Pink Mary Kay is going green

CARROLLTON, Texas (NBC) - For those even a little familiar with the makeup arena, chances are at some point they have heard of Mary Kay. With a sales force of close to 2 million people, it is hard not to be familiar with the brand and its Pthings a little green.

At the Mary Kay distribution center in Carrollton, Texas they are moving thousands of boxes a day, which means a lot of packaging. However, instead of just letting it end up in the trash, their focus is to be proactive in their efforts.

"We know that what we do today will affect the next generation," said Crayton Webb with Mary Kay.

Mary Kay is leading they way with its Pink Doing Green program, where consultants and customers are encouraged to recycle compacts.

"We decided to engage in a compact recycling program, and we asked all of our independent sales force members to bring back their previous pink and black compacts," said Webb. "And for every compact we got back, we pledged to plant a tree-- up to 100,000 trees."

The most recent initiative can be found inside almost every one of its shipping boxes.

"These peanuts are made out of corn and potato starch," said Shelly Miller with Mary Kay.

Bio-peanuts are the next generation in shipping supplies. They are so environmentally friendly that they completely dissolve in water.

"We feel that protecting the environment and also protecting our product as best as we can is the driver for making the decision to go with this product," said Miller.

It is just one more way the company known for making people look good is doing some good of its own.

"Mary Kay Ash said, 'You can do it,'" said Webb. "She would have been really proud of this because she believed in doing well by doing good."

Mary Kay also offers premiere parking for its employees who carpool and incentives for those who use public transportation.