Sustainability is a major concern within the cosmetics and toiletries industry with companies across the spectrum pursuing more environmentally friendly initiatives. Imogen Matthews, consultant to in-cosmetics, examines the trend with examples of companies who are adopting sustainable practices.
Not so long ago, the industry buzz was about natural and organic products, but as the natural personal market matures, lower sales growth has been recorded, according to research company Kline*. Its research shows that until the recession hit the world economy, the overall naturals market was showing high double digit growth, but consumers have become more sensitive to prices, so the category has lost ground. In the meantime, the sustainability issue has been gathering pace, with more companies undertaking eco initiatives, such as using renewable energy sources, offsetting carbon emissions and working directly with local communities to ensure a fair deal.
At this year’s in-cosmetics trends presentations, Amarjit Sahota, director of Organic Monitor*, discussed how more companies are moving from petrochemicals to natural ingredients, while using more sustainable production methods. He maintained that the rise in sustainable sourcing is due to a number of factors, such as rising ethical consumerism, supply chain pressure, the media and NGOs, laws and regulations, CSR and sustainability reporting.
The 1992 Earth Summit contributed to many of the changes in working practices that companies are adopting or starting to adopt today. Although much has been achieved, including the signing of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010, which laid down rules on how to access the biodiversity, no single global standard for sustainability exists. Consumers therefore have no way of assessing how sustainable a product is that they purchase, even if individual initiatives are highlighted. For example, many companies undertake social investment products, such as Chanel’s reforestation projects in Latin America and Florame’s ethical sourcing of ingredients from Madagascar. However worthy these projects may be, this does not mean that these companies are formulating their products in an entirely sustainable manner. Some may argue, that such initiatives are a cynical way of winning over consumers concerned with ethical issues. The truth is more likely to be that creating a completely sustainable product is fraught with complexities.
According to Nancy Mills, industry manager, consumer products, Kline, companies that are pursuing sustainability practices are doing it mostly for the right reasons, such as the health of the Earth and ecosystems. “Even if done for different reasons, companies are not yet adding value to their products by such practices,” she argues, saying that consumers are becoming a lot more knowledgeable about the natural personal care products and the ingredients that go into making these products, but the majority are not aware of specific companies’ sustainability practices. “Better communication from companies on these fronts is needed,” believes Mills.
Sustainability programmes: leading companies
P&G
P&G is working towards a long-term environmental sustainability vision which will take the company decades to achieve. The strategy includes powering its plants with 100% renewable energy, using 100% renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging, having zero consumer and manufacturing waste to go to landfill and designing products that delight consumers while maximising its conservation of resources. Recent initiatives include the replacement of 25% of petroleum-based materials with sustainably sourced renewable ones and the introduction of sugar-cane based packaging for its Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion haircare products.
L’Oreal
L’Oreal is embedding sustainable consumption at each stage of the life cycle of its products. This involves the integration of ethical policies and advanced research in the selection of new ingredients and the development of eco-design and use of green chemistry. And L’Oreal has ambitious targets when it comes to sustainability: by 2015 it is seeking a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emission, waste and water consumption per finished product. The company has a fair trade policy and commitment to local communities which are fully integrated into its decision making process.
Unilever
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan pledges to halve the environmental footprint of its products by 2020, help more than 1 billion people take action to improve their health and well-being and source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably. After the accusation from Greenpeace that Unilever was driving the wholesale destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands through growing palm oil consumption, the company pledged to buy all its palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015.
Estée Lauder Companies
Estée Lauder Companies environmental successes include shrinking its carbon footprint through the purchase of green electricity and embedding the principles of green chemistry in its global manufacturing and product innovation. One area where the company has made significant progress has been through sustainable packaging innovations across all brands including increasing the recycled content of its packaging. By fiscal 2012, the company pledges to ensure that 25% of its packaging suppliers use renewable energy and is developing additional product take-back programs to increase end-of-life recycling of ELC product packaging.
Coty
Coty has increased the number of natural and organic materials for its products by 88% over the past five years. It has also reduced its use of volatile compounds {VOCs] by adopting processes that have a lesser environmental impact. Although demand for Coty products has increased, the company maintains that it has made progress in conserving energy, reducing pollution and minimising the environmental impact of its activities. It is currently working on ways to get smarter about how water is used in order to reduce waste and manage its water consumption efficiently and responsibly.
Clarins
In 2007, Clarins created its own Responsible Development department to overlook all aspects of social and environmental issues. Creating environmentally-friendly formulas was part of this, with Clarins introducing a rigorous ingredients policy and the aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the end of 2011. Furthermore, lighter packaging made from simple recyclable materials has been introduced with a view to having as low an environmental impact as possible.
* Kline and Organic Monitor will participate at next year’s in-cosmetics marketing trends presentations, taking place in Barcelona on 17-19 April. For more details go to www.in-cosmetics.com