Design Life-Cycle

 Kylie Miller

Christina Cogdell

DES 40A

December 2, 2021

Raw Materials of Synthetic Makeup Brushes

A makeup brush has a structure of a handle, a ferrule, and bristles. The ferrule connects the handle and bristles together. There are multiple types of makeup brushes, but one main type of synthetic makeup brush has a plastic handle, an aluminum ferrule, and polyester bristles. The life cycle of a makeup brush from when it is made to when it is disposed of focuses on materials, energy, and waste emissions. The materials that go into the life cycle of synthetic makeup brushes are mass produced to supply the high demand from consumers, causing negative effects on the environment, such as contaminating terrestrial areas, polluting aquatic regions, and emitting toxic gases into the air affecting organisms.

Materials used in the life cycle of a makeup brush causes oceanic contamination. Polyester which is used to make bristles has microplastics that fill our water and is being consumed by marine animals (CFDA). The shedding of microplastics is polluting the environment which then affects the organism surviving in it. Water species are impacted by a material that isn’t even used in the ocean.  A large amount of  “polyester and other plastic just clutters the environment whether it sits in landfills, breaks down into microplastics or floats in the ocean” (Eller, Erica). Polyester is not sustainable because of all of the harm it does to the environment. The large quantities of polyester used in products such as a makeup brush produce a lot of waste that ends up contaminating different places on earth. In the aquatic environment, aluminium acts as a toxic agent on gill-breathing animals such as fish and invertebrates, causing osmoregulatory failure”(Staurnes, M., Eldhuset, T.D., and Rosseland B.O.). The pollution from aluminum byproducts such as methane and ammonia create difficulties that can lead to systems in an animal to fail. This leads to a chain reaction affecting other organisms' food source in the ocean which then limits humans food sources.  In addition, soap, made from oil mixed with alkali, is consistently used to clean makeup brushes, but soap causes “ a decrease in water quality, such as reducing light transmission, eutrophication, and pH changes in soil and water” (Ramakrishna,Teymourian, Kowsari, and Chirani).  Soap is a commonly used product that is changing the living conditions for water animals. All of these sudden changes make it extremely hard for animals to adapt to their surroundings when food sources, oxygen levels, and light is being depleted. Glue that sticks the bristles into the ferrule has runoff that doesn't dissolve in water which means it poisons anything that touches or is in the water (Hot Melt). There is such a drastic consequence to the use of glue because of its properties. Glue is not an ideal material to use when it is highly toxic to animals and humans. Diesel fuel made from crude oil and biomass for planes for distribution produces acid rain which affects “lakes and streams and enters the human food chain via water, produce, meat and fish” (EPA). Acid rain contaminates the ocean which in turn damages marine life and damages humans by drinking water or eating sea animals. The negative effects on water that materials of a makeup brush create are very hazardous to humans, animals, and plants. 

Raw materials and their byproducts for synthetic brushes create problems for terrestrial wildlife. Aluminum can be absorbed and impede crucial metabolic processes in mammals and birds(Staurnes, M., Eldhuset, T.D., and Rosseland B.O.). Land animals' physical capabilities are being harmed through heavy use of these aluminum. Although aluminum has such a strong effect on animals, it is still being used today for companies' personal benefits. Cardboard material is also used for boxes to transport makeup brushes. It is necessary to cut down trees to make cardboard which leads to the “destruction of the surrounding habitat and wildlife” (H West). Cutting down trees everytime you need new cardboard leads to deforestation which releases carbon into the air and destroys homes. When an animal's home, food source, or shade is taken away, animals struggle to survive and some die. Phthalates which are byproducts of vinyl makeup bags “have been found to damage the reproductive system, causing infertility, testicular damage, reduced sperm count, suppressed ovulation, and abnormal development and function of the testes and male reproductive tract in laboratory animals” (Thornton, Joe). Vinyl causes extreme issues that affect male and female animals' reproductive capacity. The constant use of vinyl can cause a population decrease or weaken the population because animals are unable to produce or have complications when they reproduce .  Glue is an adhesive that is used to construct the brush and  “breathing in the fumes from quickly evaporating solvent-based adhesives poses serious health risks like asthma and lung disease” (Hot Melt). These health issues caused by glue are most likely not going to be detected until the issue becomes more major and the impacts become permanent. Makeup brushes are bought to help people do makeup. However, overall, makeup brushes are not helping people when some materials in the makeup brush are damaging important parts of the body. Diesel fuel to transport makeup brushes contributes “to the production of ground-level ozone which damages crops, trees and other vegetation” (EPA). Animals and humans are stripped of necessary nutrients from plane fuel and planes are flown several times a day. Species living on land are affected in many harmful ways by the materials in a synthetic makeup brush that are easier or more accessible to make to support the popularity of these brushes.

Harmful greenhouse gases and other air pollutants are being created from the production of some raw materials in the making of a makeup brush. Polyester, one of the main materials in the makeup brush, “is a synthetic petroleum-based fibre, and is therefore made from a carbon-intensive non-renewable resource”(Edwards, Summer). Petroleum used to make polyester is nonrenewable which means there is only so much polyester that can be used in this way. The finite amount of petroleum and the large amounts of carbon being released into the air is not a lasting or healthy way to produce polyester or other materials with similar effects. There needs to be a new way to make polyester or a shift in other materials used in the bristles of a makeup brush in order to lessen the impacts on the planet. Aluminum for the ferrule has “greenhouse gas emissions released during smelting and processing include carbon dioxide, perfluorocarbons, sodium fluoride, sulfur dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and a vast list of other problematic elements”(Leigh, Elizah). The long list of gases illustrates how dangerous the frequent use of aluminum is to nature and living organisms. Each toxic gas has its own unique consequence on the environment. Aluminum production isn’t just affecting one part of the environment, it is affecting multiple aspects. Not only do harmful gases form from making aluminum, particulates are “released during processing that are known to compromise air quality (that include) combustion byproducts, caustic aerosols, dust from bauxite, limestone, charred lime, alumina and sodium salt”(Leigh, Elizah). This demonstrates how just one material can alter our surroundings in a plethora of ways. Manufacturers of makeup brushes must consider whether they want to take the easy route of making aluminum, or if they want to find or use an alternative material that does not have as severe punishments on mother nature. Makeup brushes are transported in cardboard boxes, made from wood, straw, and waste paper,  and  “if you don’t recycle cardboard, then it will end up in landfill and increase the amount of methane that is released into the atmosphere” (H West). One main reason methane is horrible when it pollutes the air is because it contributes to global warming. Improperly disposing of cardboard which is unrealistic to regulate entirely adds to the serious problem of climate change. The pollution in the air caused by raw materials in a makeup brush creates hindrances in nature and living things. 

A lot of synthetic makeup brushes are made cheaply or made with the sole interest of a company making money which leads to materials being used that cause extreme harm to the environment. The raw materials, from makeup brushes, that have negative effects on the ocean, land, and air are not reasonable to keep using at such a high rate.  Products that are created at a high volume for quantity over quality are having adverse effects on nature and the organisms living in it. If society continues to create these products with the same raw materials and same production process, our planet will not be able to survive as it is right now.  

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