Beauty in Mind with Amarjit Sahota

The question I would like to ask is: how can sustainability create innovation in the beauty industry? 

When considering sustainability, the traditional approach involved reducing impacts. Cosmetic brands would look at re-formulating with green(er) ingredients, lower plastic and material use, as well as undertake programmes to reduce carbon emissions, energy use, waste, etc. Making the same products with lower environmental impact. Companies would communicate how they have become greener. But, there was no innovation as they were preoccupied on reducing emissions and lowering impacts. That changed: we are seeing innovation in new products, sources of ingredients, and packaging. Ecovia Intelligence for example, will be showcasing sustainability innovations at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, hosted in Paris on October 30th to 1st November.

The waterless cosmetics segment is based on innovation. Companies like  Ethique, SBTRCT and Pinch of Colour are developing shampoo bars, solid moisturisers, cream bars, sheet masks and related products. Waterless cosmetics have reduced environmental footprint as they have less packaging, lower transportation and distribution costs, and can be self-preserving. 

Upcycling involves innovation in terms of new cosmetic ingredients, as O’right, Upcircle Beauty, Carbonwave, The Allwell Beauty brand, and others show. Waste materials are used for new purposes. Fruit kernels, vegetable seeds, and coffee grounds are some of the waste materials making their way from the food sector into cosmetic applications.  

Consumer opposition to single-use plastics is encouraging brands to create innovative packaging formats. They are trying to switch to sustainable packaging or greener materials. 

There is also a surge in refillable packaging. Although this is not innovative itself, we are seeing new business models / packaging formats.  

Especially the sustainable deodorants sector lead by Wild and Fuss is embracing refillables. Lush for example sells over 60% of its products without packaging at all. 

New sustainable products are being launched in the beauty industry, however their success will depend on customer behaviour. Shoppers will only buy novel products if they are convinced of their sustainability credentials. Consumers also need to be informed on how to use waterless products, what packaging to recycle, where and how to refill. 

Innovation may be creating new sustainable products, however are consumers being educated about them?