The central theme of this year’s in-cosmetics was sustainability. A number of speakers and exhibitors covered various aspects of sustainability at the trade show, however one thing that was missing from the event was positive impacts. Various companies and consultants showed how cosmetic and ingredient companies could reduce their ecological and social footprints. However, what about generating positive impacts? Surely, if we are to become truly sustainable businesses, we have to go beyond reducing our footprints but look at offsetting.
This is where the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) design approach offers some practical solutions. Designed by Bill McDonough & Michael Braungart, the C2C design approach takes a holistic approach to sustainability. It involves designing production processes in which nutrients are recycled at the end of their life-cycles, instead of going into waste streams.
Although originally made for industrial design and manufacturing, the C2C approach has expanded into consumer goods that include personal care products, food & beverages, cleaning products, apparel and office products. However, Organic Monitor research finds the adoption rate in the personal care industry remains low. Aveda and Method Products are two of the major adopters of this novel design approach in the beauty industry.
With so much emphasis on minimising ecological and social impacts, the C2C approach is considered a novel approach as it enables companies to create positive impacts. It also allows personal care companies to expand their sustainability horizons, covering a number of environmental and social facets.
Aveda, a pioneering natural personal care company, was one of the first to adopt the C2C design approach. Established in 1978, the company is now the largest buyer of organic essential oils in the world. It has set up many organic agricultural projects in Latin America, Africa and Australasia to secure supply of organic ingredients. By adopting the C2C design approach, Aveda has gone beyond just making ecological and safe personal care products. It has pioneered many sustainability initiatives that have had positive impacts on the environment and social communities.
Aveda is the first beauty company to power its manufacturing plant and head office with renewable energy. The company has become the largest buyer of green energy in Minnesota, keeping 5,500 tons of CO2 out of the air. Aveda is also the largest user of recycled plastic in the beauty industry, saving over 1 million pounds of virgin plastic each year. Its ‘Recycle Caps with Aveda’ campaign has had a positive contribution by removing 37 million polypropylene caps from the environment. By undertaking social investment projects, the company has also built schools, hospitals and energy plants for indigenous tribes in the Amazon.
As was seen at this year’s in-cosmetics, many cosmetic and ingredient companies are looking at sustainability. However, most are looking at sustainability in isolation, usually undertaking ethical sourcing, green formulations and / or sustainable packaging. The C2C design encourages companies to take a holistic view, covering many aspects from raw material sourcing, production processes, packaging to the materials left at the end of the product’s lifecycle.
For me, the biggest benefit of the C2C approach is that it encourages positive consumption. As Bill McDonough stated at the recent Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in New York, ‘why should we feel guilty about using beauty products? We should only feel guilty if there are negative impacts of consumption.’ And herein lies the opportunity for beauty companies: By adopting the C2C approach, marketers could make consumers feel good about using cosmetic products as they would have a positive effect on them as well as the environment (More information)
William McDonough and Michael Braungart are featured speakers at Organic Monitor’s sustainability summits. The Sustainable Foods Summit takes place in Amsterdam on June 23-24, whilst the next editions of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit take place in Hong Kong on November 7-8 and Paris on November 28-30. More details are on the website.