Unequivocally, the packaging industry for consumer product goods, which includes personal care, comes with a major environmental impact: As much as 70% of plastic waste generated by the industry isn’t recycled. Instead, it ends up in landfills.

When National Geographic recently looked into the cosmetics industry’s reliance on plastic and the implications of the waste associated with it, they found that for US-made products, plastic packaging is now used 120 times more than it was in 1960.

The good news is that small changes to these practices would make a major positive impact on the environment.

Netherlands-based group LCA Centre found that if refillable containers were used for cosmetics, as much as 70% of carbon emissions associated with the beauty industry could be eliminated.

Reusable packaging is exactly what beauty brands like Olay are already testing. Olay recently announced that for three months it will test its top-selling moisturiser sold in refillable packaging. The effort is projected to save more than £1,000,000 of plastic from entering landfills. Provided that this pilot is successful, P&G will want to expand it across more product categories.

Other major beauty brands have recently decided to test the waters with more eco-friendly efforts, too. Luxury brand Chanel just announced its minority stake in Evolved by Nature, a “green” chemistry company.

However, there are beauty brands within the marketplace like Naturally Serious that are already fully committed to eco-friendly products and packaging. This brand offers recyclable packaging in Forest Stewardship Council certified cartons that are manufactured with wind power in a carbon-neutral facility.

With legacy brands like Olay testing the waters, we can hope that more will follow more sustainable practises.