Sbtrct solid facial moisturiser (plastic-free)

SBTRCT is an excellent skincare brand, founded by the former execute at male skincare brand Bulldog. He has turned facial skincare on its head, offering a small line of vegan natural skin items (cleansers, exfoliators and face creams, with vitamin C booster).

All are sold in zero waste bamboo packaging, you just buy refills thereafter, which also saves you money. Note the squalane is plant-based (not from sharks, like some brands).

Avoid shea butter for allergies. Avoid essential oils for pregnancy/nursing. Wash items with cocoa butter or zinc oxide (in sunscreens, cosmetics and deodorants) before letting pets kiss you, or avoid them. 

If your kerbside doesn’t recycle, you can recycle beauty packaging (including pipettes) at Boots or Superdrug stores. 

Solid skincare is now very popular, as a way to avoid the waste of plastic bottles. Although you can now recycle them, it’s good to avoid them altogether!

Around 95% of cosmetic packaging in the UK is thrown away, adding up to billions of items that end up on landfills. Small miniature items are especially hard to recycle as they ‘fall through the cracks’ of standard recycling machinery, as do black plastic items as (like black bin bags), machines don’t recognise the colour.