The beauty sector is no stranger to being pulled up on its wasteful nature. Traditionally, the judgmental eco-conscious finger has been pointed at those using excessive packaging, developers of single-use products and formulators overusing the increasingly precious commodity that is water.
But scandals surrounding the destruction of excess product have also come to light, forcing the beauty industry to reveal its underbelly.
Generalised as a problem in the fashion sector, in 2018 it came to light that Burberry’s beauty arm destroyed more than £10m worth of products, which it claimed was undertaken to guard against counterfeit sales and because of licencing laws. Not only is a brand’s morality called into question regarding the practice of destroying excess product, its environmentalism is too.
When it comes to waste, cosmetics are labelled by the UK’s Environment Agency as PPCPs
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