You may ask me what exactly is beauty & fashion waste and how do we reduce it? It’s the waste we create on a day to day basis with what  we do  head to toe. It ranges from personal hygiene products to ensembles we proudly show off to the world through Instagram selfies. Let me break it down for you please continue reading this article so you could deeply understand how we’re killing the planet.

Switch To Reusable Items

From switching to reusable makeup cloths to bamboo toothbrushes to switching to a menstrual cup we all can do a little bit from our part to make the landfill a little less. Let me give you some statistics.

  1. On an average, a woman uses 2-3 makeup wipes to remove an entire face of makeup that adds up to 1,095 makeup wipes every year per person
  2. On an average, we’re supposed to change toothbrushes every 3 months. So all of us together in a year use around 4 toothbrushes which adds up to a whopping 31.2 billion plastic toothbrushes which ends up in landfill. 
  3. Every woman’s menstrual cycle lasts for around 3-7 days. On an average, a woman uses around 150-250 sanitary napkins/ tampons every year which again piles up on the landfill. 

These things take over hundreds and hundreds of years to break down which burdens the planet by a lot.

Buy Biodegradable Cotton Rounds & Ear Swabs

Not all of us have clear access to buying reusable cotton pads or ear swabs that is where degradable variants of these products come into the picture. While they’re also going to end up in landfill at least they will be plastic free which makes it easily degradable.

Recycle More Often

If you’re an avid beauty lover then going zero waste is quite impossible in a country like India but you can very well recycle most packaging. Make sure you read if the products are recyclable before buying so they don’t end up in landfill once it’s empty. You could also upcycle glass containers as hand wash/lotion dispensers, meal prep containers or vases to plain decor.

Ditch Sheet Masks

The most abused skincare product in the industry right now are sheet masks. Some people swear by it while some find it gimmicky. Sheet masks will provide nothing more than a quick surge of hydration to the skin which a good moisturizer will provide anyway. Instead of buying sheet masks which are single use products, buy a good bottle of moisturizer that is made for your age, skin type and texture which will do wonders. Instead of wasting money on sheet masks which ultimately ends up in landfill, up your water intake and see how plump your skin becomes within a week. Thank me later!

Stop Buying In Excessive

I used to do this because I used to watch so many YouTube channels where they recommend I buy a plethora of products to look as flawless as them. It not only put a huge dent in my wallet and I also had to make room for all those stuff in my house. Over time, I have slowly downsized my beauty collection and now I only keep things that I reach for and absolutely love. I have also not shopped anything in a long while which helped me utilize whatever I already have in my stash and appreciate it more.

Invest In Quality Pieces-

If there’s one thing I realized is that quality items look good, feel good and also last for years and years. I still shop on fast fashion sites if I say I don’t I would be lying but the kind of pieces I buy are things I would rewear for years and invest very less in trendy items that quickly go out of fashion. I’m more invested in buying quality over quantity.

Reduce & Slowly Stop Buying Fast Fashion-

The one area I need to improve is to slowly stop buying fast fashion, start buying sustainable pieces and second hand items. I know sustainable fashion isn’t exactly wallet friendly at the moment. Fast fashion and sweatshops are not only hazardous to the environment but the labourers are also treated poorly and their work conditions are unethical with little to no concern for the planet.

Don’t Shop During Sales-

I know the sale season could be highly tempting but most store discounts are just a smokescreen to sell out the pieces that didn’t sell normally so they could make room for new collections. I have slowly stopped buying during the sale time because one the stores are way too crowded for me and two the pieces that are on clearance or sale section are anyway boring as hell. If it’s something that I’ve been eyeing for sometime then going ahead and buying it makes more sense to me than just buying pieces I wouldn’t normally buy.

Just because I made this blog article doesn’t mean I do all of these 100%. I’m still a work in progress but as a cumulative effort we all could make a much bigger impact on the planet. It’s better to have all of us do these imperfectly than a handful of people who do it perfectly. 

Hope you liked this post! 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. 

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See you in my next post. Until then, stay beautiful.

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