Sustainable consumption - how to tell which goods are more sustainable? Comparing facial cleansers and packaging options

Abstract

Singapore’s trade volumes have increased over the past years as a result of globalisation. Singapore, a small, resource-constrained country, relies heavily on imports to fulfil her consumption needs. The trend of sustainable consumption has also surfaced, where consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, and they take an effort to ensure that their actions minimise the impact on the environment.

This study aims to assess the environmental impact of an imported consumer good, facial cleansers, using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The cleansers are manufactured in France, Europe and sold in the Singapore market for consumption. Specifically, two types of facial cleansers and three types of packaging scenarios were analysed. A comparison was conducted across the combination of cleanser and packaging scenarios, allowing skincare consumers to make a conscious decision before purchasing and using one. A survey was conducted with facial cleanser consumers to gain insights into their existing cleanser purchasing behaviour, and their willingness to change to a cleanser that is tied to being more ‘sustainable’.

The results of this study have shown that one face wash using the investigated facial cleanser leads to a higher impacts on marine aquatic ecotoxicity, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity and global warming. For all investigated impact categories, the facial cleanser production, packaging production and end-of-life phases represent the dominant life stages of a facial cleanser product life cycle. Hence, the choice of cleanser and packaging option will be determined based on these phases. Then, consumers can make informed purchase decisions of facial cleansers that will encourage sustainable consumption.