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Recycle Your Beauty Products

Recycle Those Beauty Products!

  • Butter London is asking you to Turn In Your Toxins. They invite you to be one of the first 500 customers to log onto www.butterlondon.com on Earth Day (today!), and you will receive a free nail lacquer of your choice. Say goodbye to formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP — dubbed “The Big 3.”
  • Bond No. 9 invites you to bring any and all empty perfume bottles to Bond No. 9 stores or counters. When you recycle, you can get a free purse spray with purchase.
  • MAC Cosmetics has a strong recycling program called Back to MAC, which allows you to receive a free lipstick when you turn in six empty MAC products. At freestanding stores, you may be able to get a free eyeshadow, lipstick, or lipgloss for your empties.
  • Origins invites you to bring in your empty beauty products, jars, bottles, etc. of any brand, and Origins will have them sent to be recyled or used for energy recovery. As a thank you, Origins will treat you to a free sample of one of their skincare products (depending on availability).
  • LUSH asks you to bring in 5 empty black pots to be recycled (and you might get a freebie, too) — thanks ChrissyCupcake!

Did we miss a brand that participates in recycling old beauty products?

12 Comments

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Chrissy Cupcake Avatar

Many LUSH locations have a recycling program where you can bring in your little black pots and they’ll recycle them for you. 5 little black pots will get you a free product at many locations, as well.

Carol Avatar

The Back to Mac program I guess has changed now. I went to my local Mac counter with 70 eyeshadow tubs and I was told they cannot be recycled now without the metal pans. This is CRAZY, I depotted all of those shadows to put in the 15 MAC 15 pan palette and have empty tubs that cannot be recycled. Has anyone else had this problem?

Sasha Avatar

You can try bringing them to another location or you can utilize the B2M program online (by mailing in your empties). Metal pans can also be purchased (inexpensively) and placed in your empty pots for easy B2Ming.

Brenda Avatar

No, is there a particular mac that knows you well? Try that one instead. If all else fails send them in or swap them on MUA to someone that can use them. My mac’s let me simply because they know me well, too many people ahve been trying to take advantage of the program.

NoKoMi Avatar

You know, generally my inner hippy is all for the green movement, but quite frankly, I think the B2M program is barely more than a green-washing token gesture. My first MAC product was the Studio Tech Foundation, and I assumed

Sugarcrumb Avatar

MAC’s not the only brand that doesn’t have refills – loads of other brands out there that don’t either. At least MAC makes an effort. How many other brands have a programme like Viva Glam? Sorry, but the Dumpster Chic dig is not very nice – unless you’re living the ‘greenest’ life ever.

And no, i don’t work for MAC. LOL!

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