Sephora.com, help reduce single-use plastic

[yoles1732]

I love my Sephora, and the products I purchase on the site. But it shouldn't feel like such a guilty pleasure just because I know, once I finish my eye cream, the container will most likely end up in the ocean. 

Last month, I tried to purchase some products on the website only to find myself cross referencing other sites on which brands were packaging in glass, metal, and cardboard. I ended up purchasing directly from those other brands websites. Here's what Sephora can do to keep me as a loyal shopper:

1. The "Clean at Sephora" badge and filter is a good start. But it should also include products that have earth-friendly (i.e. non-plastic) packaging information. When I see that leaf on a green background, and DON'T see an acknowledgement of how the product is packaged, it feels like a betrayal of calling something "clean". Clean for my face. Clean for my earth. That's what that badge should represent!

2. Or, a filter on the website that allows users to shop, based on the type of packaging. (Even without a "Clean" badge)

3. Or, somewhere in the details for each product, tell users what the package is made out of. This should be a given for the online shopping experience since pictures don't tell an accurate story.

I believe that taking even one of these ideas could, not only affect a brands' consciousness about which packaging they choose, but drastically change the way shoppers feel about making purchases, and furthermore and added reason to shop at Sephora.com. In short, I want an easier way to find skincare / makeup / haircare / fragrance that is not packaged in plastic. These are the brands I'm interested in supporting, and the products that I will pay more to purchase. Guilt free cosmetic shopping? Bring it on!

#https://community.sephora.com/t5/Savvy-Shoppers/Sustainability/td-p/5077616

[mysstine]

I can’t stress this enough!

[WinglessOne]

@yoles1732 One of several problems with "clean" beauty is the lack of government certification, let alone an industry standard definition, of what "clean" means. From the way I've seen "clean beauty" heavily marketed by various brands, lobbyists, fans, etc., it has nothing at all to do with sustainability or environmental friendliness (or animal cruelty, for that matter—but that's a different topic). Instead, it's all about avoiding supposedly bad, dangerous, "dirty" ingredients in skincare and beauty products. So I've always separated "clean beauty" from environment-friendly beauty. 

I do agree that Sephora should reduce single-use plastic, though. In fact, I wish Sephora would care much more about environment-friendly and/or recyclable product packaging than "clean beauty." They could start with their own branded packaging: quit selling Sephora brand beauty tools in non-recyclable plastic boxes. I mean, surely they have some control over their own brand packaging! 

As for other brands' products: eh, I don't really want to see the "clean at Sephora" badge expanded to include this topic because, frankly, I find the whole "clean beauty" thing to be nothing more than a marketing scam. I'd rather see a separate category and/or filter for environmentally friendly packaging. 

[elleelizabeth]

I know this is an old thread by as someone who is HIGHLY environmentally conscious, I am dumbfounded by how many of the plastic free and sustainable brands are anti science.  Literally everything is chemicals, seriously what discerns a brand from using one instead of the other.  At the end of the day, preservatives keep us safe from fungal invasion, not to mention, makes a product last longer so less is wasted.  Thank you for bringing this up.  All that the "clean" badge means to me is a product that wont last.  

[treestar86]

well, I mean, if they cared that much about the environment, the first and easiest thing they could do is allow multiple codes per order, so ppl aren't incentivized to place multiple orders to get the most benefit, thus creating more shipments and more packaging. 🤔

[meou]

@treestar86 not sure if this was a one off but I placed a couple seperate orders and Sephora packaged them together and shipped it all at once. 

[SportyGirly125]

@meou @Yea they did that to one of my orders too which was cool 

[rosegoldlovely]

@meou @treestar86 I think that happened to me one time where they combined two orders into one box. I was happy with it, but yesterday morning, I made two purchases in order to use 2 different promo codes and choose more samples, within 7 minutes of each other! But, they still only shipped one order. They haven't shipped out my other order yet. I was disappointed. I asked Customer Service of why didn't both orders ship together if they were ordered 7 minutes apart? They said that it could be that they shipped from different warehouses.

[treestar86]

@meou neat!  yeah I think they say if you place them within 1 hr of each other that they may be shipped together, but not neccessarily.  I placed 2 orders a few days ago and since they haven't shipped yet, I'd think they should be able to ship them together.

[RAWRitsRED]

@yoles1732 

I love that Youth To The People products come in glass bottles and containers!  I like to store things in them once I finish the products.  They use post-consumer fiber papers and recyclable plastic for their packaging as well.

Also, I read in an article that a college student from the Royal College of Arts is creating and testing food packages made of seaweed!  Seaweed has a lot of nutrients in it so it give the food inside more health benefits.  I would love to see something similar to this with beauty product packages!

[bethany011]

At the very least could we get items packaged in recyclable containers with recyclable lids? There are several products in which the bottom has a recyclable container yet the lid is not marked. This would help me personally! Thanks!!

[susanatx]

I would love to see this as well.