Veganism - whether you love it or hate it, there is no denying that going vegan makes a monumental difference to the environment. Making the change as an individual or a company can help improve our environmental impact and reduce our carbon footprint.
For beauty brands, adopting a vegan approach can completely revolutionise the way they work. With more people being drawn to the vegan lifestyle, the use of a vegan beauty brand will only further enhance our ability to support the health and rejuvenation of the planet.
How Does Beauty Impact the Environment?
From using harsh chemicals to packaging every product in plastic, beauty companies can have a frighteningly significant impact on the environment. Without realizing it, hundreds of thousands of people are unwillingly contributing to the damage done to the planet every day by using products that are far less than eco-friendly. To help you picture just a snapshot of how the beauty industry contributes to the decline of our planet, here are three ways that beauty impacts the environment.1. Large Environmental Footprint
Despite having viable vegan alternatives, many beauty products still rely on ingredients that come from animals, ranging from milk and honey to retinol and lanolin. To collect these ingredients, companies need to invest in animal farming, which has been proven to lead to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, deforestation and coral reef degeneration on a global scale. Due to the high demand for ingredients from already delicate ecosystems, habitats are under pressure to provide adequate supply, encouraging financially driven locals or foreign investors to convert these natural landscapes into farmland.A common, devastating example of this is the impact of the demand for palm oil in beauty products. As with many other “natural” ingredients, these resources are stripped from the earth in massive quantities, without having any strategy for replenishing them or replacing the resources to support the affected ecosystem. This damaging approach is also evident below the ocean’s surface, with the increase in demand for ingredients like algae and seaweed to support the production of things like masks, exfoliants and moisturisers. By removing these ingredients en masse, these underwater ecosystems are left in a state of imbalance, impacting the diverse marine life, pushing some species to the point of extinction as they are unable to adapt to the rapid changes in their habitat.
2. Health Risks
The link between the farming and use of animal products and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions is well documented. To mitigate the effects of climate change, it is vital that there is reduced consumption of animal by-products in the beauty sector.Not only does the production of gases and other harmful substances from animal farming damage the environment, but the use of harmful packaging and chemicals left breaking down in landfill piles, can cause dangerous toxins to leach into the soil and waterways. These chemicals are often non-degradable and continue to exist in some form, finding their way into natural habitats like the ocean, where they are consumed by the local wildlife, and then by humans.
3. It Requires Masses of Grain, Water and Land
In terms of the sheer number of resources dedicated to this production of animal products, approximately 30% of the planet’s surface is dedicated to livestock farming. Given the scarcity of natural resources like water and the limited amount of land and food available across the globe, this allocation of resources is massively inefficient when thinking about ensuring the earth’s wellbeing and longevity.By removing animal products from beauty products, the need for such situations is immediately reduced, allowing for resources to be made available and used for more environmentally friendly purposes.
4 Ways How Buying Vegan Brands Help the Environment
So, now it is clear that beauty brands can have a profound impact on the environment, it is important to consider the ways that vegan brands can help support the environment and prevent further damage. To help you know what to look out for when choosing your next beauty brand, we have compiled four ways to see how buying vegan will look after mother earth. 1. Cruelty-Free Products Use Fewer Chemicals
The whole appeal of “natural” beauty products is that they do not include any harmful chemicals. Cruelty-free products that do not use animal by-products or involve animal testing openly avoid using harmful chemicals in their formulas. This ensures that fewer damaging chemicals are reintroduced to the environment, waiting to be ingested by animals – and eventually by us – later down the track.2. It Makes it Easier to Go Green
Companies, like INIKA Organic, who are committed to providing vegan, cruelty-free products are also the ones going the extra step to utilise natural, more sustainable ingredients and materials. For instance, most of INIKA Organic’s packaging is made from PCR, sugar can tubes, glass and other sustainable options. In doing so, the wasting of limited resources and the issue of drawing from the environment without offering anything to replace it or replenish the earth can be reduced.3. It Creates Less Waste
Did you know that animal testing can generate as much as twelve tons of waste each year? This is largely in the form of animal excrement, which emits gases that directly impact the development of climate change. Sadly, in some cases where animal testing is still employed, animals are discarded after testing, which also releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. By avoiding animal testing in this way, not only are we protecting the rights of innocent animals and saving them from potentially harmful experiences, we are also reducing the impact of greenhouse gases, as well.4. Sustainable Production
To make a profit, many companies attempt to source natural ingredients as quickly and cheaply as possible. In turn, this leads to unsustainable production as an increased number of pesticides and chemicals are used to allow this. Again, it also creates a situation where non-renewable, natural resources are overused and damaged. By embracing sustainable production practices and an ethos around protecting the environment, companies and beauty brands can help avoid this.Check Out Our Vegan Collection at INIKA
Knowing the benefits that vegan beauty brands can have on the environment, as well as us as individuals, it is time to make the switch and start introducing new vegan products to your beauty routines! At INIKA Organic, our skincare and makeup products are all certified vegan and cruelty-free as we are committed to 100% natural and ethical beauty and wellbeing.Shop online from our collection to discover the benefits for yourself. Order today and enjoy free shipping for orders over $75. To learn more about who we are and our mission as one of the highest certified beauty brands in the world, check out Our Story or contact us today!