Beauty and nutraceutical players unveil Nutriscore-like eco-label

18 Jul 2023 --- In a “major first” for the cosmetics, perfume and nutraceuticals sectors, 120 participants from 26 different international organizations – from VSEs to suppliers, independent consultancies and an academic body – have constructed a methodology for calculating and displaying the environmental and societal impact of perfumes, cosmetics, wellness and family health supplements. 

Named the AFNOR Spec 2215, the ranking tool allows cosmetics or food supplement companies to display the environmental impact of their products in the form of a graduated rating from A to E, similar to the Nutriscore system.

“This reference document is a perfect illustration of what collective intelligence can produce in the service of the common good,” comments Eric Ducournau, Pierre Fabre Group CEO and president of the Green Impact Index Consortium, which comprises all participating bodies behind the AFNOR Spec 2215.

“Ambitious and unifying” new standard
The first Green Impact Index Consortium General Constitutive Meeting was held on June 26.

“This is a key step in this ambitious and unifying project,” remarks Chloé Fortin

The organizations behind the new ranking tool acknowledge the new EU Green Claims Direction, announced last March to combat the proliferation of greenwashing labels.AFNOR project leader. “We can all take action to reduce the environmental and societal impact of our organizations by making the transition through the products we sell.”

“In nine months of work, the participants succeeded in pooling their strengths to overcome the difficulties of finding applicable and measurable criteria on the basis of consensus. This initial methodological compendium could serve as a contribution to the establishment of a future standard, if a new, broader agreement is reached with all the players in the sector.”

The 120 participants collaborated on methodology that would provide consumers with “reliable and transparent information” on the quantification of the environmental (e.g., packaging, formulation, etc.) and societal (e.g., fair trade, brand commitments, etc.) impacts of products. 

Another tenet of the label is to provide economic players with a “real lever for progress” in the ecologically and socially responsible design of products. 

Brands displaying this label are intended to be able to do so at a cost that is “economically feasible for companies of all sizes.”

Awareness of greenwashing-prevention
The increased utility of eco labels are in line with growing consumer scrutiny of brands. A recent report by the traceable supply chain platform Provenance, “Skin Deep Beauty,” finds that while 90% of consumers consider environmental sustainability when buying beauty and wellness products, 79% have difficulty trusting brands’ sustainability claims.

To create the AFNOR ranking tool, collaborating organizations consulted existing environmental and societal labeling methods, such as the Green Impact Index launched by Pierre Fabre Laboratories, Technicoflor’s FlorIndex, the Rocher Group’s “Ecosocioconsoscore,” as well as the PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) developed by the European Commission.

The group members also drew on lessons learned from previous experiments with environmental labeling in other sectors, such as Planet Score, to understand the need to supplement impact calculations derived from product Life Cycle Assessment.

The organizations behind AFNOR Spec 2215 introduce the new labeling tool while recognizing the EU’s new Green Claims Directive, announced last March to combat the proliferation of greenwashing labels and touted by environmental actors as a “much-awaited” law.

Actions to crack down on the eco-credentials of brands in Europe reflect similar regulatory developments in Britain, where the UK Competition & Markets Authority was reported earlier this year to be examining the accuracy of “green” claims featured on household essentials such as toiletries and personal care items. The agency intends to ensure that shoppers are not misled when purchasing a product.

By Benjamin Ferrer