The impact of cosmetic products on the environment, especially on the marine environment and its flora and fauna, is one of the most recently acknowledged and most worrying forms of pollution

Pollution from excessive use of soaps and cosmetics can reach our dining tables surprisingly quickly and easily, through fish and crustaceans, damaging not only the planet, but also our own health. 

Here are some simple tips for a more sustainable daily routine without having to give up cosmetics.

• Choose a single product for different uses: from 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioners to lipstick that can also be used as blush, using a single product for a variety of purposes can help to reduce plastic packaging, which also saves money. Of course, remember to rinse the bottles after use and recycle them properly.

• Make your cosmetics bag packaging-free: a number of brands and companies focus on products with no packaging at all, or on refills.

• Remove makeup with cotton pads or wipes soaked in detergent, not with microfiber cloths. This is a more environmentally friendly solution, because using cotton pads means no makeup residue is dispersed in the water, even if it does produce waste. The advice remains not to abuse them, to optimize the number of pads by using them to their maximum potential, and of course to throw them in general waste, not in the toilet.

• Throw away cosmetics after the expiry date, which varies and depends on when the product was opened. For this reason, although it might seem obvious, don’t have too many similar products open at the same time, to avoid the risk of not finishing them when expected and having to dispose of them before you need to.

• Avoid scrubs and toothpastes that contain microplastics: these are dangerous for the environment, they enter the fish food chain and then end up on our plates. That's why it’s important to pay attention to packaging and to choose products that claim not to use microplastics.

• Finally, now it's the summer holidays, make sure you use your favorite products in the shower in your bathroom: it is not always a good idea to use showers on the beach to wash with soap, as some of them may be connected directly to the sea instead of to a drain.