If you have read my recent blog on Women’s Web, you know my doctor told me to switch my skincare to some products that aren’t necessarily the most eco-friendly or sustainable. Well, I was in luck because my sister had just given me an imperfectly sustainable rakhi gift– a set of Dot & Key skincare products. They are cruelty free, because she thought that’s what sustainable means. And while that’s a great step on her part, we love first effort here, the point remained that the products, aren’t the epitome of sustainable skincare. Despite being supremely useful and my doctor recommending them to me for everyday use 100% percent, they just don’t fit the bill. Plus, they aren’t vegan which is making me want to get alternatives stat. Thankfully, it is vegetarian- friendly.
And being the susty- sustainable- girlie I am, I will use these till I run out.
Now, we all know I am a realistic and imperfect sustainability chick. Especially for sustainable skincare.
But I also believe that if we can make a product sustainable, we ought to give that a shot. Hence, this blog with some ideas that the folks at D&T can take a look at.
Current Sustainability Efforts at Dot & Key Skincare and What They Mean
Dot and Key is a cruelty free and vegetarian-friendly beauty company. They even have a Earthcare page which talks about the benefits of recycling waste. Their take-back program works by taking back 4 Dot & Key empties and giving you a voucher instead which can be redeemed in the next six months, if you purchase skincare items over a certain amount. We love the efforts.
And if you are committed to using D&T skincare, which if it works for your skin, you will probably benefit from, then the voucher will probably serve you well.
So, Anjali, that means they are doing a good job right? How are they not susty?
Well, well, well.
They’re doing a good job yes, but I smell pushing responsibility on the consumer a little. While, yes, they are open to receiving suggestions to improve their eco-friendliness, they also talk about sustainability and eco-friendliness in something that the consumer does. Reuse their bottles as pen stands or carry a tote. For a business, that is slightly disappointing, especially when their Zoobop score is less than 3. Mainly because of their lack of transparency, more on that later, plastic packaging, and their lack of information on the sourcing of their ingredients.
Ingredients- Or What I know of it
Let’s begin by turning and learning as Cassandra Bankson would say. When we take a look at their ingredients in their face-wash I can see all of them listed on the tube. Same can’t be said for their mask but the website carries the full list of ingredients. The two products that I am using (and loving the feel of on my face) are the Dot & Key Blemish Removal Face Wash and the Dot & Key moisturizing serum. Now I love how easy to use they are compared to more sustainable alternatives but we will get into packaging and convenience later. Let’s stick with the ingredients.
As mentioned, most of products have all the ingredients listed, if not on the product, then on the website. We love skincare ingredients transparency. However, Zoobop says the brand is unresponsive when asked about where their Palm Oil and Shea Butter are sourced from and that is uncomfortable to say the least. But I can try and avoid products with those particular ingredients. What I might not be able to avoid, and which might harm those with sensitive skins but might add to the experience of skincare for others, is the fragrance inherent in some of the products. I was lucky it isn’t there in the two I am using but it can be really irritating.
Now, I am not a chemist so I will not into details of particular ingredients. None of their products are harmfully toxic to humans according to Zoobop, and while some might have microplastics or be sourced non responsibly, there is no guarantee of malpractice. Plus, I am not qualified enough to comment whether that ingredient was necessary in the formulation of the product. Nor will I comment on whether the brand could use 100% vegan in all of their products for the same reasons. All I can say is my doctor loved that the face wash had Salicylic acid and the serum had Niacinamide.
What I will be talking about is their recycling program and their packaging. Things which I have some knowledge about as I run my own sustainable business. Muses_Saga: Eco-Friendly Publishers, you might have heard of us. If not, come say hi!
Back to Dot &Key though. See, I would love to believe they’re trying. The fact that they are a cruelty free brand which is dermatologically tested, uses ingredients which are fantastic for the skin, and that has a take-back program already puts them above so many other brands. But there’s always room for improvement.
Room for Improvement in Dot & Key’s Sustainability Efforts: Packaging and Disposal
Packaging Used in Dot & Key Skincare
The products all came in a cardboard box, which I like. It’s better than plastic for sure. However, as we know cardboard and paper production contributes to deforestation, but I understand that it is difficult to send products without any branded packaging from a marketing perspective, so I am willing to overlook it.
If the company can though, then investing in recycled packaging would be an option.
But the products themselves.
I got four products. One mask and a hydrating gel (which I love) came in these cute pot-like boxes. Whoever is on their design team definitely deserves a raise, especially for the convenient tube for their face wash. I also got this small serum with a dropper.
Now as someone who tried using a sustainable facewash, and who has to wash her face three times a day, I cannot deny that the facewash being in a squeezy tube is a lifesaver for me. Especially the fact that it is in a gel-like formula. The sustainable face wash I was using came in a plastic pouch and was powder. I had to put it in a container and every time I wanted to use some, I had to mix it with water and make my own wash. Which doing three times a day isn’t feasible for me.
I did try to leave a little bit mixed but it caught fungus so…no thank you.
Long story short, I appreciate the convenience of the tube.
But at the end of the day, as far as my research shows, it is made of plastic that could be virgin plastic. While D&T do say that at every stage of production, including packaging, they try to eliminate materials of concerns and go for low-impact materials, they have not said what they use. The website says they recycle plastic responsibly when it is sent back, but they do not say they use it to package new products or if it can even be used for that. Nor do they share where the recycling happens or any stats about it. And it has been found that most of these recycling programs as just downcycling and greenwashing, which makes sense because plastic loses quality every time it is recycled.
Now, I am not saying Dot & Key is greenwashing but the lack of information on how and where the recycling happens is unsettling. And then there is the question of why is the packaging being recycled when it can be reused instead- after all reports have found that plastic can only be recycled 2-3 times before it has to be sent to the landfills.
Why not just reuse it? Because that would reduce the demand for fresh plastic. Well, there can be reasons ranging from health and introduction of allergens to brand reputation with damaged packaging to logistics and economic concerns, most of which call for a system of sterilization and reusing to be implemented over recycling. Not the fault of any skincare brand but a systemic change that is needed.
But since that isn’t happening at the moment,
Virgin plastic it might be.
And the worst part? Dot and Key do not take tubes back.
So possibly virgin plastic that’ll end up in landfills.
Yep, I can feel the collective horror of the sustainable skincare community. Come over to the imperfect realistic sustainability side folks, life is much easier.
Jokes aside, I wouldn’t suggest packaging things in glass either. Environmentalist Shelbizlee along with Going Zero Waste has a great video on why that isn’t as sustainable as we are told. Plus, as someone who is clumsy, reluctantly travels a lot, and has mental health issues, glass is the last thing that’ll ever enter my house. No sir.
So then, what can we do with this packaging.
Well, first of all, use bioplastic. Or even recycled aluminum. As long as you can use it without mixing various types of materials. Because otherwise it’s the toothpaste tube story aka it can’t be recycled.
But that’s just the first step- what really needs to be looked at is what happens once the facewash is over.
Can the packaging be recycled?
Sublime Life has this wonderful blog on how to recycle your beauty products and packaging- which shows that yes, some of these types of tubes can be recycled. The bottle comes with a recycle symbol on which means it Is either made of recycled materials or can be recycled. Unclear marketing is a pet peeve of mine. The question that comes to mind, though, is that if it can be recycled why isn’t D&T doing it then?
But that mystery aside, the way to recycled this would be to simply empty it, clean it, and put the whole thing (because the cap is otherwise too small to be recycled) into the recycling bin. Or you can see if someone like Refillable can help you refill this and use it again. That is if you are like me and will probably not return to non-vegan products. Then again, that face wash is vegetarian so I might buy it again because it is doing wonders for my skin.
People at D&T, please become more susty and introduce eco-friendly packaging.
So, there is the face wash. The packaging can most likely be recycled which means the company should take it back and “responsibly recycle” it but they aren’t which means I, as the consumer, will have to.
What I would do instead? Is see if the product can be put in a jar that’s easily recyclable and reusable. GiftGreen India uses tin for their body butter, No Rubbish uses recycled plastic for their sunscreen, and while it might be a little icky for my OCD to dip my finger into a gooey gel like substance as opposed to squeezing it out, that problem can be solved with an option spatula that comes with the product. Or flexi-packaging could have been used.
The serum though.
It is in a small bottle with a dropper. And far as I know those droppers cannot be recycled fully. Now I love the feel of a dropper and the serum is truly magical but I am sure something can be done. First off, with the serum bottles too, the company only takes back and recycles ones over 15ml which leads me to assume it is tough to recycle the smaller ones, which can be true.
So, we can either make the serum bigger, which might make it difficult to keep it affordable, or we can use eliminate the dropper somehow or make it using recyclable materials which many companies are doing now. I mean, we could make it a tube but most oils and serums come with droppers, so I am not going to harp on that one much. But as an industry skincare might benefit from looking at a way to change that.
Please. Recycled and recyclable materials.
Or we could just reuse the serum bottle in the take-back program if we can implement a method of cleaning and sterilizing the bottles. Or just refill them for the same consumer.
All this leads into what I really want to talk about.
The Take-Back and Recycling Program of Dot & Key Skincare
It’s a good initiative.
Except I have questions.
Why are you sending the empties to recycling when you can just reuse them?
Re-fill them and send them back to the customer at a discounted rate instead of giving them a voucher that asks them to buy new products which will need more plastic to be made? I mean, we covered the why- health, lack of sterilization etc. But Refillable was doing it so it isn’t impossible.
It is time we demand systemic change.
And I understand that recycling can be more economical and companies are run of profit, so I am going to try to refrain from throwing shade. But it’s not the most sustainable way to be well, sustainable, it might make people think of greenwashing.
Also, the idea that people get a voucher to buy products from D&T is good, in terms of the company and in term of eco-friendly ideology. People are more likely to send their used packaging if they feel they’ll get something in return. And I can understand why the company would give a voucher, because it keeps people buying more D&T products.
And I suppose a truly eco-friendly person, who say wants to move on from D&T wouldn’t care if this one voucher went unused. So, while not the most susty thing, I can understand this.
But putting more resources into recycling and not giving statistics, pushing responsibility on the consumer, and producing more virgin plastic? Unless it is making a butt load of profits and helping create jobs for thousands, I can’t stand it. Even then, the sustainable side of me cringes at it.
And the worst part is, I might have made a compromise and sent their facewash tube for recycling and got a voucher and bought a new facewash, because the product is genuinely good, but that is not an option. And with the serum, they are just creating waste because the dropper likely can’t be recycled. So even if I send back the empty bottle, which they might not accept to begin with, it cannot be fully recycled. It ends up in the landfill. And I end up with new plastic which would eventually end up in the landfill. When they could have refilled the same bottle for me. It is difficult but I really think a company trying as hard to be eco-friendly as D&T can star refilling stations.
I know consumption and industries create jobs. So, screaming for sustainability before transitioning into a sustainable economy might lead to unemployment and we need to have that conversation and start making policy changes which make a sustainable system a viable option.
But still.
With such great products, that clearly a lot of thought has gone into, I am hoping D&T will work on these issues too. Like they say they want to on your website. Folks at Dot & Key, if you do, let me know, I would love to support a business becoming more sustainable. Responsible recycling and transparency of sustainable efforts is important, after all.
And if there are reasons for the choices you have made, please let me know. I yearn to be corrected.
End of the day, I love what your products’ effect on my skin. I just wish they were vegan and greener.
P.S.- The brand does have vegan options.
If you have green and sustainable skincare product recommendations or just a greenwashing in the beauty industry story to share, let me know in the comments!
Author’s Note: Hope you found this valuable. If you did, do consider reviewing, sharing, or paying what you will for this piece.
Updated- 18/12/2023
Also see- Review for Dot & Key’s Vitamin C Serum
