This blog marks Climate Week, an annual event in New York City during which leaders and influencers from around the world come together for a week of talks, events and collaboration to address the climate crisis threatening human survival. Events are streamed all week, so click on the link above to take part.
The team at KŌNSE Beauty conceived of the business because they themselves struggled to find beauty products that were genuinely natural, organic, healthy and beneficial for people and planet, which is the accurate definition of ‘sustainable.’
All of us who have looked into the way many beauty products are made and what they contain have probably been at times confused, frustrated and had a moment of realising that there is often no straightforward ‘best option.’ For example, something can be 100% ‘eco’ and ‘natural,’ but because it’s difficult to source particular ingredients solely from nature, can actually be having a negative environmental impact. An organic, lovely product that we love has definitely been tested on animals if it’s sold in China, because any brand sold there is required to. Plastic packaging has its issues, but so does glass. So, what do we choose?
You’re probably reading this because, like me and KŌNSE´s founder, Hanna, you want to choose beauty products that are beautiful for you, for the planet and for those who sourced the ingredients and made them. Even though we currently operate in systems that treat us as consumers rather than humans and resources as things to make stuff that makes profits rather than as pieces of an ecosystem and society we all need to survive, there are things you can do to have a more positive impact. Today and every day.
Read on for three ideas about how you can be an activist and have a more positive impact every day:
- 1. Use what you have rather than buying more. Even if you plan to switch to a more natural or eco product in future, don’t waste what you’ve already got. Use it all and then make the switch after doing a bit of research to find more ethically sourced and environmentally-friendly products.
- 2. Re-use packaging where possible, rather than recycling or throwing it away. That might mean looking for products in packaging you can most easily re-use – like glass jars or sturdy plastic packaging. Keep in mind that even ‘bio plastics’ aren’t widely recycled, so reuse whatever you can to avoid your packaging ending up as waste. A lot of the packaging at KŌNSE can be re-used.
- 3. Recycle things from your bathroom. I’ve run many recycling campaigns and one of the things I know from research like this is that a lot of people don’t recycle things from their bathroom once they’re done. Think about the cardboard centre of toilet paper, used shampoo bottles, empty moisturiser containers etc.
It’s possible for all of us to make choices each day to live more beautifully and contribute to a better life for others and on our planet. That is real beauty.
