When it comes to building a sustainable beauty routine, you may be inclined to investigate the packaging of your products or the origins of the ingredients. However, there might be one area that’s particularly harmful to the environment slipping under your radar.

Cotton make-up pads seem like an easy option – soak one in make-up remover, sweep it around your face and you’re done, right? But cotton is actually considered one of the worst fabrics for having a damaging impact on the environment. The production of cotton requires a huge amount of water and substantial use of pesticides, which causes pollution. 

Or, if you’re partial to a face wipe, know that there’s trouble there too. In the UK it’s estimated 11 billion wet wipes are sold each year, with 2.5 billion disposed of incorrectly (flushed, not binned). 

While it may not feel substantial using (and flushing) a wipe, there are serious ecological and environmental issues further down the line. This is because some wipes contain plastic (which when wet turn into microplastics) that cannot be fully broken down when flushed. This leads to animals ingesting the plastic or it entering our water supply. 

So, it was welcome news last year when MPs campaigned for a total ban on plastic-containing wet wipes made and sold in the UK at the United Nations climate change conference, COP26. In fact, it felt long overdue with the rate at which we’re using and disposing of them. This week, retailer Boots has followed suit, contacting suppliers in the UK and Republic of Ireland to notify them of their commitment to removing plastic-containing make-up wipes by the end of 2022.

But, what can you use instead?

Well, a new wave of make-up removers are becoming more and more popular in the beauty industry: reusable pads made out of organic materials and/or fibres. The idea is that these pads can be used multiple times and can be cleaned along with your normal laundry load. As a result, just one of these clever innovations can replace the need for hundreds of make-up wipes. Pretty impressive, right?

Here, we round up our favourite make-up remover pads and cloths that will allow you to ditch the need for disposable cotton pads for good.

Main image: Getty