Wary of toxic ingredients that harm the body or the earth, eco-conscious beauty fans have high expectations when it comes to the sustainability of products. French beauty brand La Roche-Posay is hoping to meet those demands by doing away with plastic in favour of cardboard sunscreen tubes.

Long used to store everything from booze to grains to medical specimens, glass packaging is experiencing a resurgence in the beauty sector. But why are contemporary buyers drawn to products encased in this ancient and fragile material? And how can glass packaging influence perceptions of brands?

From ‘clean’ to ‘cruelty-free’, beauty buzzwords often signal products’ eco-credentials, but the industry as a whole faces a huge obstacle when it comes to sustainability: its reliance on single-use plastics. As concerns about the environment abound, Selfridges is introducing fragrance refills.

Beauty products are full of cryptic labels – paraben-free, non-comedogenic – and conflicting information. How do people know what’s right for them and where do they look for guidance? Canvas8 polled 2,100 Americans and spoke to eight people to identify what shapes their path to purchase.