There’s a reason brands are eager to work with beauty influencers—they’re powerful marketers with incredible reach. But have promotional products gotten out of hand? One TikTok user is concerned about the environmental impact of makeup promotions.
What is happening?
More and more people called out wasteful packaging companies for small shipments. However, TikTok user AngieChilee has another concern: the amount of unnecessary promotional products sent to influencers.
In Stitch, which has racked up over 37,900 likes and dozens of comments, AngieChilee mentions an influencer who received 60 shades of foundation in one package — and the user she’s talking about isn’t even a makeup artist.
@angiechilee #stitch with @spencer.barbosa PR packages can be wasteful as hell #greenscreen #influencer #prpackage #girs #relatable ♬ original sound – angie
The real question is what happens to the excess product? This is where promotional influence does more harm than good for the planet.
How are influencer product promotions wasteful?
Americans generated 292.4 million tons of trash in 2018—up from 24.9 million tons in 1960. Of course, overflowing landfills wreak havoc on ecosystems and wildlife. Plastic pollution is among the more serious problems, with plastic bottles and coffee capsules taking 450 and 500 years to decompose respectively.
Influencers get tons of promotional items they don’t need. In fact, 30.8% of brands give free samples to influencers, while 40.8% pay them to advertise.
The beauty industry has faced a payback in recent years as consumers demand environmental friendliness. For example, many cosmetics and skin care products contain microplastics – ranging from five millimeters to 0.1 micrometers – with low biodegradability and difficulty filtering. Packaging often raises other concerns.
Although many makeup brands have decided to use sustainable alternatives, some compostable materials can take decades to break down in landfills.
What are people saying?
Comments on AngieChilee’s TikTok show that most people agree.
One user said companies should think about who they’re sending products to and match them to the person: “PR teams should actually think about who they’re sending it to and match it to them, not send the whole range.”
Another pointed out the hypocrisy of providing a “personalized” experience but ultimately sending things you don’t need or want.
Most comments suggest donating the excess product to friends, family or women’s shelters, or giving it away as a gift. Others expressed that TikTok opened their eyes to the problem.
“I didn’t even think about it,” said one user.
Whether you’re an influencer or you bought a product you didn’t like, there are sustainable ways to get rid of it. You can forward it to people you know or send it to GlamBot.
GlamBot collects gently used and never-opened beauty products, pays you a fraction of what you spent, and resells them to other makeup enthusiasts. The company accepts cosmetics, skin care and beauty tools.
Considering Americans spend an average of $722 on beauty products per year, it’s nice to earn money back and know you’re doing the planet good.
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