Why we love blue beauty
Each year more than 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean. The Blue Beauty movement is here to put a stop to that.
Words: Anna Lowe
Have you recently been hearing the term “Blue Beauty” but have no idea what it means? Same. So we’ve done a deep dive on the topic so we can all get up to date on the latest Eco beauty trend.
It’s widely known that the beauty industry has many harmful impacts on the environment and now consumers are putting greater pressure on brands to minimise their impact. Unlike the general environmental trend, Blue beauty has a particular focus. Essentially, blue beauty is all about reducing the impact on the ocean and marine life when it comes to beauty products.
According to WWF 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year which puts a massive risk on sea-life. Because packaging is pretty much inevitable when it comes to beauty products, Blue Beauty pushes for brands to put a bigger focus on only using reusable and/or refillable packaging.
Blue beauty also focuses on decreasing water wastage and protecting our oceans from harmful chemicals. So many beauty products have chemicals that damage marine life. A major one is sunscreen, something we are encouraged to wear everyday to protect us from the sun, but they contain oxybenzone and octinoxate which when washed into the ocean they actually decrease corals’ defence against bleaching.
Don’t fret though, we have scoured the internet to find some blue beauty approved sunscreen brands.
8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year, threatening the health of our sea-life.
Shop this article.
The broader idea of blue beauty is that brands give the environment a net positive effect rather than extracting from it. The movement encourages brands to be carbon neutral and look for practices that give back to the environment. This is so important in our climate change movement. The ocean is home to so many creatures but also provides us with climate solutions.
What can we do as consumers? For one, we can opt for brands who are trying to make a difference; it might be a little harder or take a little longer to support brands that offer refills or less plastic waste but the reward is worth the effort. We can also hold our favourite brands accountable and request they make more environmentally friendly choices.
If you are truly addicted to a product that doesn’t offer refillable packaging you can try repurpose the packaging yourself. Read our article for suggestions.
