While we are big fans of celebrating Earth Day, here at Meant we treat every day as Earth Day. A huge component of Meant is our commitment to simplicity. This means simplicity in terms of your beauty routine, but also in terms of how we create our products. Meant products are formulated free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, propylene glycol, TEA, DEA, mineral oil, silicones, synthetic dyes or fragrances — otherwise known as our NO List.
Committing to Sustainability
The beauty industry has been synonymous for the amount of plastic it produces. According to Teen Vogue, the beauty industry produces over 76 billion plastic packaging units in 2017. And then there was an infamous example where plastic was included inside products in the form of microbeads, which were plastic beads added to dozens of beauty products to add an exfoliating texture. But since these microbeads were washed down the drain when people used the products, this meant that they were appearing in natural water sources. The U.S. banned microbeads in 2015, and Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have followed.
While Meant products are made with natural and organic ingredients — you won’t find any plastic beads here — we also wanted our packaging to be eco-friendly as well. Meant products are made in the USA with post-consumer recycled plastic and post-consumer recycled FSC-certified paper, with a minimum of 50 percent.
Our products also aren’t over-packaged — the Absolute Balm and Every Body Bar are the only products that come in outer packaging, and the body bar’s tin is reusable. Plus, because Meant products are multipurpose, this means you are using fewer products overall — which means you’re not consuming as much packaging.
Support Eco-Friendly Brands
That being said, we don’t claim to be perfect when it comes to the environment. There is always more that can be done, and that’s something we are continually working on — because we owe it to the planet, to you and to our kids.
So this Earth Day, think a little more about how much packaging and plastic you’re consuming in your beauty routine — and if there are ways to cut back, or support brands who have a focus on being eco-friendly.
If you’re interested in reading more, check out these sources on beauty sustainability:
The Sustainable Beauty Network
“Everything You Need to Know About Sustainable Beauty” from ELLE
"10 Green Beauty Brands Every Fan of Organic Products Needs to Know" from Allure
Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. by Ashlee Piper
