Make your own DIY ethical lipsticks through Shiina Cosmetic Workshop

Did you know that women eat an average of 7 lipsticks during their lifetime? What effects could that bring to women who wear lipstick every day? Environmental activist Shiina Tsuyuki realized this and took action.

After becoming the first Japanese woman to graduate from the “most eco-friendly school in the world,” Green School Bali, Tsuyuki launched the “Shiina Cosmetics Workshop.” It is an online service for both companies and consumers to experience making their own ethical lipstick.

All the materials used in Tsuyuki’s online workshop are natural ingredients, thereby producing safe and healthy lipsticks for people to use. There is transparency too, disclosing information on where they come from.

More people are starting to realize that there are ethical products in the market, but very few alternatives for cosmetics. Moreover, her workshop values hygiene, safety, and transparency, while avoiding using plastic for lipstick containers and appliances as much as possible. This is because Tsuyuki strongly believes that the cosmetics industry is not only creating a threat to our health, but it is also creating a considerable impact on the environment with the products they produce.

The first impact is the overuse of plastic often seen in cosmetic containers because of its cheapness and firmness. Cosmetics industries are said to produce 120 billion packages globally annually, many of which are made of plastic. However, more than 90% of plastics produced are not recycled, and 30% flow into the sea and landfills.

Then there is palm oil (coconut oil), a material found in about 70% of cosmetics and skincare products. Palm oil carries the risk of threatening the environment when coconut trees are cut down in rainforests for cultivation. This ultimately results in desertification, animal extinction, and even natural disasters to happen.

Lastly, there is mica — a raw material used in cosmetics — which involves child labor in their collection. Lead is also used in many lipsticks, known to increase risks of breast cancer. Moreover, there are untold stories like animal experiments that are conducted to test cosmetics and their safety.

Tsuyuki hopes people will understand the materials used in cosmetics and their manufacturing process from her workshops, so that they will be able to protect both their health and the environment through ethical products. Like the theme of her brand — “Beauty Comes with Earth” — Tsuyuki believes that consumers’ choices have the power to change the environment. “Small choices you make every day can change both your body and the environment,” Tsuyuki said.

The DIY lipstick kit that she provides in her workshops also includes videos that explain the connection between cosmetics and the environment. Instructions also share how to get hold of lipstick ingredients so that people can continue making their own lipsticks. So far, she has held approximately 40 workshops, reaching roughly 500 participants. Tsuyuki hopes to reach more people through her workshops, so that cosmetics could someday become something to “make” rather than to “buy.”