This Earth Day, Authentic Beauty Makeup Salon & Brow Studio is excited to spotlight an issue close to our founder’s heart—the environmental impact of cosmetic packaging waste and clean beauty.
An Earth Day Message from Alyson Hoag
Since my 20s, I’ve been passionate about beauty and wellness, but I became increasingly concerned about the harmful ingredients hidden in beauty products and the environmental impact of their packaging. I began by relying heavily on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics (EWG) Database to ensure the products I sold to my clients at Authentic Beauty were free from endocrine disruptors and other hazardous substances. This vigilance was driven by my commitment not only to beauty but also to the health of my clients and the planet.
Then, I realized that relying on external sources for product safety wasn’t enough. Motivated by a desire to offer truly clean and safe products, I decided to create my own beauty line, Genuist Beauty, with ingredients that were not only effective but also clean.
Yet, clean ingredients and sustainable packaging were just parts of my broader vision. I was also deeply troubled by the beauty industry’s unhealthy practices, especially those that marginalized women over a certain age and promoted unrealistic beauty standards for younger women. (That’s why I created the Image Journey Makeup Lesson.)
These practices not only skewed perceptions of beauty for all people but also perpetuated harmful mental health impacts, like poor self-esteem and body image issues. It was crucial for me to challenge these norms and advocate for a more inclusive and empowering approach to beauty.
Determined to address these issues, I began the process of packaging products in reusable glass vials, which not only helped minimize waste but also added an element of elegance to the customer’s experience.
To further my commitment to sustainability, I became involved with Pact, a nonprofit collective uniting the beauty industry to take responsibility for our packaging waste and work collaboratively toward more circular solutions for beauty. This initiative and their makeup recycling program allowed me to take an active role in reducing the environmental footprint of the beauty industry by providing my customers with an easy way to recycle their beauty product packaging, no matter the brand, right inside my Atlanta salon.
Through these efforts, my salon and beauty brand stands as a testament to my belief that beauty should be beneficial for both people and the planet. My goal is to create a space where beauty is a source of confidence and joy for everyone, regardless of age or background.
The Packaging Problem in Beauty:
The beauty industry is notorious for its use of diverse plastics and complex packaging, which sadly often ends up in landfills or our oceans because they cannot be processed through regular household recycling.
In general, roughly “48 million tons of plastic waste is generated in the U.S. each year; only 5 to 6 percent of it is actually recycled, according to the Department of Energy. The rest ends up in landfills or is burned,” that’s according to a recent news article from CBS News.
In the beauty industry, a whopping 120 billion cosmetic packages are created and only a fraction of that gets recycled. Most will end up in the landfill because our industry’s packaging is too small, too flexible, or made of too many materials to be traditionally recycled, and much of this packaging doesn’t meet the criteria for municipal recycling programs, leading to significant environmental pollution.
A Pioneering Partnership with Pact
To tackle this pressing issue, I teamed up with Pact, a nonprofit collective, dedicated to improving the recyclability of beauty product packaging.
Pact’s mission aligns with my commitments at Authentic Beauty and Genuist Beauty to sustainable beauty, and our desire to clean up the beauty business by creating products that rely less and less on plastics and also encourage proper recycling channels to deal with our waste problem.
We have a ways to go but we are working on doing our part to make products we can be proud of- down to the box that each is housed in.
Introducing Authentic Beauty’s Makeup Recycling Bin
A highlight of our partnership with Pact is the introduction of a dedicated makeup recycling bin in our Atlanta beauty salon located at 4674 Roswell Rd NE. Atlanta, GA 30342.
Clients and visitors can bring in their used beauty products—regardless of brand or purchase location—and deposit them into the bin. (Just be sure to clean out your empties first with warm, soapy water.)
This ensures that these items are properly sorted by Pact and then sent to specialized facilities where they can be recycled effectively, diverting them from landfills and fragile marine ecosystems.
Why It Matters
Our initiative with Pact is more than just recycling—it’s about raising awareness and changing consumer habits. By providing a convenient and effective makeup recycling solution in Atlanta, we encourage everyone to think critically about the end life of their beauty products. It’s an invitation to contribute to a cleaner, greener world, starting with our daily beauty routines.
Special Offer for Authentic Beauty Clients
This Earth Day, we invite you to take a step towards sustainability. Visit Authentic Beauty Makeup Salon & Brow Studio during the week of Earth Day, and bring your old beauty products (that have been cleaned out with warm, soapy water) to be recycled, and then drop them off in our makeup recycling bin.
After that, you will receive a $5.00 credit on your account good towards a future purchase.
Together, we can create a future where beauty is not only about looking and feeling good but also about doing good by ensuring beauty packaging finds new life through recycling.
Every action counts, and each recycled container is a victory for our planet. Talk about beauty with a clean conscience.
