Quo Beauty’s New Big Planet, Big Love Range Relies On Reclaimed Ocean Plastic

It’s no secret that the world has a big plastic problem. Scratch that. A plastic catastrophe. Every single year, more than 250 million tons of plastic become waste and only a fraction ends up being recycled.

The beauty industry contributes significantly to packaging waste: cosmetics, skincare, and hair products pretty much always come contained in plastic. But all of this becomes waste eventually. After that, it enters the waterways and damages marine ecosystems significantly.

According to Clean Water Action, marine plastic pollution has negatively impacted at least 267 species around the world. This is in a multitude of ways, but common ailments include starvation caused by ingestion and entanglement.

But Quo Beauty is trying to do better for the planet.

The color cosmetics brand was launched by Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada more than 20 years ago. Now, it has launched a limited-edition line called Big Planet, Big Love. The range offers reusable products (like cleansing pads), utilizes bio-sourced materials, and uses reclaimed, ocean-bound plastic in its packaging.

Innovative, ocean plastic packaging

The new eye and face palettes in the 30-product-strong collection are packaged with 100 percent ocean-bound plastic, while the packaging for its face mists and lip and cheek products feature 76 percent and 37 to 45 percent reclaimed plastic, respectively.

Quo Beauty teamed up with Oceanworks, a global marketplace for sustainable materials, to develop the new packaging.

Kelly Jessop, Shoppers Drug Mart’s vice president of category management, said the company is committed to “finding innovative product and packaging solutions.”

“We’re making it easier for Canadians to create more sustainable beauty routines with our Quo Beauty brand,” she added. “Working with Oceanworks on select cosmetic products means that consumers can take an active role in reducing ocean plastic pollution with their beauty purchasing decisions.”

Not only is Big Planet, Big Love made with reclaimed ocean plastic, but it’s also vegan and cruelty-free.