, the ingredients can get into our environment. Because many of these ingredients are harmful chemicals, they can harm wildlife.
If makeup is washed down the drain, the chemicals can reach our waterways, because not all of them are filtered out during the water treatment process.
Once they are in the environment, they can have a huge impact on aquatic life. There are many harmful ingredients, such as synthetic fragrances, artificial dyes, preservatives, emulsifiers, bulking agents, lead, emollients, sulfates, chemical sunscreens, etc.
Many of these have been shown to negatively impact our environment. Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is often used in makeup. A study has shown that it is harmful to zebrafish, a species often studied in relation to chemical ingredients. (Goldstein, 2020)
PEGs are often included in the list of ingredients of liquid makeup, such as foundation or concealer. There are different variations, but I have seen PEG-10 Dimethicone on pretty much every makeup label I looked at.
Studies have shown that PEGs are toxic to aquatic life, such as fish and frog embryos. (Zicarelli et al., 2024)
Many cosmetics also include chemical sunscreens to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. One example I have seen on many ingredient lists for cosmetics is Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate.
Studies have shown that this chemical sunscreen is toxic to marine life, such as crustaceans. (Park et al., 2016)
Another ingredient I saw on many ingredient lists is Benzyl Salicylate, which is used to add scent or to protect against UV light.
The EWG considers this ingredient toxic to the environment and allows it only with restrictions. This view is supported by a study that found salicylates negatively impact the larvae of copepods, small crustaceans that live in freshwater and saltwater habitats. (Picone et al., 2021)
As you can see, so many of the common ingredients in cosmetics are harmful or toxic to aquatic life. And this list isn’t a full list, we could go on and on, given how many ingredients are listed on cosmetics labels.
2. Packaging
Most cosmetics are packaged in plastic packaging, which poses several environmental challenges. First of all, over 90% of plastic is made from fossil fuels, according to the UN.
Plastic production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. In 2019, it was responsible for 3.4% of all global emissions. And it’s expected to rise to 19% by 2040.
In 2024, only 10% of plastic waste was recycled in the UK, according to data from Waste Direct. Only slightly above the global figure of 9%.
The rest is sent to landfill or for incineration for energy production. And much of it is littered in our environment, where it causes a lot of harm.
Although recycling of plastic isn’t the ultimate solution, because plastic can only be recycled 1-3 times before it is degraded too much, it’s still better than it ending up in landfill.
Plastics can take decades or even centuries to break down. (Chamas et al., 2020) And while they do, they release harmful chemicals and microplastics. (Wojnowska-Baryla et al., 2022)
Some beauty products that come in liquid form, such as foundation or concealer, might come in a glass bottle, which is better than plastic.
For one, glass can be recycled indefinitely, but if thrown away it can take something like a million years to break down. And recycling glass needs 40% less energy than producing new glass.
This makes glass one of the most eco-friendly materials we have. But as we have already said, 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away and not recycled.
Plastic packaging is a huge issue that the beauty industry is very slow to solve, even though some progress has been made.
3. Application And Removal
Why else is makeup bad for the environment? Makeup has to be applied and removed, which means we need accessories, such as brushes, cotton pads, makeup wedges, makeup-removal wipes, makeup remover, etc.
Let’s look at some of them in more detail.
Brushes And Other Application Accessories
The vast majority of application accessories that you can buy or come with makeup are made of plastic. And we have already seen how bad plastic is for our environment.
And the worst is that they are made of different types of plastic, such as nylon for the bristles and hard plastic for the handles of brushes. This makes them very difficult to recycle.
As a result, they aren’t accepted by most UK councils for kerbside recycling. So when they’re no longer used, they will be sent to landfill. And we know what happens to plastic in landfill.
Other accessories used to apply makeup include various types of sponges, such as makeup wedges or blending sponges. These are typically made of polyurethane.
While polyurethane isn’t chemically a plastic, it is made from the same substances as plastics: polymers. And the vast majority of these polymers are made from petroleum, so fossil fuels. (Kaikabe and Sabnis, 2022)
Polyurethane isn’t biodegradable, which means it will remain in the environment for a long time, like plastic. And like plastic, it releases microplastics as it breaks down, causing harm to wildlife. (Islam et al., 2018)
This means, every time you clean such an application sponge, tiny particles get detached and go down the drain. Because they are so small, most of them won’t be filtered out during water treatment processes, and these microplastics reach our waterways.
And although polyurethane can be recycled, special facilities are needed. This means you can’t recycle it at home, in your recycling bin. So these sponges, when they are no longer usable, will go to landfill.
There they will take ages to break down and release microplastics into the environment.
Makeup Removal
At the end of the day, makeup is removed from the face with the help of makeup removers. These come in different forms, such as liquid or gel removers and wipes.
As with the makeup itself, the ingredients in these removers have an environmental impact. These also include synthetic fragrances, preservatives, and cleaning agents.
We have already seen why the first two are bad for our planet, and mostly the same chemicals are used in both.
The main ingredients in these makeup removers are surfactants, which ensure the makeup is cleaned off the skin. The most often used surfactants are Disodium EDTA and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES).
Both of these ingredients are commonly made from petroleum, although SLES can be made from plant-based sources. However, unless it’s specifically noted on the label what the SLES used is made of, it’s likely that its base was petroleum.
Studies have shown that if EDTA enters our waterways, it can harm green algae. (Kim et al,. 2023) SLES has been shown to be toxic to wildlife. (Bhattacharya et al., 2021)
Removal wipes don’t just impact our environment through the ingredients of the makeup remover, but the wipes themselves are not eco-friendly at all.
First of all, the vast majority of wipes are made of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels. They don’t biodegrade, and as they break down they release microplastics, or more precisely, microfibres.
These are often eaten by animals and have been found in many species, such as penguins. (Zhang et al., 2021)
One big issue with these wipes is that they are single-use, which creates a huge amount of waste. And because many people think that wet wipes can be flushed down the toilet, they reach our waterways.
However, wet wipes should never be flushed down the toilet, but instead, they need to be disposed of in the general waste bin, the UK River Trust makes clear.
Water UK published a report in 2017 saying that wet wipes cause 93% of sewer blockages, which shows that far too many people flush them down the toilet.
Makeup removal wipes might be convenient, but they are one of the worst things we can do to our planet and wildlife.
Another way to remove makeup is using cotton pads. Cotton is a natural material and much more eco-friendly than plastic wet wipes. However, they are still single-use and create a huge amount of waste.
So, while better, they are still not good for our environment.
How Is Makeup Bad For The Environment? – Conclusion
This is the ugly truth about the environmental impact of makeup and cosmetics. And while the beauty industry could use natural ingredients, leave out harsh chemicals, and use plastic-free packaging and accessories, it doesn’t.
At least not the big players, those multinational, multibillion-pound corporations that dominate the cosmetics market. If you want to have a sustainable beauty routine, you have to look for sustainable makeup.
The good news is, it’s out there, being sold by sustainable small businesses that don’t just care about their profits, but also about our environment.
Love The Planet and All Earth Mineral Cosmetics are two eco-friendly, UK-based makeup companies that let you be your beautiful self and protect the environment.
As consumers, we can force companies to become greener by choosing to buy only from businesses that put the environment at the top of their agenda. Together we can make a difference.
