I stepped completely out of my comfort zone and went along to a beauty panel on my own. I was prompted by one of my favourite bloggers speaking on the panel, but the topic was a really important one and it was really interesting to have a discussion from lots of different angles.
Event
Having never been to an event like this before I had no idea what to expect. The Panel was being held as part of a My John Lewis event at their Westfield Stratford store. Tickets were £20 however you got a glass of bubbles and a very generous beauty gift bag. I am not gonna turn down a little glass of bubbles. The beauty gift bag was right up my street. Some products I have been wanting to try, some products I haven’t heard of and some of my absolute faves. Yes this very smug girl left with a full size Nars Climax mascara.
The event itself was nice and relaxed lots of discussion. Option to ask questions and join in the conversation and meet some of the panel afterwards. The panel was made up of Fleur de force, the soap co founder, Pai skincare founder, Evolve beauty founder, and Terra Cycle UK. Discussions were lead by Funmi Fetto editor of beauty at Glamour magazine.
Topic
Up for discussion was sustainability and the future of beauty. It couldn’t have been more relevant if it tried. Plastic, recycling, sustainability and the planet are such hot topics right now and so it was really interesting to hear everyones takes on the topic.
General consensus was there is a lot of change happening that we don’t necessarily see. Its unfortunately a very slow process and something that won’t happen over night. We aren’t recycling enough, it has less impact on the environment to make plastic from recycled plastic. There is not enough recycled plastic available to meet demand. Some plastics are expensive to recycle and this is why councils won’t do it because they don’t have the funds to. People are unaware of what can be recycled in their council or are lazy and don’t recycle/ignore the guidelines.
People are unaware or un educated. Not enough information is being given out or talked about. Palm oil was discussed and how it is used in a huge percentage of products as an emollient. The focus right now is to try and use sustainable palm oil but also look at alternatives. However an important point brought up is say we swapped to coconut oil we would then potentially end up in the same situation with coconut oil. Some people have said palm oil is not in their products however it is often named in a way that unless you know you wouldn’t know it was in there. There is a lack of education as well as miss leading labels.
Founder of Pai Skincare actually said she was trying to use an essential oil from a plant that is actually endangered and therefore not allowed to be used. She only found this out though trying to gain organic certification.
Thoughts
I found it extremely interesting how much information is held back. Lack of knowledge on the topic is definitely apparent.
Sadly I couldn’t help but feel money was a big hazard to the situation. Lack of funds to do the right thing or being too greedy to grow as a brand/company/economy rather than thinking of the environment. We are all guilty of this I certainly don’t think the finger can be pointed at one person.
We have grown beyond what the planet can cope with and greed/need to feed or grow the economy is only harming the planet further.
I’d love to know if you’ve been to a panel before and if you have any recommendations for any future talks I should look out for. Anything health, beauty and nutrition would be right up my street. Let me know your thoughts on the topic and I’ll see you in my next post.
Missed my last post? Check out my Highlights from Scotland here.
Rach xx
