{"id":46898,"date":"2018-12-12T14:34:43","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T14:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=46898"},"modified":"2018-12-14T16:24:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T16:24:07","slug":"rise-of-the-beauty-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/rise-of-the-beauty-bank","title":{"rendered":"#InPoverty: Why cosmetics are not simply a luxury, but a political tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

When millions in the UK are living below the breadline,\u00a0what value can a beauty product hold?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Sali Hughes, The Co-Founder of Beauty Banks, sorting donations to be sent to shelters, schools and charities across the UK, photo credit @thebeautybanks<\/p><\/div>\n

At this time of year, as the weather becomes colder and the needs of those in poverty become more severe, it only takes a trip to your nearest supermarket to stumble across <\/span>collections for your local foodbank.<\/span><\/a> At the front of many big-name stores across Wales and the rest of the UK, masses of canned goods are collected and distributed across the country to feed those who cannot afford to eat during the winter months- a time when a hot meal becomes all the more crucial. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It may seem surprising, therefore, to find that in many locally run collections this year, the usual tinned goods and other long-life foodstuffs are not at the top of the list of desired donations. Instead, many churches and other charitable organisations across Wales are now asking people to count up and contribute their unopened toiletries; calling for razors, shampoo and shower gels, rather than baked beans or dried pasta. <\/span><\/p>\n

These types of collections are operating on a larger scale too. <\/span>In Kind Direct,<\/span><\/a> for example, is a charity who has been operating since 1997, and over the past two decades has donated what they refer to as \u2018consumer goods\u2019 to those in need, ensuring that no usable product is wasted. <\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, at just the beginning of this year, Sali Hughes – who is the resident beauty columnist for The Guardian – and her colleague Jo Jones launched a project called <\/span>\u2018Beauty Banks\u2019<\/span><\/a>; a nationwide collection of toiletries and cosmetics which are sent to shelters across the country for those who cannot afford to buy them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why donate products?<\/b><\/p>\n

When looking at the statistics about poverty in the UK, the numbers surrounding hunger are clear. In the September of this year, The Guardian published an article which claimed that 14 million people in the UK are \u2018living below the breadline\u2019, with more than half of those people having been stuck in the same cycle of poverty for over a year. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, <\/span>The Trussell Trust,<\/span><\/a> a leading charity which aims to tackle UK hunger, saw its foodbanks provide over 600,000 emergency supplies to people in crisis between April and September 2018. This was a 13% increase on the same period in 2017, and the charity suggests foodbank use is only set to rise further during the winter months as the wait for benefit payments is elongated. <\/span><\/p>\n

This then begs the question: when so many people in this country cannot afford to eat, why are people choosing to donate a seemingly superficial product like a makeup compact? <\/span><\/p>\n

The evidence is more substantial than you think.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGreater earning potential\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Research has suggested that access to cosmetics is not only linked to improved mental health, but connected to employability- something which the Welsh Minister for Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan, defines as \u2018<\/span>the most sustainable route out of poverty.\u2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n