I love it when a brand does a truly good for the environment initiative – not one where they just dress themselves up in “green” window-dressing.
Origins recently offered samples in exchange for bringing in cosmetic and skincare packaging to be recycled. I am now on the hunt for result data on this Earth Day promotion. I hope it was a smashing success and the company will continue its efforts by either making it an annual event or even better, a year-round offering at their free-standing stores.
The “Return to Origins Recycling Program,” runs through April and permits customers to bring used cosmetics containers to their nearest Origins store or to any U.S. retail beauty counter selling Origins products (except Nordstrom’s.) There the packaging will be accepted for recycling or energy recovery, and contributing customers will receive a free sample of one of Origins’ natural skincare products.
The company maintains this is the first package-reuse program to accept items from any cosmetics brand regardless of the manufacturer. A statement around the program points out that community recycling programs generally accept only items that are easily identified, such as water or beverage containers. Cosmetic and toiletry packaging is often not recycled simply because programs can’t recognize the items, Origins said.
A couple of pieces of data inspired a smart seasonal program by Origins:
How much cosmetic packaging does the average US woman use?
Women confess to having about on average 12 products in their vanities, (according to an April 2008 survey commissioned by O.B. Tampons). With 112,804,773 women over 20 living in the U.S., that’s a lot of packaging!Unfortunately, according to the EPA, approximately 1/3 of landfill waste is made up of this type of packaging.
All right, I’m off to take the recycling out.
Born Curious 
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