In honor of Earth Day, we are reflecting upon ways to reduce our carbon footprint as well as reveling in the gorgeous abundance of the Spring season taking root outside of our windows.  It may be because of what’s happening right now in the world that we are even more acutely aware of the beauty of the planet, as we remain inside as much as possible, longing to be outside in a park or on a beach. 

Everything we do here at M.S Skincare is carefully considered to align with our core values of sustainability and ethical business practices. We don’t stop at vegan, cruelty free and sustainably sourced ingredients-- we look deeper into the elements of our products to provide to you a sustainable way of feeling beautiful. Hence our cartons are made of recycled materials, our bottles are entirely made of glass, and our products are versatile for multi-use purposes. As we all grow and continue to learn about how to live more sustainably, below are 5 ways that you can implement sustainability at home.

When it comes to purchasing behavior, a lot of us are keen to read labels and ingredients, but we aren’t paying attention to the packaging itself.  When deciding what to buy, remember that packaging matters too. Try to look for brands that are minimizing plastic use or using recycled plastic for their packaging.  Another way to avoid waste when it comes to packaging is to avoid items that are excessively packaged. Fortunately, minimal packaging is becoming more widely available as eco-conscious brands try to keep up with eco-conscious consumers! 

Exfoliating is an essential step to skincare regimens, but can be detrimental to the planet if we’re not paying attention.  As we all know, ingredients do matter and as educated consumers, we have all gotten better at reading ingredient labels to avoid toxicity for our bodies.  But, we should also be reading labels to avoid toxicity for the planet. When exfoliating, avoid microbeads— the tiny plastic bits most commonly found in face washes & scrubs which might do great things for your pores, but they could also quietly wreak havoc on the environment by steadily streaming into the Great Lakes and ocean. Look for natural alternatives to exfoliate to keep skin renewed without harming the planet.

So we’re looking at the packaging and we’re reading ingredients, but what about our beauty tools? An eco-friendly (and budget friendly!) practice is to ditch the one-time use items like paper towels for cleansing or removing makeup.  Try to use cloth wipes whenever possible, reusable makeup remover wipes, band bamboo beauty tools like toothbrushes, hairbrushes, combs and even cotton swabs as alternatives to plastic.

Multi-use doesn’t have to end at our beauty tools.  Multi-purpose products are another way to pare down on waste.  There are endless products on the market that act as both a makeup remover and cleanser, so why not reach for those instead of separate single-use products? Products like cleansing oils, balms and milks are excellent makeup removers and can be suitable for all skin types. 

At home beauty treatments are an excellent way to treat yourself as well as take care of your skin.  And we know that sheet masks are an easy, no-mess way to give your skin a boost, but they are pretty wasteful. Not only is the mask itself thrown out after one use, they typically come in paper packaging with a peel-off component; that is a lot of trash for a single-use product. Instead, opt for masks that come in a tube or jar to cut down on packaging waste.

Finally, when you’re buying products that come in glass packaging, you can upcyle by cleansing and reusing bottles and jars.  Think about how beautiful a small sprig of flowers or herbs would look inside our body oil bottles. Or perhaps once you’ve finished a bottle of one of our face oils, you can use as a container to put other products in for traveling-- they’re TSA friendly- and we can’t wait to be able to travel again! Reuse bottles with atomizers to create your own room spray for aromatherapy.

You can reduce your carbon footprint by using each product/packaging to its fullest potential. Let us know how you use your empties, or how you use our products in a versatile way-- we’d love to hear some creative tips and tricks from you!