Despite its seeming innocuousness, the cosmetics industry generates hundreds of billions of dollars each year through rampant unethical practices and patterns of exploitation. Like most industries relying on globalized supply chains, the production of skincare, haircare, make-up, fragrances, and toiletries is dependent on the exploitation of vulnerable people.
According to a 2023 report published by WorldVision, a Switzerland-based nonprofit, six “high-risk ingredients” that are frequently prevalent in cosmetic products are procured by subjecting laborers to dangerous conditions for little compensation. Agricultural products like palm oil, cocoa, vanilla, and shea, as well as mined ingredients, such as mica and copper, are often sourced using child labor and even slavery.
Cosmetic products contain roughly 30% of these sorts of ingredients, and the increased demand for them has only grown these exploitative practices to a greater scale. Since 1990, palm oil imports into the US alone, for cosmetic and grocery consumption, have increased by 900%.
The report states that the rising global demand for these and similar products at lower prices “contributes to high quotas and lowered production standards, which can in term contribute to poor living and working conditions for families and child labour.” While the perpetuation of unethical supply chains is an issue by no means limited to the cosmetic industry, it is particularly concerning that consumers are increasingly seeking products made from “natural ingredients” since these industries are rife with patterns of exploitation.
Given the fact that the cosmetic industry is expected to grow in revenue by $115.6 billion between 2022 and 2027, it is clear that there are strong incentives for corporations to continue the trend of utilizing vulnerable populations and expanding the scale of their operations.
Beyond simply profiting off of exploitation, the cosmetics industry also contributes significantly to environmental harm. Writing on the blog for CleanHub, an organization committed to helping businesses reduce their plastic pollution, journalist Tamara Davison says that the greatest impact the industry has on the environment is in creating plastic waste. Annually, the industry creates 120 billion pieces of packaging that are thrown away.
The disposal of this waste into waterways and oceans threatens marine species and their ecosystems. As plastic waste from disposable packaging and the microplastics within them pollute waterways, an innumerable number of negative consequences will affect the environment and even humans. Through this form of pollution, plastic particles are consumed by marine organisms which harms food chains and ecosystems.
Microplastics are a particularly dangerous form of pollution because of their resistance to biodegradation. Once microplastic particles are polluted into an ecosystem, they cause near-permanent damage due to their ability to persist from anywhere between 100 to 1000 years.
Further troubling, as Davison notes, one study found that out of 7,000 cosmetic products, only 13% did not contain microplastics, meaning that even the products themselves potentially contain elements directly harmful to humans.
Through the constant production of single-use products, the cosmetic industry also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions by sustaining its ingredient industries, namely palm oil production. When palm oil plantations are cleared through controlled fires, they release massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which worsens the greenhouse gas effect. Through these burnings and the expansion of plantation land, forests and natural habitats are also destroyed.
Aside from the harvesting of ingredients, cosmetic products themselves can be harmful to the environment. One study has found that certain air pollutants that contribute to carbon dioxide emissions can be found in cosmetic products such as perfumes, deodorants, and hairsprays. Illustrating the scale of the problem, the study also states that household and beauty product emissions are responsible for half of the volatile organic compounds emitted into the air in 33 urban cities around the world.
Seeking to update Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, in 2022, Congress passed the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA). The act requires the FDA, which is responsible for regulating cosmetics in the US, to modernize and make more efficient its cosmetic regulations. In 2024, the FDA is expected to create more guidelines and restrictions for cosmetic companies to protect consumers. They will also be conducting research on harmful ingredients contained in cosmetics that can potentially harm consumers.
MoCRA makes no mention of seeking to regulate cosmetics companies that utilize unethical practices as part of their supply chains. Nor does it raise any concerns about pollution or other adverse environmental impacts.
Currently, it does not seem as though the federal government is concerned with such ubiquitous abuse and global harm that cosmetic products depend on. In order to ensure our products are sourced ethically and do not damage the environment, it is up to us to make sure our legislators prioritize such major issues of concern.
Journalism 2.0 