I was walking down the aisle the other day (not THAT aisle! Did that 13 wonderful years ago) and noticed a lot more brands and lines going “green”. Organic, natural ingredients are great but packaging and retail displays are a bit too “green” for me lately. I know it isn’t the neon 80′s or Goth/grunge 90′s but since the mainstream blowout of cosmetics and Sephoras popping up in every major mall in America we’ve been accustomed to girly pinks and psycho purples with an always-edgy design. I just see a bunch of brands getting on the latest bandwagon and going in a much more conservative design direction. Part of the appeal that attracts us to brands and colors is in the packaging.
Natural ingredients, Earth friendly packaging and environmentally aware cosmetics have existed for years. I love that and support those companies and their initiatives even though their Execs don’t all drive hybrids. But do we have to have recycled cardboard, leafy green and tree bark brown displays and packaging? Sure MAC, Hard Candy, Too Faced and others won’t completely conform because it goes against what made them stand out in the first place but there are so many popular brands whose Marketing Departments may be losing some loyal buyers because they are putting eco-friendly Marketing tactics in front of what their product’s core purpose is. At the risk of making their products look too drab.
Admittedly I’m not the poster child for environmentally conscious cosmetologists but I do look out for safe, non-animal tested, biodegradable, natural and Earth-friendly products. Also I’m not against any of these products at all. All I’m saying is I don’t like the new “green” marketing push and package design. If there’s a color or product I choose to use and the manufacturer doesn’t go “green” design I’m still buying it. How about you?
I have to confess that “pretty packaging” does draw me in as well, but then again I also judge books by their cover
I think companies are going to have to find a happy compromise that creates attention grabbing packaging while still caring about the environment. Why not just use less packaging but make what you do use unique and eye catching?
Just because it’s made from recycled paper and is brown doesn’t mean you need to use wads of it to package a small product (and I’ve seen this done). In packaging less should be more but it wouldn’t hurt to throw a hot pink veggie dye into the packaging–would it?
Exactly! I glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks some hot pink wouldn’t hurt the “green” movement! Right on!