Why People Dumpster Dive For Makeup | Beauty With Mi | Refinery29 - video Dailymotion

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On this episode of Beauty With Mi, our host, Mi-Anne Chan explores the underground world of dumpster diving for beauty products. She meets with a professional dumpster diver and learns why people take part in this practice. Press play to learn why people dumpster dive for beauty products.   Check Out Jessica Casler here: http://bit.ly/2WFTLTP  Check Out Dumpster Diving Indiana here: http://bit.ly/2FPjuU8   Check Out Dumpster Haulics here: http://bit.ly/2FHe4t3  Check Out Lillian Kay here: http://bit.ly/2HSbwMa  ABOUT SERIES Explore the craziest trends, most unique treatments, newest products, and strangest subcultures in the beauty world alongside Refinery29’s very own beauty writer, Mi-Anne Chan. We dare to find and try the fringes of beauty — for better or worse.  ABOUT REFINERY29  Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/  RELATED CONTENT I Froze My Face For $400 https://youtube.com/watch?v=5qEKcD3-J7o I Tried A Zero Waste Beauty Routine https://youtube.com/watch?v=hrHIvvqCglI I Tried This Terrifying Facial https://youtube.com/watch?v=kUSFXFYEXa8  SEE MORE REFINERY29 VIDEOS http://refinery29.com/video  SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29 Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29 For the latest trends and videos, visit: http://refinery29.com Like Refinery29 on Facebook: https://facebook.com/refinery29 Follow Refinery29 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/refinery29 Heart Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/  TALENT Follow Seed on Instagram: https://instagram.com/seedphytonutrients/ Follow Terracycle on Instagram: https://instagram.com/terracycle/ Follow Dr. Zeichner on Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshzeichnermd/ Follow Jessica on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jessicasler/ Follow Mi-Anne Chan on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mianne.chan/ Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/ Follow OnHerTurf on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onherturf/ Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/

Transcript

00:00All right, we're going.

00:03Alrighty.

00:13Two years ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube video

00:16that blew hauls and favorites out of the water.

00:18Makeup lovers all over the country

00:20have been diving into dumpsters

00:21behind big box beauty stores

00:23and snagging thousands of dollars

00:25of brand new and used makeup,

00:26documenting their finds

00:28for hundreds of thousands of people to see.

00:31And thus began a year-long journey

00:33that ended with me diving into a dumpster myself.

00:37It all began with Jessica Kassler,

00:39whose dumpster diving videos

00:40have made her something of an expert on the topic.

00:43I made my way to her apartment in New Jersey

00:45to find out more about her hobby.

00:47How did you get into this?

00:49I got into dumpster diving

00:50probably seven years ago at this point.

00:52In college, I watched a documentary called Dive.

00:54And in that documentary,

00:56there's a guy who dumpster dives for food.

00:58And he really showed how there's like

01:01an insane amount of food waste in America.

01:03So we tried dumpster diving for food,

01:06loved it, it was successful.

01:07I had seen, I was on YouTube one day,

01:09that someone dumpster dived for makeup.

01:11And I was like, what?

01:12Since I had already done it for food,

01:14I was like, oh, I can do this.

01:15So it took me like two seconds

01:17to like put on a pair of old jeans

01:18and like try it myself.

01:20It was very successful.

01:21I went into the dumpster.

01:22There was a box.

01:23I pulled it out.

01:24It said like returns are damaged or something.

01:26And it was just all nice product.

01:29And I just like put it in my car and went home.

01:31Let's talk about the legality of dumpster diving.

01:33It's legal in the United States,

01:34but obviously you want to make sure you're not trespassing.

01:36It's not the most black and white thing.

01:39There are definitely a lot of gray areas.

01:40And Jess is right.

01:42The 1988 Supreme Court case California v. Greenwood

01:46made dumpster diving legal in the United States.

01:48However, certain city or county laws

01:51can still make the practice illegal.

01:53If dumpsters rest on private property,

01:55it's still unlawful to trespass.

01:57I've had an instance once

01:59where a dumpster door closed on me.

02:02It was windy and it was fine.

02:03It scared me.

02:03It's dangerous, right, to be in a dumpster.

02:05Like other people could be using that dumpster

02:07as their personal receptacle.

02:08So you always kind of want to be prepared for like the worst.

02:12Apart from the obvious physical harm

02:15associated with dumpster diving,

02:16the overall practice of using

02:18and sometimes reselling makeup found in dumpsters

02:21sounds unhygienic to say the least.

02:23So I sat down with Mount Sinai dermatologist Dr. Zeichner

02:27to find out just what could be lurking inside a dumpster.

02:30What are some of the health and hygiene risks

02:33of diving into a dumpster and taking beauty products out of it?

02:36When you purchase a beauty product new from the store,

02:38you know the history of that product.

02:40But when it's in the dumpster,

02:41you don't know the history.

02:42You don't know who used it before.

02:43You don't know what it's touched.

02:46And there are some real issues here

02:47in terms of infectious diseases.

02:49Bacteria like staph that can cause abscesses,

02:52skin infections.

02:53And then of course there are viral infections

02:55like herpes virus.

02:56If there was a lipstick that somebody else used

02:58and they had a cold sore,

03:00and then they returned the product,

03:01you don't know what's actually living on that lipstick.

03:04There are preservatives in a product,

03:06and the company can only guarantee

03:08that it's not contaminated up to the date

03:11that's on there for its expiration.

03:13Solids are easier to sanitize than liquids.

03:17When I hear about sanitizing the applicator

03:20of the liquid lipstick,

03:21you're not sanitizing the liquid itself.

03:23Something like that makes me really, really nervous.

03:26So I always tell everybody to err on the side of safety.

03:31There are clear health and hygiene risks to dumpster diving.

03:34No matter how one feels about the practice itself though,

03:37I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

03:40I'd just watched hours worth of videos

03:43of dumpster divers rifling through hordes of product.

03:46For me, the real question isn't why do people dumpster dive?

03:50It's why are these stores throwing away all of this product?

03:54Jess wondered the same thing.

03:56The first time I did it, it was really just eye-opening

03:59that like, oh my gosh, all of this stuff is being thrown away.

04:02Oh, you're dumpster diving for makeup, like why?

04:03There's so much more than that.

04:05Like a lot of times there's like soaps and shampoos

04:07and body care products that are just getting thrown away.

04:09And I hate thinking that all that stuff's gonna be unused

04:12and go in the dumpster and go in a landfill

04:14when it really doesn't need to be.

04:16Definitely a really bad haul would be something that's souped.

04:19What does that mean?

04:19Souped is when the employees of that business

04:22have either dumped lotion or foundation or bleach

04:26onto the products in response to dumpster divers.

04:29You know, since it got popular on YouTube,

04:31I'm sure there's been talks down the line,

04:33all right, employees gotta get more serious about souping.

04:35Electronics like hair dryers or curling irons or straighteners,

04:39what they do to technically soup those products

04:41is that they'll cut the cord.

04:43But luckily, I know someone that can put them back together.

04:47And so I have a perfectly usable, expensive hair dryer

04:51that I use every day.

04:53I reached out to Ulta Beauty, a store many divers frequent,

04:57to find out why their products are sent to landfill.

05:00Although they declined to be interviewed,

05:02they did provide this statement.

05:04Ulta Beauty, like other retailers, disposes of product for a reason.

05:08Products that are damaged, used, expired, or otherwise unsaleable

05:12or unsuitable for donation are disposed of in accordance

05:15with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

05:18It's understandable that retailers need to dispose of products deemed unsafe.

05:23But after seeing items like perfectly usable beauty tools wind up in the dumpster,

05:27I couldn't help but wonder,

05:28is there another option when it comes to disposing of product?

05:32It all goes back to corporate responsibility.

05:35Recycling seems like the logical first step, but it isn't the best option,

05:39especially since 91% of plastic isn't recycled.

05:43That's why companies like TerraCycle have cropped up,

05:46to help process hard-to-recycle materials.

05:48We deal with items that cost more to process and recycle

05:52than the value at the end.

05:54So TerraCycle partners with different brands

05:56who sponsor the shipping and recycling

05:59of all of their non-recyclable material.

06:02What are some things that are deemed non-recyclables?

06:05In the instance of personal care and beauty,

06:07we think about the different types of plastics

06:10and or metals that might be in one single product.

06:13If you have a shampoo bottle with a pump,

06:16inside of that may be a spring

06:18or some sort of an additional plastic,

06:21so it's multi-polymer.

06:22And so it automatically becomes more complicated in that way.

06:25What do you think that retailers and brands can do

06:29instead of putting all this waste into landfill?

06:32The first step for a lot of brands

06:33is to take a macro step back and say,

06:36OK, what is it that we're producing?

06:37What do our supply chains look like?

06:39What's important to our consumer?

06:40How do we want to be a good steward to the environment?

06:43And then what's the end-of-life for our products?

06:45So once a consumer has it and they've now utilized the product inside,

06:49then what?

06:50How can we offer an end-of-life solution that's sustainable

06:53and not negatively impacting the environment

06:55and remove waste from landfills?

06:58According to a 2015 report by Nielsen,

07:0166% of global consumers say they're willing to pay more

07:05for sustainable brands.

07:06Retailers can work with third-party organizations

07:09to ensure that their unsaleable products aren't left sitting

07:12in landfills for the next 500 years.

07:15And brands should be taking the steps needed to get there.

07:18But it's not just the disposal methods of product

07:20that needs to change.

07:22It's the products themselves.

07:23Beauty industry veteran Shane Wolf has worked with successful haircare

07:27brands like Breadkin and Pureology.

07:29In 2018, he worked with L'Oreal to launch Seed Phytonutrients,

07:33a brand that uses shower-friendly, compostable cardboard bottles.

07:37I would love to learn from you about why you decided to start Seed.

07:41I spent my entire career working in the beauty industry

07:44and there came a point when I started to see the pictures of ocean plastic

07:47and reading the realities of the fact that our landfills are filling

07:52with mountains of plastic.

07:53And I'm looking around at the beauty industry

07:56that I'd spent all my career in saying,

07:57we can do better than this.

07:59As knowledge increases with consumers,

08:01we see their choices shifting as well.

08:03A great example is the no straws movement.

08:05For me, the tipping point was when I went from wanting to create

08:08an actual product as in a formula to then saying,

08:11but how will we package that?

08:13It's time to go because we need to lead by example

08:15to show that there is another way.

08:17There was never a moment of doubt.

08:19We went directly to the CEO of L'Oreal Worldwide and pitched the idea.

08:24It was a yes from the beginning.

08:26What makes the Seed Phytonutrients Bottle

08:28and the things that you package your products in different from

08:30what else is out there on the market?

08:32Knowing we already had great formulas,

08:34we knew we would only launch when we found a packaging solution

08:37that helped to reduce our dependency on plastic overall.

08:40Very little plastic is recycled.

08:42On the contrary, about 90% of paper is recycled in the US.

08:46So the Seed Phytonutrients Bottle is the industry's first shower-safe paper bottle

08:50that is composed of 60% less plastic than a normal bottle.

08:53So I'm pleased that we have reduced the amount of plastic per bottle by 60%,

08:57but in no way am I satisfied.

08:59And in 2019, we're down to 70% with a plan to reach 80% less by the year after

09:05that.

09:07The beauty industry creates an exorbitant amount of waste, that much we know.

09:11I decided I had to see for myself just how much is thrown away.

09:15So I hitched a ride with Jessica to go diving at her local beauty superstore.

09:28All right, we're going.

09:30What advice do you have for me? What should I expect?

09:33I think going in with no or low expectations is probably the way to go.

09:38Visualize that we're going to find something.

09:40Okay.

09:41Definitely, I plan my route.

09:42I'm like, all right, I want to hit this place, this place, and this place,

09:44and kind of organize it like that.

09:46Got it.

09:47I'm glad you're like my guide tonight.

09:49Yeah.

09:49You're like the Gandalf of dumpster diving.

10:00Ready?

10:01All right.

10:02First dumpster, what's in here?

10:04So exciting.

10:06Looks like, hmm, boxes.

10:09Just boxes.

10:10Okay.

10:14Yeah, try to land and like, yeah.

10:17Ew.

10:21Bye.

10:26All right.

10:27I think this is a dud.

10:28It is a cardboard only receptacle.

10:30The reason I wanted us to go in there is because sometimes you do find product in the cardboard bins.

10:36That's just because people are lazy or don't read the sign and put in whatever they want.

10:43All right.

10:44All right.

10:44Dumpster number two.

10:45Let's do this.

10:47After you.

10:50Be careful with this one.

10:52Okay.

10:57It's not easy.

11:00Got it?

11:01Okay.

11:02Okay.

11:02So it doesn't smell the greatest in here.

11:05But it doesn't smell that bad.

11:07It's not so bad.

11:08Not what I was expecting.

11:09Okay.

11:09This is definitely like their food situation.

11:11But look at this.

11:13So here's product.

11:15This is definitely a product, right?

11:17Hair gel.

11:17Let's just see if it's like, I don't know.

11:19It doesn't look untouched.

11:22So that might be a keep.

11:24So this looks open.

11:25Some sort of hair color.

11:26So that's, that would be a no go.

11:28Shampoo.

11:29But it does look 100% full.

11:31If you need to organize things outside of a dumpster, that's fine.

11:34But obviously make sure that you like clean up even more than you found it.

11:37Just being respectful of the area.

11:40Oh my God.

11:41We found the mother load.

11:42This is clearly a bag that is full of like completely new, untouched lotions, conditioners, hair sprays.

11:55I mean, just tons of stuff.

11:56Looks like totally unopened.

11:58They were just on sale and nobody wants them.

11:59Yeah, no one wanted them and they just trashed them.

12:01Absolutely.

12:02Spray on.

12:03Spray on color.

12:04Right.

12:05So I'm seeing more stuff over here.

12:07Like I found a whole bunch of these.

12:09More hair spray.

12:10It's a hundred percent full.

12:12Oh wait.

12:13I found more.

12:14A whole bunch of hair color.

12:17A ton of hair color.

12:18Yeah.

12:19It's powder acrylics.

12:21Everything's there.

12:21Like none of it's, it's all fine.

12:26I would say we found a pretty successful haul.

12:28I think so.

12:29This is great.

12:30Like I said, sometimes you find absolutely nothing or there's been someone there before you.

12:34You got the goods.

12:36Yeah.

12:37Regardless of how you feel about diving itself, there are many ways companies and consumers

12:42can make more sustainable choices.

12:44And we shouldn't stop there.

12:45Yeah.

12:46It's also important that the government has set them up for success too.

12:50Like offering tax incentives for sustainable initiatives.

12:52Nice.

12:54Yeah.

12:56I can't begin to know what the long-term solution to this problem is.

13:00All I know for sure is that something needs to be done.

13:03And with the interest in sustainable and natural beauty surging, this couldn't be a better time for consumers and brands

13:10to stand up and show the world what really matters to them.

13:14In an ideal world maybe you wouldn't even have to.

13:16Right.

13:17You wouldn't have to dumpster dive because everything would have a place and have a home and there wouldn't be

13:21overproduction of stuff.

13:22I look forward to the day when there's no longer the beauty industry and the sustainable beauty industry.

13:28When it is just the beauty industry.

13:31And I know that we're going to get there.

13:34Thanks so much for watching guys.

13:36Click here to subscribe to Refinery29.

13:37And click here to watch another video.

13:39Bye.

Why People Dumpster Dive For Makeup | Beauty With Mi | Refinery29

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