Read the following in the voice of Saturday Night Live’s Debbie Downer: Did you know that millions of metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year, and much of it is from packaging? That the temperatures of the seas have risen, the polar ice caps have shrunk, and “extreme weather events” (aka whole neighborhoods being engulfed by six feet of water or going up in literal flames) are more likely due to massive amounts of greenhouse gases produced by humans? Womp, womp.
Now read this in the calming, majestic voice of Morgan Freeman: But there is hope for humans. And much of that hope can be seen in the actions of the people you’ll meet here. They’re proof that righting all of those wrongs is not going to happen as a result of a sweeping initiative. Instead, we need to tackle issues at every level. We might each be one person, but if we commit to making a difference and using our voices, we can all become instruments of change.
The Scientist
Monique Simmonds, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Because protecting the planet means protecting the plants (including the ones in your favorite shampoo).
We’re regularly urged to eat a plant-based diet for our health and the environment. A plant-heavy beauty routine is a great thing, too — but we need to make sure those botanicals are coming from the right place. Enter: the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew — global epicenter of all things plants. This biodiverse Eden, 30 minutes outside of London, is home to the world’s largest collection of wild plant DNA and tissue. Monique Simmonds, its deputy director of science, has made the study of plant chemistry and fungi her life’s work. Her research has been employed by conservationists as well as cosmetics companies, most recently Herbal Essences, which partnered with Kew to verify the ingredients in its Bio:Renew line — ingredients like the hair-smoothing antioxidant histidine.
Simmonds works to ensure that each plant is farmed responsibly. So in this case, she asked: Where do you get your histidine from? “Because histidine only occurs in small amounts in the roots of some plants,” Simmonds says. For the Bio:Renew line, the answer was fermented corn, of which there is no shortage, and which uses by-products from the food industry — something Simmonds is optimistic will happen more often: “Companies that use plant ingredients want to do it right.”
But the real drivers, she says, will be the consumers who hold companies accountable and buy purposefully. How so? Look for brands that talk about where their ingredients come from and be wary of ones that highlight a plant ingredient as being exotically rare (where there’s the potential they could be more easily depleted).
The Adviser
Erin Craig, 3Degrees
Because we need the big guys to get with the program.
It’s one thing to create more sustainable personal-care products. But how to help larger businesses take larger action? That’s Erin Craig’s job. As the vice president of the energy and climate practice for 3Degrees, headquartered in San Francisco, Craig helps companies reduce their carbon emissions. “Almost all the companies we work with, from data centers to fashion retailers, are changing the way they buy electricity to purposefully incorporate more renewable energy,” she says. “Increasing renewable energy is possible and a great place to start.”
Sustainability is also more valuable for businesses. Craig argues that renewable energy is not as expensive as previously thought: For example, in midland United States, we have widespread solar resources that are cost-effective to deploy across the South and West. And solar generation panels have gotten far more affordable. On a related note, companies are being held accountable for their social responsibility. In fact, according to one recent survey, 83 percent of millennials believe that business success should be measured by more than profits, and by the positive impact companies make on society and the environment.
The Producer
Brianne West, Ethique
Because we need to be smart about the product and its package.
As a beauty-loving biochemist, Brianne West quickly realized the products in her bathroom were unnecessarily made of water. “Cosmetic chemists call [water] ‘profit-making liquid.’ It’s essentially free,” she says. “Conditioner is probably the worst offender — it’s about 90 percent water compared to 60 percent in shampoo. You’re shipping a plastic or glass bottle that contains mostly water around the world, around the country, which is a large carbon footprint on top of that waste.”
So West created Ethique, a company that concentrates shampoos and lotions (among other things) into a solid bar that is placed in minimal recycled-cardboard packaging that’s also compostable. Of course, as a business owner, West is acutely aware that the point of a business is to turn a profit. “What I want to demonstrate is that it is possible to be profitable and sustainable in one company.” (New Zealand–based Ethique is in the black and saw its biggest growth in the past two years.) But how to justify the flight these bars have to take to get to America? West argues it’s still a better deal than something you might pick up at the local grocery. “Because you get more uses out of a shampoo bar, which is lighter, the cost per use for a carbon-footprint basis is still significantly lower — even if you ship it from New Zealand — than if you buy something from a supermarket.”
The Advocate
Sonya Lunder, Sierra Club
Because you should never underestimate online activists and grassroots campaigns.
There is power in numbers. And the Sierra Club, with its 3.5 million members and supporters, galvanizes them through campaigns and organized lobbying for sustainability and environmental change. As Sonya Lunder, senior toxics adviser for the organization’s Gender, Equity & Environment program, explains, “Generally, we’re thinking about changing the laws at the state, national, and even the local level.” But that doesn’t mean every change has to go through Congress.
“With online activism, suddenly that loop is closing and an individual person can communicate directly with a company and say, ‘We’re watching you,’ ” says Lunder. “With Twitter and online organizing, so many more people can participate and petition and put them on action. People can alter purchasing practices in their school district or in their city. Actions can pressure a retailer to change the way something is packaged or to change the products they sell.” See suggestions on sierraclub.org, which has a petition to eliminate plastic bags at Safeway and Albertsons as well as instructions on how to call your senator and ask them to support the Green New Deal (more on that next).
The Politicians
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Edward Markey
Because online activists or not, we have to get the government on board.
Eleven years. That’s how long the world has to limit global warming, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. If that sounds medieval in its horror, then meet the crusaders: In February, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey presented a Green New Deal resolution to help support change. Their plan prioritizes net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions and securing clean air and water by decarbonizing electricity, transportation, and industry; restoring natural ecosystems; and upgrading buildings and electricity grids for a more sustainable future.
As with any proposal, it needs support to get anywhere — and that’s where you come in. Calling your representatives and being specific about the issue or bill in question, making your voice heard, and voting for people who advocate for issues you believe in are the best ways to enact meaningful change.
The Visionary
Rhandi Goodman, TerraCycle
Because everything can be recycled.
You can’t commit to loving the climate without three crucial words: mixed-material objects. We’re talking about things like lotion pumps made of both plastic and metal coils. Collecting and sorting these materials costs more than the items themselves. So TerraCycle takes objects that cannot be categorized into a standard sorting bin (toothbrushes) or even things normally tossed in the garbage (cigarette butts, candy wrappers) and makes it happen. “When we think about recycling,” says Rhandi Goodman, the global vice president of Zero Waste at TerraCycle in Trenton, New Jersey, “most people just think of what they collect curbside. In reality, everything can be recycled; it’s just a matter of being able to sort and separate. At TerraCycle, we have a team of scientists to develop the recycling process for these items.”
Step one: providing packaging recycling for companies (some of them beauty brands) that use mixed materials. Two: showing them how to use sustainable materials in their products. Three: achieving zero waste through a new program called Loop that refills existing durable packaging. For instance, TerraCycle worked with Bausch + Lomb to implement a recycling program for its contact lenses and blister packs. Admittedly, this process is expensive. But companies who have joined TerraCycle (40,000 and growing) have worked not just to make their own products recyclable but also to fund their categories. “Our national free recycling program is funded by major brands and allows consumers to collect and send their waste to TerraCycle for recycling at no cost to the consumer,” says Goodman.
Correction: The original publication of this piece stated that the organization Monique Simmonds works with is Kew Royal Botanical Gardens and has now been corrected to say Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
For more on natural products:
- The 7 Green Beauty Innovations Bound to Be Big This Year
- 10 Green Beauty Brands Every Fan of Organic Products Needs to Know
- Best of Beauty Awards: The Best Organic and Natural Beauty Products of the Year
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