If these last few years is any indicator of the craziness abound in the world and how precious life within it is, then “wow!!!”, eyes are wide open! As a makeup artist, not being able to work through the pandemic shutdowns has given me a lot of time to reflect. And learn. And unlearn, and do better. It is time to take a stand on many fronts, make changes moving forward to help with the future. Our future, the planets future, all of it. After all, what happens now is what we are passing on to the coming generations.
The place I have been working towards for the last few years is reducing the impact of our business on the environment. To be more environmentally friendly as well as minimise our carbon footprint across the board which is important, not only as an Australian small business but as a whole through how we live in this global community. Something else that is important to my husband and myself as small business owners (and fellow humans), is that we provide the best customer care that we can and while doing so, do it to the best of our ability. We try to service each and every one of you as if you were part of our own family, you know, with respect, love and care. We are here to BE OF SERVICE to all of you, our valued customers because without you, we would have and be nothing.
One of the biggest components of our business is packaging and shipping. We take great pride in representing The Makeup Light and sending TML goodies throughout Australia and New Zealand to all of you and of course, we want everything to arrive safe and sound, as well as in a timely manner. We do our absolute best to pack them so nothing arrives broken because the thought of you being really excited about your new products to then receive them and end up disappointed is something we simply cannot tolerate.
So, what are we doing here, at Chronicles of a Makeup Artist to help with our carbon footprint? How can we be kinder to the environment while still delivering on our promise of outstanding service to our customers? We use the upmost of care in how we pack our TML goodies, but how are we using packaging wisely? Can we stand with our heads held high because we believe in what we deliver and how it was delivered? Well….
For a start, we reuse every piece of packaging we receive whilst upholding the standard of “What does our customer see when they open their parcel?” We (meaning I, with the artist eyes and brain) want everything to look clean, gorgeous and well put together. We have started by buying and using packaging and boxes that are from a company who has a focus on sustainability as well as recycling any and all boxes/packaging we receive by either reusing them as they are or using them in a way that helps fill the empty spaces that are always created. An important part for us is reusing what we already have. As a small business, we have a stockpile that’s been collected over the years of different packaging including bubble wrap so we reuse this wrap in a more considered way instead of just throwing it into the bin. One of our new packaging hero’s is a brown paper recycled alternative to bubble wrap which we are using to fill gaps alongside everything we are reusing. I can’t tell you how EXCITED I am by that.
The biggest change we made is on the delivery side of things and how we send our parcels out into the consumer world. We now use Sendle who is not only Australia’s first 100% carbon neutral delivery service but also Australia’s first verified technology B Corp (what does that even mean??? B Corp = Better business. Read more here). Sendle is an Australian based company that was founded in 2014 so they have been in business long enough to know what works and what doesn’t and they are supporting important conservation projects globally. I am so happy to have a service like this available and I am confident that you will too. On the very odd occasion, we still use Australia Post who is also committed to a sustainable future with their satchels that are made with 80% recycled plastic as well as purchasing carbon credits to offset the emissions of their deliveries. We have been looking into better solutions for satchels and now use 100% biodegradable, compostable satchels.
We aren’t finished with our goals of being more environmentally aware and friendly but this is our start. An important way we can all help is by offsetting our personal carbon footprints that we all create through living, working and travelling. There are many companies that are doing this now and you are able to see who and what you are helping with because all the good companies are transparent in their processes and climate projects.
If you think of something we are missing or could be doing one of our processes better, please email us and let us know.
Peace, love & light
F + T
ps. I personally, have been repairing, reclaiming and repurposing for most of my life though not because I’m an environmental activist from way back (though that does sound cooler) but because of the circumstances of my upbringing. Growing up, my family & I didn’t have very much so when I wanted something “new”, you would find me at my local thrift store scouring through all the clothes & furniture of which I would repair, repurpose and reuse. To this day, my home and closet is still filled with a mix of repurposed and new items.
As you can see below, we have looked at ways to be more effectively environmentally friendly in our household. Some of these products we have used for years and others are new to us (corn starch dog bags anyone?!). I love that I can buy cotton buds without plastic stems from my supermarket (the stems are made from renewable sugarcane). Even my personal products are a brand that is “competing collectively with businesses to be the best FOR the world, not in the world” which is helping us to make good choices for our bodies and the planet. We also get all of our tissues, paper towel and toilet paper from a company that uses only sustainably sourced bamboo and sugar cane, their products come in 100% recycled paper (no plastic anywhere), are carbon neutral shipped AND they donate 50% of their profits to help build toilets around the world with their charity partner. So impressive! This also means that not only am I able to use these for personal use here at home, but as a makeup artist, in my kit too (except the TP of course!). I have been using unbleached cotton pads professionally (and on my own face) for years so I love that I have been able to add even more environmentally friendly products into my kit.
On my journey, I also discovered a few companies that have helped us to ditch single-use plastic from our kitchen, laundry, bathroom and beyond. For free recycling programs within Australia go here. We have so many choices, I would love to hear yours. And if you want to know who I use for any of the above, feel free to email me. I am always happy to share.
Chronicles of a Makeup Artist acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of our nation and the traditional custodians of Country throughout Australia, with Birpai Country being the land where we live, learn and work.
We recognise that this land always was and always will be Aboriginal land and we want to pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.