The cosmetics industry is a booming global market that produces millions of products per year yet has only recently considered the environmental concern surrounding their products. It is estimated that the cosmetic industry manufactures approximately 120 billion units of packaging per year and will amount to 12 billion tonnes of plastic in landfills by 2050 if it is not intervened. Beauty companies exhibit the style and value of their product through complex and excessive packaging which are difficult to disassemble for reuse or recycling due to their complex shapes and mix of materials. The lack of management for a cosmetic item’s end of life ultimately leads consumers to dispose of unwanted products and packaging in landfill and polluting waterways.

The proposed outcome focuses on encouraging the user to view their reusable makeup packaging as its own product through emotionally durable design in order to lessen the excessive production and consumption of plastics in makeup products through long-term continued use. The project will speculate how this product can exist with a service the supports its long-term and returned use in an existing retail environment to comprehend whether this system is possible in an Australian retail environment.