The makeup industry, like most industries, has a long way to go to achieve true sustainability. At Neen we are committed to moving the industry forward with packaging and product concepts that advance sustainability. In our design process, we don’t start with design and then try think of a sustainability angle, we approach design with sustainability top of mind.
Sustainability
As we develop our products we think about how we can incorporate the three pillars of sustainability, “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” We try to reduce the amount of materials we need (for example, when everyone has a camera on their phone, does a compact really need a mirror?); we try to make our products reusable (which is why we use silicone, which doesn’t get dinged up like metal or plastic and can easily be cleaned, so has a much longer lifespan); and we try to use recycled and/or easily recyclable materials (did you know that colored plastic is much less likely to be recycled than clear plastic?).
At the same time, we want you to be part of a more sustainable makeup journey and we know that compromising on the quality of your experience is itself not sustainable, and just leaves you with the same old unsustainable choices (I mean, we’re not drinking our iced coffee through a disintegrated paper straw, are you?).
Here are some of the things we are doing with our current range of products:
reduce
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We created our subscription card to allow you to try new products and try new looks, without having to buy lots of products that ultimately end up in landfill.
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Our monthly subscription card contains 5 products on one paper card; no full-size products you might use once or twice, no plastic samplers.
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We created the first ever silicone compact, made from sand and oxygen, which doesn’t leach microparticles into the ocean, and is durable and can be easily cleaned and reused.
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Our compacts don’t have unnecessary parts like mirrors or metal hinges.
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We don’t use big boxes to send small items; we use paper mailer bags.
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When we do, unfortunately, need to use plastic we limit it as much as we can. For example, bubble wrap is required to protect our products in shipping, so we limit this to a small bubble envelope around the compact and then ship in paper, rather than shipping in larger plastic, bubble mailers.
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We offset the carbon from our shipping
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Most of our products are produced locally, in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint
reuse
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Most of our products can be popped out of their compact and replaced with just a product refill.
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Our silicone compact, the first of its kind, can be easily washed by hand or tossed in the dishwasher, and be reused for a very long time.
recycle
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Our subscription cards are made with Forest Stewardship Council certified paper (and are fully recyclable after removing the plastic swatches)
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Our compacts don’t have metal hinges (mixing materials prevents recycling since they can’t be automatically sorted, and it’s too costly to separate them)
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Once you’re done with a compact, you can send it back to us, and we’ll recycle it. (Contact support@weareneen.com for details)