Focus on raw materials

COSSMA: Everyone sees the topic of sustainability from a different angle – even in the cosmetics industry. How do you define it?

Dagmar Chlosta: To me, the company’s ecological footprint is an indicator for sustainability, and as a company we manage our own forests as part of a sustainable supply chain. Our endeavours started already over 35 years ago when the company launched its own unique reforestation project in Brazil. Annually, around 20,000 seedlings are planted on an area of around 10,000 hectares, renewing 20m³ of wood per hour.

Our developments are based on the premise to enable consumers to enjoy conscious sustainable consumption. In my opinion, sustainability needs to allow consumers to experience high performing products whilst reducing the consumption of resources in the production process. Obviously, this is a tightrope to walk.

In which areas can sustainability be implemented particularly well and where is it rather more difficult?

In colour cosmetics, the challenge has always been to create as many different colours as possible in the most extreme versions (high glossy, super matte, glittery, metallic, or multichromatic) and to incorporate them in the most performant textures. Then, to fill them into a packaging which provides an easy application such as one-stroke or gliding and to make sure that the texture maintains its properties over time. It is becoming increasingly difficult to match these two requirements due to the limited choice of (raw) materials. Due to intense research, we are able to adapt to the ever-changing market requirements and circumstances. A company needs to stay vigilant and adaptive and ensure to always be ahead of the curve. 

What projects are you currently working on to improve sustainability?

Overall, we are working on various facets of sustainability. Most importantly is the product development and innovation pipeline. People often refer to the various ‘Rs’ of sustainability. We want to stay focused and are therefore concentrating on what I consider to be the essential two: respect and reduce.

Respecting our environment means being conscious about the use of sustainably sound raw materials which have been evaluated thoroughly and are considered safe for application and not harmful to the consumer nor the environment; this evaluation is either done by research institutes or also in collaboration with our customers – the brands – who often have so-called black and clean lists which build the basis for selection or de-selection of raw materials.

On the reduce side, we aim to avoid waste, reduce packaging, and offer creative packaging design that simplify mechanics as well as recharge or refill concepts that enable real savings of material.

How can sustainability be implemented in the company independ-ently of production processes?

We are managing our own forest that does not only serve to supply raw materials, but also serves as a source of CO2 compensation. According to a study by TÜV Rheinland, the reforestation project in Brazil is storing more than 900,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in its biomass. Since 2014, Faber-Castell is producing climate-neutral and is certified as a carbon neutral company. Around one third of the company’s own forest area is not used for timber production but protects biodiversity. Numerous animal and plant species, some of which are threatened by extinction, have found a new habitat within these natural areas. 

But it’s not only about our own forest. We are using 82% renewable energy and this high proportion of environmentally friendly energies is constantly being expanded. At our production site in Germany for example, we are producing not only solar energy but also generating energy making use of our own water turbine in the river running by our premises. On top of that, burning wood waste from the pencil production also serves as an energy source. Even in the canteen, the focus is on sustainability – deposit containers instead of disposable ones for to-go food serving.

What role do your employees play in the development of sustainable strategies?

Two years ago, we kicked-off our strategy ‘Safe Beauty for the Planet’ which is based on seven strategic focus areas – one of them being ‘sustainability’. Across all hierarchy levels all our teammates are involved in working on a myriad of objectives that they created for us to be able to offer premium sustainability and innovation to our customers. 

As a matter of fact, we have developed our own sustainability index to be able to monitor and measure how the sustainability of individual products are changing for the better – starting with raw materials, via the supply chain and up to the actual product and its secondary packaging. It is our pledge that each new product will have to be more sustainable than the previous generation. 

I am incredibly proud that these 50+ projects are driven by our employees and that our strategy is greatly benefiting from the expertise of our creative and passionate teammates. Thanks to them, our strategy thrives and continues to evolve.

Can you please describe the process when an already existing product is made more sustainable as such?

Regular meetings and updates with the product management, sales and R&D teams are helping to have a very clear understanding about the degree of sustainability within the product portfolio, especially where gaps have been identified and need improvements. The self-developed sustainability index of course greatly helps in this context. Based on that we define specifications of new products with clear targets to improve the sustainability index always aiming to ensure a future proof portfolio regarding market demands.

Depending on the status quo, this can be a completely new product or also the evolution of an existing one. In parallel, the market is constantly monitored for new raw materials and ingredients. This is the basis for offering innovative products. We are not a research institute and therefore need to rely on the novelties we identify on the supplier side. A wide network and close relationships are thus crucial to make sure to be aware of any potentials. This is of course not a one-way street. On the other hand, we are regularly briefing suppliers about our requirements. Combining market assessments with R&D know-how regarding formula, packaging and processes are the foundation we are building on when creating new solutions for our customers.

When thinking of your company, many people first have the classic wooden pencil in mind. What role does this material currently play?

Considering all the beforementioned remarks, we will always focus on wood as a key material in line with our tradition and heritage and make sure it stays a relevant raw material in the industry. That obviously means to address three major points:

• Customer relevance: The wood pencil should stay relevant for customers and consumers alike. In 2021, we launched a pencil in PEFC-certified (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) wood which is airtight and therefore allows to offer volatile high performing textures making it the ideal sustainable cosmetics product.
• Made in Germany! We maintain our wood production in Germany as we can guarantee high quality and sustainability that allow us to satisfy the demands of even the most discerning customers and simultaneously offer a wide variety of different product types and consumer wishes.
• No greenwashing: Make sure the raw material is not just looking green! With the reforestation project in Brazil, we oversee the raw material wood as well as the rest of the supply chain.

How would you rate the use of plastics in cosmetics in terms of sustainability?

Some products currently just don’t work without plastic. Mechanical pencils for example constitute a major share of the products on the market. Consumers are looking for the convenience and the performance offered by mechanical pencils. Therefore, to us it is no solution to stop producing those products but instead to improve them by making use of better or recycled plastics. But to be honest: currently this is just not possible for all components due to cosmetics regu-lations and customer requirements. That’s why we are considering new solutions to reduce the overall material use. We focus on Key-Performance-Indicators (KPIs) like applications per gram of packaging material.