KMK: Korean Skincare Brands Support Sustainable Beauty Movement

How Korean Skincare Brands Are Supporting The Sustainable Beauty Movement

South Korea’s beauty movement continues to thrive, with the country’s skincare and cosmetics industry projected to be valued at $379 billion over the next four years. As skincare and makeup enthusiasts all over the world are gravitating more and more towards K-beauty items and techniques, several companies are taking concrete steps to improve their products and services to make them more eco-friendly. From using green manufacturing methods to rewarding customers for doing their part to save the planet, here are all the ways that Korean skincare brands are supporting the sustainable beauty movement.

Encouraging consumers to recycle their empties

Some Western beauty brands, such as MAC, Lush, Kiehl’s and Origins, are known for rewarding their customers for bringing back their empty containers. This green strategy has caught on in Korea: brands such as Innisfree are also encouraging their customers to recycle their empties in exchange for “points.” The company rewards customers with 50 loyalty points for every glass or plastic bottle returned, and these points can be used to buy new products. Innisfree states that from 2003 to 2015, over 12.5 million bottles have already been recycled, and this number continues to grow, as the company has recently opened retail shops in other parts of Asia, as well as the USA. 

Using eco-friendly packaging

There are many ways that companies can run their businesses in a sustainable way, such as going paperless, using less energy and ensuring that their green values are communicated to staff. For skincare brands, one of the best ways that they can care for the environment is by using less packaging. E Nature is one of the Korean beauty brands that is committed to eco-friendly packaging as they use a minimalist approach, and none of their products come in cardboard boxes. The company uses PETE 1 plastic for all their packaging, which means that all their bottles and jars are 100 percent recyclable and can be used to make new plastic containers. They’ve even taken it a step further, as they use soy ink for printing the labels on their products because this type of ink doesn’t contain VOCs, which can be harmful to the environment. 

No to animal testing

Some of the most successful K-beauty brands never test their products on animals, and are guaranteed to be cruelty-free. Benton is one such brand, and the company is certified by PETA as a completely cruelty-free brand. Another company that doesn’t test on animals is Klairs, which is famous all around the world for their best-selling Supple Preparation Facial Toner. Other brands that are cruelty-free include COSRx, Saturday Skin, and Thank You Farmer. 

Although some K-beauty brands still have to integrate green values into their company mission, a growing number of Korean skincare brands are staying true to their goals to produce effective products without harming the Earth. By supporting the sustainable beauty movement, these eco-friendly brands are changing the skincare industry for a better world.