Sustainable Procurement & CSR News - Cosmetics Industry

"Sustainability" has been one of the biggest — if not the biggest — buzzwords in the beauty industry for years. Efforts and entire marketing campaigns focused on refillable, recyclable and post-consumer recycled packaging, "clean" formulating, microplastics, carbon footprints, water waste, energy efficiency, supplier transparency and so forth have become abundant and commonplace. And all of these topics are important when it comes to answering consumers' calls for beauty products that create less waste. But there's also a less-discussed subject of arguably equal importance that some say is the new frontier of the sustainable beauty movement: biodiversity.

"Biodiversity is the variety of plants, animals and other living creatures on earth. We all rely on nature for the raw materials we need to sustain healthy lives. By caring for biodiversity, we're caring for ourselves," explains Lara Koritzke, communications and marketing director at the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), a nonprofit association that "promotes sourcing with respect" for corporations and makers of consumer goods. 

Google searches for ‘sustainable beauty’ topped 6.7 million last year, demonstrating our interest in greener living. With more and more brands clamouring to satisfy that demand, here are the new names to know if you’re keen to make your routine more eco-conscious.

Garnier is pressing on with its commitment to more sustainable beauty products, with its launch of "No-Rinse Conditioner." The company's president Adrien Koskas tells CNN's Melissa Bell why profits don't factor into its eco-mission.

The UK-based cosmetics company embraces sustainability by limiting air travel through strict policies and 'regular' intervention by the travel team

On 10th December 2021, Clarins became an official member of Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT). This recognizes our company's commitment to sourcing that always respects biodiversity and people.

L’Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific has reshaped the beauty experience offered in its Lancôme, Kiehl’s and YSL Beauté flagship boutiques at CDF Mall in Haitang Bay.

Each outlet now has a new look complete with sustainable design and new beauty tech innovations, including virtual make-up try-on and skin diagnostics driven by Augmented Reality, as well as e-shop purchase options to create a fully integrated digital and physical experience.

THE WHAT? Maybelline New York has unveiled its sustainability program. Dubbed Conscious Together, the initiative aims to create a more sustainable business model for the L’Oréal-owned brand.

THE DETAILS By 2030, the brand is aiming to make all plastic packaging from recycled plastic, invest in recycling technologies in partnership with South Pole, reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent from its full product lifecycle and use 95 percent bio-based ingredients from abundant minerals of circular processes.

Beauty giant Maybelline New York just launched Green Edition, a line of makeup products made without animal-derived ingredients. The line includes Mega Mousse Mascara, Balmy Lip Blush, and Superdrop Tinted Oil. 

The new Green Edition line is part of Maybelline’s new Conscious Together sustainability program and is its first line to be certified by Cradle to Cradle, which assesses products for environmental and social performance.

While b-corps are generally working towards improved social and environmental impacts in their industry, the newly formed B Beauty Coalition believes open collaboration could mean real progress.
The coalition​ was officially launched in January and now includes 30 companies, with more reportedly in the works to join, spanning many global markets. 

Shaun Russell, the founder of Skandinavisk which is one of the six founding brands of the coalition, said the concept is to bring together individual b-corps together to develop and research plans for improving different areas of social and environmental impact in the beauty industry.

UK sustainable e-commerce specialist Counter Culture Store is on a mission to make ethical beauty products more discoverable and convenient to buy online – aspects that appeal to a broad set of consumers, its founder says.

Where plastics fail in biodegradability and recyclability, some companies are turning to paper packaging, which doesn’t entirely get brands out of the woods of meeting sustainability goals.
Paper packaging, including cardboard, has been a part of cosmetics packaging for a long time as boxes and wrapping, but sustainability goals have been pushing companies to innovate and use paper and cardboard more prominently.

Packaging suppliers are expanded from the days of boxes to create paper tubes, bottles and other containers.

Online sustainable cosmetics educational platform Re-Sources wants to close the knowledge gap between beauty formulators, packaging technologists and marketing to streamline green product development.

Many beauty manufacturers, suppliers and retailers have made important sustainability pledges for this coming decade, but as efforts kickstart in shifting linear business models to circular ways of working, there remains a raft of challenges along the entire supply chain.

Cosmetics companies are aware and invested in sustainable action, but more can be done to drive better beauty consumption and take a more holistic approach, according to findings in Brazil that offer wider valuable learnings, say researchers.

Over 30 leading B Corp beauty brands, spread across four continents, have joined together to form the B Corp Beauty Coalition. 

The aim of the coalition is to provide space for the world’s sustainable beauty brands to come together to discuss how to deliver their vision of “beauty for good”. 

Davide Bollati, president of the sustainable haircare brand and B Corp Davines, is one of the founding members of the B Corp Beauty Coalition. He said that the idea formed after a number of beauty leaders got together and discussed the discomfort they felt around the social and environmental footprint being left by the beauty industry as a whole. 

“We concluded that our respective solo efforts to enable positive change can be enhanced through a partnership of mutual commitment,”  Bollati said. 

Coty has launched Chloé Eau de Parfum Naturelle, the new feminine fragrance from Chloé. The vegan fragrance is made with 100% natural origin, ethically-sourced ingredients and comes in lower carbon-impact packaging. It was launched in Europe and Asia Pacific travel retail in October, with an Americas travel retail roll-out planned for May 2022.

We round up of our five most-read stories relating to one of the hottest topics in beauty today, featuring innovative solutions from APAC’s sustainable beauty movement.

1 – Chew on this: Dentist develops eco-friendly toothpaste tablets that meet dental care standards

2 – Sun and surf: Kao to relaunch sun care brand Allie with ‘ocean safety’ focus in 2022

3 – The right choice: Retailer A.S. Watson sees P&G collaboration as opportunity to expand sustainable beauty offerings

4 – ‘Talking trash’: Upcycled ingredients to soar in 2022 across EMEA

5 – Refill revolution: Trestique brings refillable, one-stop makeup routine to promote repeat buys

British fragrance house Molton Brown has unveiled a limited edition eco-conscious festive collection, underlining its sustainability mission on its 50th anniversary. The collection is housed in 1970s-inspired gift boxes, created from tree-free paper and recycled materials. It was launched in selected travel retail stores in November.

L’OCCITANE Travel Retail has released a sustainable line of solid soaps and shampoos in travel retail.

The vegan range offers a more sustainable alternative to traditional liquid bath products and come in plastic-free packaging.

The formulations are made with a minimum of 95% biodegradable ingredients, in line with the strict criteria of the L’OCCITANE Clean Charter.

The fragranced trio of 250gm body bars are available in Shea, Lavender and Verbena scents. The bars are palm oil-free and have been infused with Omega 3-rich Shea butter.

The bars are formulated with pure vegetable oils made with 99% readily-biodegradable ingredients.

UK startup above&beyond has launched a plastic-free, refillable and reusable lip balm designed to last a lifetime – a product its founders say will shakeup the fast beauty world and its plastic problem.

Aluminum packaging is on the rise as a sustainable packaging option because it’s not just highly recyclable, but infinitely recyclable, but it’s also dentable and is implicated in environmental toxicity.
The packaging type is blossoming in the beauty industry, with some brands integrating aluminum bottles or tubes for traditional consumable products, like dry shampoo, hair products and lotions, as well as integrating metal packaging into refillable products, like color cosmetics brand Trestique​ with aluminum packaging and Dove’s new stainless steel refillable deodorant.

In partnership with global specialty materials company Eastman, the beauty maker plans to meet 2025 sustainability goals using recycled and/or recyclable plastic for its luxury cosmetics packaging.