The $500 billion beauty industry's "green" ambitions are a patchwork at best, with many brands struggling to make sustainable claims.
As consumers increasingly prioritize sustainability when making purchasing decisions, companies are scrambling to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly products. According to Simon Kucher's Global Sustainability Study 2021, 60% of consumers worldwide rate sustainability as an important purchase criterion, and 35% are willing to pay more for sustainable products or services.
To achieve these goals, beauty brands have set ambitious targets to reduce their environmental impact, including phasing out single-use plastics, providing recyclable, reusable, and refillable packaging, and increasing transparency around product ingredients. However, many consumers still struggle to understand the sustainability credentials of many products, due in part to inconsistent industry efforts.
The lack of standardization and regulation is a significant challenge for the beauty industry. There is no international standard for how much product ingredient information should be shared with customers, leaving brands free to set their own rules and goals. This has led to "greenwashing," where companies make unsubstantiated sustainability claims.
Even natural ingredients can have toxic effects if not properly formulated or sourced. Sasha Plavsic, founder of makeup brand ILIA Beauty, notes that purely organic materials often fall apart when exposed to high temperatures used in product manufacturing, leading to inconsistent results and subpar performance.
The industry's reliance on plastics is a major sustainability challenge. 95% of beauty packaging is thrown away, and most is not recycled. Companies are trying to phase out single-use plastics and adopt post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, but demand for PCR plastic is high, making it difficult to find in supply chains.
Beauty retailers also play a crucial role in promoting sustainability, but many vary in their standards when it comes to stocking sustainable products. Provenance founder Jessi Baker notes that smaller businesses often move more quickly to adopt climate-friendly practices due to lower overhead costs.
Governments and multinationals can help by setting regulations and minimum requirements for brands to operate from when making sustainability claims. However, market leadership is key in driving change. According to Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability and impact at Credo Beauty, regulation can raise the floor but not drive meaningful change on its own.
Ultimately, the beauty industry's "green" ambitions are falling short due to a lack of standardization, inconsistent industry efforts, and limited regulations. However, continued collective advocacy and initiative from brands and customers may be the most impactful vector for addressing the industry's climate shortcomings.
As consumers increasingly prioritize sustainability when making purchasing decisions, companies are scrambling to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly products. According to Simon Kucher's Global Sustainability Study 2021, 60% of consumers worldwide rate sustainability as an important purchase criterion, and 35% are willing to pay more for sustainable products or services.
To achieve these goals, beauty brands have set ambitious targets to reduce their environmental impact, including phasing out single-use plastics, providing recyclable, reusable, and refillable packaging, and increasing transparency around product ingredients. However, many consumers still struggle to understand the sustainability credentials of many products, due in part to inconsistent industry efforts.
The lack of standardization and regulation is a significant challenge for the beauty industry. There is no international standard for how much product ingredient information should be shared with customers, leaving brands free to set their own rules and goals. This has led to "greenwashing," where companies make unsubstantiated sustainability claims.
Even natural ingredients can have toxic effects if not properly formulated or sourced. Sasha Plavsic, founder of makeup brand ILIA Beauty, notes that purely organic materials often fall apart when exposed to high temperatures used in product manufacturing, leading to inconsistent results and subpar performance.
The industry's reliance on plastics is a major sustainability challenge. 95% of beauty packaging is thrown away, and most is not recycled. Companies are trying to phase out single-use plastics and adopt post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, but demand for PCR plastic is high, making it difficult to find in supply chains.
Beauty retailers also play a crucial role in promoting sustainability, but many vary in their standards when it comes to stocking sustainable products. Provenance founder Jessi Baker notes that smaller businesses often move more quickly to adopt climate-friendly practices due to lower overhead costs.
Governments and multinationals can help by setting regulations and minimum requirements for brands to operate from when making sustainability claims. However, market leadership is key in driving change. According to Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability and impact at Credo Beauty, regulation can raise the floor but not drive meaningful change on its own.
Ultimately, the beauty industry's "green" ambitions are falling short due to a lack of standardization, inconsistent industry efforts, and limited regulations. However, continued collective advocacy and initiative from brands and customers may be the most impactful vector for addressing the industry's climate shortcomings.
. it's not that hard to make sustainable claims if you actually put in the effort, but instead we get all this greenwashing nonsense where ppl are just paying more for empty promises 
. newsflash: just because a product is made from natural ingredients doesn't mean it's good for the planet 
. and don't even get me started on plastic packaging - if 95% of beauty products are trash, then why are we still using so much plastic? 
. gotta say tho, i love how some smaller businesses are leading the way in sustainability 
, maybe the industry can learn a thing or two from them 
.
. I mean, 95% of their packaging is trash? That's crazy! They need to step up their game and make it easier for us consumers to know what we're buying 
. And don't even get me started on the whole "greenwashing" thing – it's so frustrating when companies are just trying to save face rather than actually making changes 
.
theyre always talking about being eco friendly but then we find out their packaging is still made of plastic and its not recyclable 
and dont even get me started on the natural ingredients they use can be toxic if not formulated right 
i swear sometimes i feel like ill be waiting for ages till these companies actually deliver on their sustainability promises 
95% of it is even non-recyclable... like what's the point of saying you're eco-friendly if you can't back it up? 
brands need to step up their game and get transparent about ingredients & sourcing. and let's be real, "greenwashing" is still a thing 
, but if you're gonna claim to be eco-friendly, at least have the decency to follow through, right? 
. We need more regulation, but also, market leadership is key 
. Brands can't just slap a "green" label on something and expect people to believe it 
. And what's up with the lack of consistency in sustainability claims? It's like, we need some standards here 
. Anyway, I'm all for consumers demanding more from brands 
, but at the same time, we need the industry to step up its game 
.
. It's like they think consumers are all naive and won't bother fact-checking 
it's all about supply chain transparency, folks.
. so brands need to step up their game and show us what's really going on behind the scenes. otherwise, we'll keep calling out the fake stuff and demanding more from the industry 
The beauty industry's green claims just don't cut it anymore 
Can't we just switch to sustainable materials already? 
We need to hold ourselves and these brands accountable for our actions. It's not going to be easy, but I think that's where the real growth happens 
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. I mean, come on, if you want to make a sustainability claim, at least have some basic guidelines to follow! It's like they're all just making this stuff up as they go along 
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. Like, governments and multinationals need to step up their game and set some actual standards for sustainability claims. It's time for the industry to grow up and take responsibility for its actions 
. Like, I get it, we need to reduce our waste and use more sustainable packaging... but when they're making these big claims, it feels like they're just patching together a bunch of superficial changes 
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. We need governments and multinationals to step up and set some guidelines for brands that want to make sustainability claims. But at the same time, market leadership is key... so I'm rooting for the brands that are already pushing the boundaries of eco-friendly beauty 
its like u can tell which ones r tryna fake it thru marketing but some are actually makin progress 
so consumers know what they're gettin and brands dont just slap eco labels on anything 
its all about market leadership driving change 
️ and customers demandin more eco-friendly options