Green beauty and sustainability – how green is beauty? We have all heard of clean beauty, organic beauty, natural beauty … but where does being green fit into this?
It is ironic that an industry that is built around helping us look and feel good does not have the same agenda in mind for the health and beauty of our planet. What does it mean to be green in the beauty industry? Statistics report that 120 billion units of packaging are produced each year, this is the industry with the largest amount of single-used packaging. Open up your cosmetics bag and bathroom cabinet and you will understand how quickly this adds up. Yet only 50% of us recycle our bathroom waste as opposed to 90% of us recycling kitchen waste.
Whilst there is heightened interest in sustainability, many organisations are placing this on their agenda for the future. L’Occitane and Unilever have committed to a deadline of 2025 to resolve this with L’Occitane introducing moulded paper pulp trays to replace plastic ones and 95% post-consumer recycled aluminium into tubes for products like hand creams. 47% of L’Occitane’s worldwide boutiques now offer in-store recycling services.
Estee Lauder has recently announced sustainability goals that are specific to their travel retail division focusing on emissions, waste, and energy. By 2025 they have committed to transitioning all of their paper cartons to FSC board and to reducing their plastic usage by removing plastic film wrap on their cartons by 2023.
Aveda is one of the few to have already tackled this with more than 84% of their skincare and hair styling PET bottles and jars now made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials. They are the first brand to appoint a global advocate for sustainability, Arizona Muse, a model, and climate activist who will be spreading their news on sustainability and veganism.
Aveda have also recently announced that all of their products are vegan – they have even removed beeswax citing this as one of their biggest challenges. Beeswax is included in formulas to help create texture, smoothness, structure, and colour payoff. Whilst there are alternatives to using beeswax in formulas, as Aveda abide by naturally derived ingredients they opted to use their own blend of plant-based butters and waxes.
Climate change is a big consideration. It is not just packaging and formulations but the amount of energy and water we use in our products, with renewable energy sources like wind-powered factories, providing us with alternatives.
The beauty industry is one of the biggest offenders in using single use plastic. Much of this ends up in landfills and eight million tonnes of plastic are said to make its way back into our oceans every year. The United Nations did a study which found that if we continue in our current ways, we will have more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
In 2018 microbeads, tiny plastic particles found in cosmetic formulas including soaps, that contaminate water, the ocean and wildlife were banned. Plastic packaging, wet wipes and cotton buds are some of the worst offenders, and in the UK we use over 1,102,822,000 and 1.8 billion cotton buds each year. In 2019 the UK government introduced a ban on cotton buds that was delayed due to the onset of COVID. One of the positives coming out of the pandemic is the term ‘conscious consumerism’, which refers to how we have become far more aware of our decisions and their impact on the health of our planet, with campaigners like Greta Thunberg bringing this to the forefront.
Have you ever stopped to think about whether the packaging of the product you are buying is sustainable or recyclable? Next time you pick up a beauty product take a look at the packaging or the base of a plastic bottle and tube, you will notice symbols that relate to how to dispose of the packaging.
Formulations are equally important with harsh ingredients and toxins found in everything from our moisturisers, to our cosmetics and hair care products.
Lush is one of the brands ahead of the game in sustainability, in 2019 they opened what they refer to as ‘Naked’ stores (where the products and not the people are naked). They never test on animals and avoid the use of harsh, toxic ingredients, minimizing waste and energy usage.
L’Occitane is another company reviewing single-use products as is Ren Skincare naming 2021 as the year to tackle sustainability, starting with their packaging as packaging accounts for 70% of the beauty industry’s waste.
Garnier have committed to using zero virgin plastic in their range by 2025, saving 37 000 tonnes of plastic each year. Last year Garnier developed a digital labelling system that scored the environmental and social impact from A to E across their hair care products. This forms part of Loreals 10-year sustainability plan and Garnier’s Green Beauty Initiative, which takes into account 14 planetary impact factors – from greenhouse gas emissions, to water scarcity, ocean acidification and biodiversity – measured at each stage of a product’s lifecycle. Garnier has also launched a line of zero plastic waste solid shampoo bars that are packaged in FSC cardboard.
Whilst a lot of what we read is about how multi-national companies are tackling their sustainability initiatives there are a number of brands doing a great job. To name a few
Wild Deodorant
Is a new deodorant brand made from durable aluminium and recycled plastic, that is completely compostable and refillable. It also contributes a percentage of all sales to a charity On a Mission, to support reforestation projects and to offset its carbon use.
KanKan
is produced by artisans in the UK using sustainable, vegan, and cruelty-free ingredients. All products come in an aluminium can – like a soda – which is recycled many times and is easier to fill than a glass bottle. For every can sold, a tree is planted.
Soaper Duper
Is a bath and body brand that does not use SLS, SLES, parabens or artificial colours in any of its products or packaging. They rely heavily on recycled milk bottles and all their pumps are 100% recyclable. They support WaterAid to bring soap and water to communities.
Davines
Davines has been about for some time, with sustainability at the core of their business. They offset their carbon footprint and source environmentally friendly ingredients made by organic and / or ethical farming.
We need to constantly innovate in the beauty industry, thereby necessitating improved formulations and aesthetics, whilst being mindful of waste that may end up in landfills. In certain categories, like colour cosmetics this can be a lot more challenging as there are not many attractive alternatives available to choose from.
When you have a large portfolio made up of many SKUs packaged into differing components comprising of plastic, along with countless formulations, it does take time to introduce a sustainability programme. From coming up with a plan to a monitoring process, and actionable milestones this does not happen overnight and there is a lot to consider across the business.
One of the benefits of starting a brand in 2021 is you can develop your range with the end in mind by selecting packaging that is sustainable and really understanding the ingredients you are using across your product range. On the other end of the scale, if you are a large multi-national company, this is going to take time to phase in, but it is important to be mindful of new product development – there are alternatives available from components to ingredients that can be introduced across your brand.
If you are looking to develop a brand in the beauty, spa or wellness industry or you have an existing brand and you are looking for consultancy support to move things forward, get in touch, we would love to hear from you. Bespoke Advantage is a brand management company working with clients across the beauty, spa and wellness industry to develop their brands from ‘concept to shelf’.
As a beauty and wellness consultancy, we develop a comprehensive strategy for your business by understanding your vision (and the marketplace) and then delving into the details to create order and structure neatly packaged up to deliver you commercial results. We design brand identities and visual elements, manage your product development, build your go-to-market strategies to help you to engage with your ideal customers.
We are proud to support our clients from different regions of the world – from Saudi Arabia, to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia, the US, Canada, Europe and the UK – from entrepreneurs, to multi-award-winning beauty and wellness brands, retailers, investors, distributors, embassies and trade bodies. And we work with you across the retail sector, and the professional sector, including the hair care market, professional nail care market, spas, salons, hotels and the aesthetics market – here’s a snapshot.
If you would like to discuss your ideas with us, get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
As an international beauty and wellness consultancy, we are proud to work alongside clients from different regions of the world – Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia, Canada, US, Europe and the UK . We love collaborating with entrepreneurs, multi-award-winning beauty and wellness brands, retailers, investors, distributors, embassies and trade bodies across the retail sector, and the professional sector, including those selling into the hair care market, hotels, spas, professional nail care market and aesthetics market.
If you need support with devising a new strategy, developing a new product range, designing your packaging or rebranding your current product range, managing your PR, or with planning your market-entry into international markets, get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
Bespoke is a brand management expert with deep industry knowledge, extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of the beauty and personal industry in the UK and Europe, complemented by an extensive network of contacts in the relevant market segments. Bespoke’s expertise, experience and contacts significantly contributed the success of the UK/Europe project with the companies that Bespoke assisted successfully entering or well on track to enter the UK and European markets. The Bespoke team was very professional, responsive and obliging and always delivered within timeframes. It was a pleasure to work with them.
Working with Janet over the past year has been a real pleasure, she has fantastic industry experience and knowledge of the UK beauty market. She has delivered a number of webinars for my clients looking at how to enter the UK market, providing an overview of the market and how to build a strategy. She took the briefs we provided and added real value to them, included key insights and information that my clients have found incredibly useful. Feedback on these sessions has been very positive. Janet is a clear communicator and has always delivered as agreed and on time. We are continuing to work together on other projects and I very much value the conversations we share.
‘Janet has a wealth of experience across retail, buying and marketing. She conducted a full strategic review of our cross functional business and the travel retail market to develop a comprehensive buying and quality control strategy that was signed off at board level. I highly recommend her as an asset to any business.’
‘As a Queensland-based company, we were determined to tap into the European market and establish a strong presence. From the very beginning, Bespoke Advantage demonstrated a deep understanding of our export goals and objectives. Their comprehensive knowledge of the European market, coupled with their extensive network of contacts, enabled them to connect us with key decision-makers and influential stakeholders in our target countries. Their strategic guidance and insights were invaluable in shaping our export strategy and positioning us for long-term success.’
‘Through Janet’s management skills, expertise and proven track record on the job she successfully managed the purchasing of our retail operations and ensured the integrity of our brands in-stores. Her enthusiasm and total dedication, delivered results in any project she was involved in.’
‘Janet has excellent beauty market knowledge. Level headed with clear vision, direction and the ability to drive business forward, Janet led the teams through a complete product design change advising on what the key marketing messages should be, incorporating her technical knowledge and beauty expertise.’
‘Absolutely fantastic course. Condensed learning from Janet, an expert in developing beauty brands. Also, valuable introductions to expert professionals, in the Masterclass sessions. In 12 weeks, you will learn from Janet, what would take years to learn by yourself. A very worthwhile investment’