Plastic is a problem. It's undeniable.

A compound that exists for decades, and in some cases centuries, in landfill, our rate of production of plastic far outstrips its ability to breakdown. By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

We are surrounded by an ever growing pile of plastic choking our oceans and contributing to the greenhouse gases produced by landfill. We're eating it, breathing it and drinking it too. Since less than 10 percent of plastic is actually recycled, the only choice we have is to use less of it or stop using it at all.

In honour of Earth Month (April) and Earth Day which falls on 22 April, we're sharing ways we can all act more sustainably. As such, here are five plastic-free beauty brands. These are the ones making beautiful cosmetics and effective skincare without the use of any plastics in their packagings. Get to know them below.

Flavedo & Albedo

Flavedo & Albedo is unique. When you scroll through the brand's Instagram, you'll see a range of high-performance and beautifully stylised colour cosmetics. It seems more like an editorial and performance-based brand than an environmental crusader. It's only because the brand is so outspoken about its environmental promises that you would even guess it's one of the world leaders in plastic-free beauty.

Its lip and cheek tints come in wonderful, slim line metal tin and its shadow products come in a convenient and lusciously soft pencil format.

Ethique

A brand out of New Zealand, Ethique is a brand committed to reducing the global overconsumption of water and plastic. All the products are free of water and plastics. In fact, even the little sticker that seals each product is biodegradable.

Ethique products come in bar form. They're essentially just your regular beauty products but with all the water removed, allowing them to be packaged in paper instead of plastic bottles. The brand also offer a range of household cleaning products. I've used both and can attest to the fact the whole range is great. I'm a total concert on the cleaning products and genuinely haven't looked back since introducing them to my home.

Kjaer Weis

This premium, Scandinavian makeup brand is one you'll find stocked on Net-a-Porter. It's a brand dedicated to finding the best ingredients, ones that give the best look, but also are good for your body. The packaging is all made from a weighty metal, expect for the liquid products which are housed in a glass bottle with metal and rubber dropper.

Each of the metal-cased eyeshadows, blushes or lip products has heavy feeling that seems to only come with vintage cosmetic cases. The feeling is extremely luxurious. Plus, the palette products are designed to be refillable and refills come in a paper case and metal tin.

Elate Beauty

This brand using the same glass bottle and glass tubs that many other brands use, but instead of a plastic topper, it uses sustainably-sourced bamboo. Elate works closing with a green-certified and fair-trade manufacturer to create its bamboo solution to store cosmetics.

With a range of both skincare products and colour cosmetics, you can build and entirely plastic-free beauty routine from this one brand. We particularly love the loose face powers, which come in a diverse range of shades

Viva La Body

This brand doesn't just pride itself on being zero plastic, it's zero waste too. It has no packaging other than it's little paper shell which is designed to be compostable. Nothing goes in the bin.

Made in Darwin by a wife and husband duo, the products are vegan, natural and exclude ingredients like palm oil which contributes to impactful deforestation. A truly considered brand, it's one that you can feel good about using top to toe.