Go Green or Go Frizzy… Why Make a Girl Choose?
It ain’t pretty to shop in the beauty aisle these days. That is, if you’re a green consumer intent on making environmentally responsible choices. Overpackaged beauty products, such as my bottle of frizz control serum, can literally make your hair stand on end, when you evaluate all the waste going into a relatively small amount of product.
Take, for example, my bathroom staple, Pantene Pro V Hair Serum in 50 ml glass bottle, with a plastic, unrecyclable pump top, non recyclable lid, wrapped in a non recyclable PVC insert, and inserted in a cardboard box. Compare that with the reduced package for the alternative Life Brand hair mist, which contains more than twice as much product, in a lightweight recyclable container (and is cheaper to boot!)
Why oh, why Pantene, must you make me choose between my hair and my planet?
You know I’ll choose my hair every time! Who wants to live on a planet of untamed ‘fro’s?
Now some would argue that the higher prestige Pantene needs the enhanced packaging to convey its quality and justify its price tag. But suppliers of luxury goods are proving that by being creative, it is possible to strike the balance between sustainability and high perceived value.
Take Mary Kay’s Affection Fragrance sets, which use a lightweight, more sustainable cardboard box. Produced by MWV, the gift set box features a paperboard package that provides the same look as a rigid set box but costs less to produce and maximizes efficiencies in the transportation process.
See…you can get the pretty without the pollution! I’m not saying beauty products have to wear Birkenstocks. But with a little creativity and research into new packaging options, the beauty industry can capitalize on consumer willingness to go green, and still appeal to sophisticated, fashion conscious tastes.
With all that environmental goodness and none of the nasty granola aftertaste; next year’s Earth Day may yet be a good hair day after all.
Authored by Adina Zaiontz, Trade Marketing Manager, Yahoo! Canada
