Carrollton-based Beauty By Earth, a family-owned skincare brand dedicated to obsessively natural beauty, is now certified Plastic Neutral. The company’s partnership with rePurpose Global funds the recovery of nature-bound plastic waste pound for pound as it creates. This means that for every 1 lb of plastic the company generates in packaging and distribution, they remove 1 lb of plastic waste from the natural environment.

By contributing a percentage of every product purchase to plastic reduction efforts, Beauty By Earth is enabling the removal of plastic waste that would otherwise be landfilled, burned, or flushed into the oceans every year. Through their partnership with rePurpose Global, the company is supporting vetted waste management projects in Chennai, India to collect and process hard-to-recycle waste streams otherwise too low value to be reclaimed from the environment, such as chocolate wrappers, chips packets, and similar flexible packaging items.

Over the last few decades, the pristine coastlines of Chennai have been devastated by rampant plastic pollution, affecting wildlife and contaminating waterways. Project Neela Sapana (नीले सपना), a first-of-its-kind project, entails the recovery and processing of low-value, single-use plastic waste such as multi-laminate plastic (MLP) to inhibit its flow into our natural ecosystem. The lack of recycling value means that MLP is either dumped into nature or openly flared, leading to carbon emissions and contamination of our environment.

So, rePurpose is partnering with local waste management pioneer Waste Ventures India, to create a new model of waste collection. This project directly catalyzes the ethical collection and permanent disposal of hazardous MLP waste. rePurpose Global has funded the set-up of a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Gerugambakkam, Chennai for this purpose.

What Is The Impact of Going Plastic Neutral?

By going Plastic Neutral, Beauty By Earth is tackling a $30bn/yr funding gap that plagues recycling supply chains worldwide. It is also adding a crucial income stream for over 40 waste workers and their families in Chennai, India. Today, informal waste workers often earn less than $5/day, work in precarious conditions, and face severe discrimination. Despite providing a crucial societal service for cities across the developing world, these laborers live on the margin. Through this initiative, the company is boosting these waste workers’ income by attaching value to hard-to-recycle plastics. It is also supporting the uplifting of waste workers through occupational safety, health insurance, and skills training. 

As a player in the skincare sector, Beauty By Earth recognizes the grave threat plastic pollution poses for our planet. More than 120 billion units of plastic packaging waste is produced globally every year by the cosmetics industry.

Learn more about Beauty by Earth’s Plastic Neutral Initiative here.

About rePurpose Global

rePurpose Global is the World’s First Plastic Credit Platform dedicated to making environmental action accessible for purposeful companies worldwide. Their one-stop solution empowers anybody to go Plastic Neutral by financing plastic waste management and mitigation projects worldwide. 

Since its inception, rePurpose Global has created environmental impact for people across 26 countries and 100+ purposeful brands, ranging from up-and-coming SMEs to global Fortune 500s. In doing so, the coalition is positively impacting the lives of 9,500+ marginalized waste workers worldwide.

Check out this 4-minute introduction video. Or go to the rePurpose Global website to explore the platform and join the movement.