In the fight against climate change and pollution, every little bit helps. One of the biggest changes we can make at an individual level is reducing our consumption and reducing what we throw away. The gases from landfill are some of the main causes of harmful carbon emissions. And litter is a huge contributor to the death of critical sea life.

If you're looking to make a change, one area to look at is your beauty routine. Beauty is an area rife with single-use products, too much packaging, and too much waste. But there are so many ways to make you beauty routine more sustainable, without having to compromise. We've rounded up some easy changes you can make below.

1. Use refillable products

Refillable products decrease the need for new packaging. And luckily for us there are some truly beautiful brands creating covetable and refillable products. Hermès has designed its range of Rouge Hermès lipsticks to be refillable. Gucci Beauty's stunning vintage powder compacts are refillable. Even brands like St. Rose has made their hand sanitisers refillable. Then there's brands like ASUVI which makes refillable deodorant.

2. Switch to reusable or dissolvable makeup wipes

Makeup wipes are a problem. Wipes in general are a problem. They're not biodegradable and are some of the most common pieces of litter found washing up on beaches. Animals choke on them and they clog drains. They're bad news. Instead try the dissolvable wipes from Conserving Beauty, they breakdown completely when you wet them.

You can also try using these from Mecca. They're reusable for about 200 machine washes. Another recent discovery are the pads from Sabbia Co, which are designed to cleanse your face like a wipe would, only without cleanser. These are great if you prefer something a bit larger and they're machine washable too.

3. Try non-plastic cotton buds

Cotton buds are one of the biggest culprits of single-use plastic. But they're often an essential, and it's hard to find a substitute. But there are brands that make cotton tips with paper stems, which biodegrade in landfill. Have a look next time you're at the supermarket.

4. Choose a bamboo or biodegradable toothbrush

Toothbrushes are another source of single-use plastic. So why not switch to bamboo? Grants of Australia sell bamboo toothbrushes in varying softness levels. You can also get toothbrushes made out of biodegradable corn starch from the Natural Family Co.

5. Get a laser-hair-removal-at-home device

It's a weird one, but getting laser hair removal (if you choose hair removal at all) is a more sustainable option than using disposable plastic razors. And, it's easy to get at-home devices for a fairly reasonable price these days. Happy Skin Co. and Go Bare are a few names to check out.

6. Support brands with a circular packaging program

Some brands encourage the return of packaging and will incentivise this will a discount. RAWKANVAS and Le Labo are example. They offers consumers that return their empty bottles a discount on their next order as an incentive.

7. Go for packaging-free, solid products

We've written before about switching to shampoo bars. They're a great environmentally friendly alternative, because bar-style products don't require plastic packaging. Brand NueBar has a range of shampoos, conditioners, face washes, body washes and exfoliators all in bar form. New Zealand brand Ethique is another option to look out for. It offers all sorts of bodycare products in bar form. It even makes laundry bars, which are super convenient to have in your bag when travelling.

8. Buy less

Not sure if you really need something? Don't buy it. As always, the best thing you can do for the environment is to buy less – and when you do buy, buy better.