Small bottles in big trouble

Travel and wellness content creator Jinali Sutariya is on the move for most part of the month. Understandably, she relies heavily on travel-sized beauty and skincare products that allow her to continue her skincare routine without adding kilos to her luggage. "I would skip my morning and evening skincare routine while travelling," says the 31-year-old, "because who wants to travel with sundry products? But recently, more so during the COVID-induced lockdown, people have become more strict about their AM and PM routines, even while travelling. Catering to this demand, many brands have come up with mini versions of their products. Almost everything one needs fits into small bottles and tubes," says the Mumbai-based influencer runs the Instagram account TravelStoriesbyUs, along with her friend Malav Jhaveri.

While these minis are handy for those with peripatetic lives, they also work perfectly as testers for online shoppers. "Every other day, a new brand is launched on social media," says Sutariya. "You are tempted to sample the products, but buying a full size bottle can be a risk: Will it suit my skin? Do I like it enough to have so much of it? That's when minis to the rescue! This has helped me choose products that have become a part of my regimen." Sutariya does wish however, that more brands would shift to sustainable packaging.

Just Herbs micro-mini lipstick trial kit

About eight million tonnes of plastic enters our oceans every year, according to data collected by the Oceans Climate Reality Project, India. Elsie Gabriel, its national coordinator and founder of Young Environmentalists Programme, says that the beauty and self-care industry could play an important role in climate mitigation.

Deep Lalvani, founder of clean and sustainable beauty curation platform Sublime Life, observes another facet of mini consumption: "In a value-conscious country such as ours, mini trial packs are popular for high-end products. We also have many B2C [Business-to-Consumer] brands and much of their marketing strategy is driven towards sampling and trials. There's a demand as well. Consumers sometimes reach out to us saying that they want a particular product in a smaller size because it meets their needs and they don't want to waste the product. Unfortunately, it is a double-edged sword."

Miniature versions of cosmetic and skincare products, in adorable bottles and tubes, have slid into our make-up pouches

The online store Just Herbs, that offers herbal and organic cosmetic and beauty products, admits about 30 to 40 per cent of their sales comes from their trial kits. They have a dedicated section on their website. For R495, one can try three hair or skincare products, and for Rs 595, one can sample up to seven products. Their micro-mini lipstick trial kit is priced at R595 and allows one to try as many as 16 different shades. "We launched micro-mini lipsticks about two-and-a-half years ago," says Megha Sabhlok, co-founder of Just Herbs. "The other trial kits have been on our site for a while. To be honest, they were created to cater to the demand and requests that we received from customers. Being an online store only, customers couldn't try these products in real life and wanted smaller packs to see what works for them best."

Acknowledging that sustainable packaging has been on their mind, the 36-year-old shares, "We are constantly thinking of a sustainable alternative to our plastic packaging. While glass is an option, it is expensive and delicate."

Elsie Gabriel, national co-ordination, Oceans Climate Reality Project

Artisanal fragrance brand Isak credits its discovery pack - nine unisex perfumes in 2 ml vials for R650 - for about 30 per cent of their sales revenue. "People want to try a fragrance before buying," says founder Vidushi Vijayvergiya. They launched the mini-vials early in 2020. "While we can cut down on minis with a robust distribution network that allows people to try the products in stores," says Vijayvergiya, "It is important to note that the consumer's shopping pattern has changed significantly post pandemic. They want to try everything in the convenience of their home - be it clothes or perfume."

But what about the environmental impact? "Glamorous packaging, smaller sizes, not to forget samples and freebies, pile up plastic, paper, glass and synthetic cases in landfills," says Gabriel.

Isak's discovery box carries 2ml vials

Isak is in the process of setting up a system that brings back empty full size bottles to be reused. They are hoping to set up collection centres by the end of this year, but there is very little they can do about the mini-vials. "To prevent counterfeit, we pack them such that they can't be used again," she says. "We have to do this to maintain our brand."

However, Gabriel does not see recycling as an option. "It adds to the non-biodegradable waste which consumers may not see through. Plastic recycling allows more plastic to exist on the planet." She adds that the UN environmental programme has warned that if the waste trend continues, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.

Asha and Sukriti Jindal Khaitan; (right) Vinay Gupta

Perhaps one of the solutions can be the use of alternate packaging material, as implemented by asa Beauty, a luxury clean beauty brand. Born in January 2021, the brand launched a miniature range in October to reach out to a larger segment. Today, it contributes to about 25 per cent of their sales. "We came out with products in three categories - lip to cheek tint [which can also be used as eye-shadow], mini lipsticks and mascara," says Asha Jindal Khaitan. She co-founded the brand in partnership with her daughter-in-law, Sukriti.

A combination of three factors sets asa Beauty apart: One, their full-sized products come with refill options. Secondly, they use aluminium instead of plastic in packaging; and third, they have a recycle-and-reuse policy. A consumer can send back empty bottles and earn reward points. "On an average, a woman uses about 16 products on her face," says Sukriti. "It's an opportunity to give them one product that can be used in multiple ways, and educate them about recycling."

The hotel industry, which runs on travel-size toiletries, is also shifting towards sustainability. Not just eco resorts, even business hotels such as Ibis have switched to fixed, refillable bottles. "We offered refillable dispensers in our first hotel in India," says Vinay Gupta, director of Operations, adding that the parent group, Accor, aims to remove single-use plastic items in all hotels by the end of this year.