In this day and age, a huge amount of emphasis is placed upon physical appearance. Young people in particular are subjected to the need to look ‘good’ by society’s standards, and girls are often more scrutinized than boys. Striving for beauty is the main reason why the cosmetics industry is huge right now; looking good is something very important in North American society.
Another important issue in today’s world is environmental problems, namely pollution. Many scientists believe that human activity is causing global climate change, and I tend to agree with them. Our overconsumption and use of pollutants, like plastic, are not helping the environment at all.
Unfortunately, big companies and factories are the main sources of pollution, either directly or indirectly. Directly, they cause a lot of air pollution with their huge chimneys, but they also supply the world with non-biodegradable items that are a huge source of worry for environmentalists.
Take the cosmetics industry, for example. Many products on the market today have extremely detrimental properties to the environment. For instance, the main component in a lot of exfoliators is microbeads. Microbeads are tiny balls of plastic, with a diameter of five millimeters or smaller. Their small size may make them appear inconsequential, but they are causing more and more pollution to lakes.
There are two main reasons that I find this situation kind of dumb. The first would be that there are clear and easy alternatives to microbeads (and other environmental issues caused by cosmetics, for that matter) that does not do any damage. People can either opt for products that do not use microbeads, or they can make their own exfoliator using rice or other natural products. The other reason is that products containing microbeads are not even the most effective exfoliators. The more natural products do a better job because they have rougher edges.
The fact that people are still using microbeads when the other alternatives are more efficient and safer for the environment means that people are simply not aware of the consequences of microbeads, or perhaps are not even aware that their products contain microbeads. Big cosmetics companies need to make the switch to cleaner products, which in turn are healthier for the human body as well. If they do that, then it will cause the general population to be more conscious of what their products are made of, and we can reduce our carbon footprint. As with global climate change, each individual can make a difference simply by making small changes in their everyday lifestyle, such as switching to a better cosmetics brand.
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