It is important to note that the makeup industry is among the largest ones in the global market, which has a major impact on a wide range of areas. The shipping and distribution processes affect the world in a multifaceted manner in regards to the environment, society, politics, and economy. One should be aware that cosmetics products include chemical substances which are harmful to the environment and non-biodegradable. In addition, their distribution and relocation processes can be a part of promoting certain beauty standards in various nations, which can potentially subjugate women. The overall economy of the industry also has a major implication on the global market and manufacturer countries.
Firstly, the environmental impact of shipping and distribution of cosmetics product involve major implications in regards to pollution. The latter can come from two different sources of these products, where packaging is mostly done with the use of non-biodegradable materials, such as plastic, and the content of cosmetic products themselves contains harmful substances, such as metals. Although the public is becoming more and more aware of both the health and environmental implications of cosmetics products through the integration of green alternatives, the issue is still relevant (Ma et al., 2018). Secondly, the impact of distribution and shipping makeup products also has implications in social and economic domains, which both stem from the environmental one (Bom et al., 2019). The lack of sustainability in makeup distribution and shipping results in pollution of the ecosystems, which harms the land, and its fauna and flora. In addition, the use of highly synthetic and toxic substances in the makeup can lead to healthcare issues, which cost a nation and its public economic resources to treat and prevent.
Moreover, the differences in distribution and use of makeup products in various continents and countries establish divergent beauty standards for its primary users, who are women. For example, South Korea and the United States have different beauty standards, which are mostly imposed upon women and might not benefit the female population. The makeup industry, therefore, can be considered as one of the co-factors of maintaining patriarchal societies, which also has political and economic implications on women. In the case of the former, it revolves around feminism and gender roles, where the latter is predetermined, and it contradicts the goals of the feminists’ objectives. It is stated that so-called “no-makeup” trends are beneficial, especially in the context of social media, since they remove harmful body image and beauty idealization problems (Fardouly & Rapee, 2019). Under such circumstances, the female population is forced or conditioned to use these cosmetics products in accordance with their distribution patterns to adhere to the predetermined gender-based expectations of a particular society. This results in the fact that women are spending a great deal of fortune on these products to “fit” in the society, which raises major social and economic concerns.
In conclusion, it is important to point out that makeup or cosmetics products distribution and shipping can have serious implications on all four domains of life, such as environment, society, politics, and economy. Both the packaging and the contents of cosmetics products can be highly harmful to the environment due to the widespread use of non-biodegradable materials, such as plastic, and metals, which can damage both the surrounding ecosystem as well as a user’s health. Since cosmetics are among the key catalyzers of beauty standards in many societies, they can be a part of a patriarchal system, which subjugates women to adhere to the predetermined gender roles and expectations. This has implications in both social, economic, and political contexts.
References
Bom, S., Jorge, J., Ribeiro, H. M., & Marto, J. (2019). A step forward on sustainability in the cosmetics industry: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 225, 270-290. Web.
Fardouly, J., & Rapee, R. M. (2019). The impact of no-makeup selfies on young women’s body image. Body Image, 28, 128–134. Web.
Ma, G., Rau, P. P., & Guo, Z. (2018). The effects of environmental awareness and consumption value on green makeup product purchase intentions. Psychology, 9(7), 1898-1916. Web.