So you have chapped lips most of the winters and the dry summers don't help either.
Lip Balms come in handy to rescue you when it becomes too painful to even smile! But lip balms are lost easily. Some are forgotten at sleepovers, some stay buried in handbags and some just disappear. (It's the aliens, I tell you!)
And since lip balms are rather inexpensive, you don't think much before repurchasing them. Little joys of life.
Meanwhile, here's what's happening to our planet and us.
One billion plastic lip balm tubes head to landfill EVERY YEAR!
The plastic packaging commonly used for lip balms is usually not biodegradable. Even when some plastics are labeled as "biodegradable," they often require specific conditions (like industrial composting) to break down, which are not commonly available and also these tubes are very small and clog the machinery.
Some are also made of a mixture of non-recyclable plastics.
These end up in landfill and then back into our neighbourhood.
And someday when you go for a walk, you might notice a tiny tube on the roadside, near a pile of waste rejected by the Earth just sitting there, waiting for its time and staring back at you.
Sorry didn't mean to scare, but you get the drift.
And here's what you are mindlessly licking:
Many lip balms contain synthetic ingredients like petroleum jelly (petrolatum), mineral oil, and synthetic waxes, which are derived from non-renewable sources like crude oil.
These ingredients do not biodegrade easily and can persist in the environment for a very long time.
Some lip balms contain microplastics (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene) that do not break down and can accumulate in ecosystems, especially aquatic environments.
The fish consume them as do the plants and guess where these plastics end up?
On our plates!
You can be more sustainable, if you choose to.
Conventional lip balms are generally not biodegradable due to their synthetic ingredients and plastic packaging.
However, there are biodegradable alternatives available that use natural ingredients and eco-friendly packaging.
Lip balms made from natural ingredients like plant waxes and oils like Jojoba, Moringa, coconut and butters like Kokum, Mango, Shea do biodegrade easily.
When choosing a biodegradable lip balm, it’s important to look for products that are both environmentally friendly in their ingredients and packaging.
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