With fewer than 1% of global makeup launches using upcycled ingredients in the past 5 years – ingredient-focused sustainable concepts are a white space for makeup brands. Here Mintel suggests some innovations to disrupt this category.
While Mintel’s Global Outlook on Sustainability report shows eco activism has raised consumers’ awareness of environmental issues, the use of upcycled byproducts/waste in colour cosmetics, to reduce environmental pollution and the carbon footprint, still remains a niche concept in 2024, despite first emerging in the BPC industry around 10 years ago.
Consumers are now more aware of sustainable consumption models focused on repurposing ‘waste’ and are more mindful of minimising waste within their beauty routines. In the US, for example, 73% of skincare product users make efforts to minimise waste in their facial skincare routine.
Taking the long-term approach
Upcycling waste for use in makeup can be costly and time consuming – waste needs processing and optimising, with robust systems between suppliers and manufacturers. Yet amid climate change concerns, investing now can yield future financial reward.The BPC sector can learn from other industries. In textile and food industries, repurposing waste has driven growth in secondhand clothing (eg Depop, Vinted) and food rescue (eg Flashfood, Too Good To Go) platforms.Upcycled makeup can also expand beyond the ingredients, appealing to those interested in buying damaged BPC products at a reduced price. Already, BPC brands such Kankan and This is Beauty host sales of ‘imperfect’ or discounted lines (eg with misprints, damaged packaging).
Educate and validate
Awareness of upcycled ingredients in BPC is low, meaning that brands will need to build trust and credibility. Bold educational campaigns that visually depict the use of upcycled ingredients will resonate.Brands looking to enter this space should look to build trust with UpCycled certification – as over one in five (22%) UK adults believe independent certification from eco organisations helps denote sustainability for a BPC brand.
Promote benefits beyond sustainability
While sustainability is important, consumers are prioritising convenience and skin-friendliness over eco-friendliness in makeup. Brands would do well to point to the colour-enhancing and skincare merits of upcycled ingredients to widen appeal among makeup consumers prioritising these factors (over sustainability).
Look to plant based alternatives
Stronger actives (eg retinoids) can be harsh on sensitive skin, promoting the sustainable benefits of botanicals, in addition to their generally gentler attributes, will appeal. Since botanical/herbal claims are established in the sustainable colour cosmetics category, brands will need to consider ways to stand out that are more disruptive. They can explore the use of underused emerging ingredients (eg mushrooms), invest in biotech/lab-grown naturals and build on sustainable narratives by expanding on how plants are grown.
Deriving colour pigments from underutulised alternative plants/fungi
Fewer than 1% of colour cosmetics launched in 2024 featured mushrooms in their ingredient lists. There is room for more innovation, spurred on by the revival of mushroom-based beauty trends in the broader BPC category – thanks to mushrooms’ longevity and adaptogenic benefits. Brands can explore the pigment-creation benefits of fungi, as exemplified by the conceptual Alchemical Mycology makeup range, developed by multidisciplinary designer and biomolecular scientist Jesse Adler. Here the scientist focused on extracting pigments from fungi, a non-toxic and biodegradable source of sustainable colourants. Deriving pigments from mushrooms can potentially help reduce or replace the colour cosmetics industry’s reliance on pigments from non-renewable resources (eg minerals and fossil fuels).
Finally – bring out the excitement of eco
Consumers recognise the importance of tackling environmental issues. Injecting a bit of fun into the products can give consumers the extra boost they need to get fully on board. Getting consumers excited about eco-action by offering them opportunities to gain knowledge, can bring unexpected interest into familiar routines, and help them to feel a sense of making a positive change in the world.Many upcycled ingredients are sourced from the production processes for food and other items consumers are used to seeing in their daily lives. Brands can transform these in ways consumers would never expect, firing their imagination. Future brands can join the likes of Australian lip care brand Lanolips which offers products based on the emollient lanolin, a by-product of sheep farming which comes from washing sheep.
Rosalia Di Gesu
Associate Director Beauty & Personal Care, Mintel, London, United Kingdom,
www.mintel.com