Earth Day & K-beauty
Since its creation in 1970, Earth Day aims to bring awareness to climate change and pollution among everyone, aiming to inspire consumers and companies to help preserve our planet for future generations. It's important for us to be more aware of how we live and how we affect our environment, not only so that we are always aware of how fragile our planet is, but also so that we can live a more healthy, sustainable lifestyle.
In conjunction with Earth Day (22nd April) we would like to share two ways on how we can help support a greener lifestyle when it comes to beauty products:
- Using and supporting vegan & cruelty-free brands
- Upcycling & recycling old product containers (empties)
1. Using and Supporting Vegan & Cruelty-Free brands
Cruelty-free means that the product was developed without any testing on animals. Cruelty-free products are considered generally better as well as they do not include any bad chemicals like parabens, sulfates, and synthetic dyes. Without these chemicals, you could experience lesser breakouts, allergic reactions, and sensitivity.
By choosing to purchase cruelty-free alternatives, you send out a message that animal testing is wrong. And with enough support, one day hopefully cruelty-free will become the norm.
Vegan means that the product does not include any animal-derived ingredients. Some animal-derived ingredients like animal fat, collagen, skin, hair, or bones are a by-product of the meat industry, and acquiring these ingredients has a great impact on the environment. Some insects are even harvested just for their pigment!
With more eco and green-conscious consumers now aware of the impact, safety, and use of ingredients in their beauty products, Althea would also strive to introduce greener brands for our customers.
Here are our top three (3) brands that are available on www.althea.kr to consider!
Here are our top three (3) brands that are available on www.althea.kr to consider!
Cosrx is cruelty-free
Cosrx
Cosrx is a super popular brand, both among our Altheans and global beauty-lovers alike. This is why it's amazing to know that the brand is also cruelty-free! However, Cosrx is not vegan as they have a line of products that are derived from snail mucin, which some of you may recognize as a popular ingredient in K-beauty.
Cosrx's manufacturer (like most snail mucin extractors in Korea) is required to create an environment that’s comfortable for the snails, allowing them to have enough rest to optimize mucin production.
Some of Cosrx's best-sellers
Does this still make Cosrx fit the cruelty-free lifestyle? Yes! All you have to be aware of is counterfeit Cosrx products. Not to worry though, as Althea carries 100% genuine products and is backed by a 200% authenticity guarantee (click here to read more about it).
Klairs - a vegan and cruelty-free brand
Klairs
100% vegetarian, 100% cruelty-free, and 100% committed to becoming a vegan, animal-friendly brand. Although they are not yet a vegan brand, Klairs has been against animal testing and has believed in relying on plant-based ingredients to formulate their products since they started in 2010.
In Korea, where it is not as common to find vegan brands, Klairs recognizes the greater responsibility they hold to not only be good to the skin but also to the environment and the animals that live on our earth. Presently, about 80% of their products are suitable for vegans.
Klairs focuses on plant-derived ingredients like black sugar
Klairs focuses on plant-derived ingredients like black sugar
Formulas are based on plant-derived ingredients like Centella extract, black sugar, black sesame oil, etc. In 2013, and again in 2016, Klairs products were approved by the Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) as a cruelty-free brand.
Click here to read their official statement on their vegan and cruelty-free initiative.
Purito features natural and organic ingredients
Purito
Both cruelty-free and vegan, Purito is a brand that is perfect for those looking for products with simple, uncomplicated ingredients. With sensitive skin types in mind, Purito’s products are formulated with natural and organic ingredients, making them free from parabens, sulfates, ethanol, and silicone.
They also feature environmentally friendly packaging made out of recycled paper, and instead of separately printing out a sheet of paper for instructions, they actually print information inside the box to reduce their waste.
2. Upcycling & Recycling Old Product Containers (Empties)
But what happens after the purchase? You'll soon find yourself with lots of empties. What do you do with these empties? You upcycle and recycle! This is important because it prevents our waste from going to landfills thus saving valuable landfill space and reducing environmental effects. Preventing our waste and microplastics from ending up in rivers and oceans, keeps us from harming the fish and other aquatic life.
How To Recycle Empties?
To recycle, first, you must clean and dry your empties before taking them to a recycling facility that would accept plastics, glass, and packaging. Some even reward you for your recycling efforts. Find out how you can recycle by researching a place near you where you can bring your empties to.
How To Recycle Empties?
To recycle, first, you must clean and dry your empties before taking them to a recycling facility that would accept plastics, glass, and packaging. Some even reward you for your recycling efforts. Find out how you can recycle by researching a place near you where you can bring your empties to.
Hey, What's Upcycle?
While recycling involves the destruction of waste in order to create something new, upcycling takes waste and creates something new from it in its current state. One creative way to upcycle your old product containers is to use them as containers:
Another way to upcycle product packaging is to use them as storage! As you may know, some Althea orders come packaged in our special Althea boxes. As they're pretty good quality and come in various limited designs, our Altheans have shown their creativity by collecting our boxes and using them as storage to keep their skincare and other items, effectively reducing waste!
(Click here to read more about Althea's packaging)
Whether it's being more selective (or selfish) with the brands you use or actively recycling and upcycling old product packaging, it's important to know that your actions make a difference in keeping our Earth safe and healthy for our future generations.
We hope this blog post was helpful and informative, and that we helped to spread more awareness about sustainability and responsible shopping during this Earth Day.
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