It is a misconception that refillable items are sustainable. Brands continue to market these items as if they are sustainable in order to gain profit. Brands such as Dove have come out in the past years will products that can be refilled. In theory, these products are amazing, but on paper, we can see the disaster that they will cause. Most times, items that are made to be refillable or reusable are made with heavier products so that they will last longer. This means that more plastic is being used to make this item last longer and will be harder to dispose of in a sustainable way.
In addition, most plastic that is recycled cannot actually be used for other things which basically means that the rest of the plastic is useless and ends up in landfills. From 100% of the plastic that is recycled, only 9% of it can be used another time for new products.
Refillable items are also not sustainable because most times people do not stick to one product. Take makeup for example, people are always trying something new in order to achieve a better makeup look. The possibility that a person will be loyal to one brand is a very low possibility. This initially means that a person may try out a refillable item and then never purchase it again, so that item and other plastic will end up in the landfill.
So, while people think refillable items use less plastic, it is actually totally incorrect. A news story was released on chemicals that were found in reusable plastic bottles. There were over 400 different chemical substances found in the water left in the reusable bottle as stated by ScienceDaily. Companies continue to not only state that these reusable bottles are more sustainable when they are not, but they also sell people these bottles that release hundreds of chemicals.
All of this also ultimately leads to greenwashing. According to NRDC news, greenwashing is when a company makes its audience believe they are sustainable or eco-friendly for them to buy more of their products at a higher price. Refillable items fall into this category because, in the long run, people are paying for a product that is not sustainable or eco-friendly.
I thought refillable products were sustainable as well and bought makeup brushes where the brush part could be repurchased. Turns out, I could not even find those brush heads and when I did finally find them again, they can with the bottom piece that I did not need because the whole point was only to have to purchase the headpieces. It was a total bummer when I realized the product was just greenwashing me.
Do not make my mistake, do not fall into the trap of greenwashing by buying refillable items that are absolutely not sustainable.