Targeted and marketed on the perceived benefits to my skin and well-being, these bottles afforded me aspiration, appeal and status as they sat on my bathroom shelves. Like many of my colleagues and friends, I was a willing subscriber to the multi-billion pound men’s grooming market. A market that by 2024 is set to be worth almost $30 billion worldwide, marking a growth of 60% in since 2014. Over the next decade, we can expect more diversification, more marketing and more fragrant goo. Post-collecting my plastic waste, I’ve dumped all my luxury toiletries, and live a perfectly sweet-smelling existence with a toothpaste and soap alone. Gone are the Kiehl’s moisturiser, facial toner and eye cream, and I can confirm that aside from the natural process of age, I look and feel exactly the same.
This shows that we’re sleepwalking through supermarkets aisles, shopping malls and online retailers, consuming without opening our eyes or understanding and acknowledging the product wrapped in plastic packaging that we’re holding in our hands. And here lies the heart of the issue.
When a culture takes root, it grows, and our throwaway consumer culture has been both subtly indoctrinated and warmly embraced.