Green beauty: Traceability and sustainability top consumer demands, says industry roundtable

18 Aug 2021 --- Green beauty is a fast rising trend within the personal care sector as consumers demand more environmental sustainability and traceability. A roundtable of experts from BASF, Cargill, Evolva and Givaudan Active Beauty speak to PersonalCareInsights about the trend’s potential and its evolution.

Green beauty explained
Green beauty describes “personal care products that meet the consumers’ increasing demand for renewable, natural or vegan ingredients,” says Marika Rossetti, sustainability manager, BASF Personal Care Europe.

However, consumers remain confused over what “constitutes a natural or organic product as well as the number of different standards, labels and certificates that contribute to this perception.”

Green beauty goes beyond the ingredients used and focuses on an aspect of sustainability and production.

The concept of “green beauty” relates to the “growing demand for sustainably sourced, label-friendly, plant-based functional ingredients that deliver on performance,” says Jean-Noel Ollagnier, EMEA applications R&D manager, Personal Care Cargill Beauty.

“Replacing petroleum-based ingredients with nature-derived ingredients is a tough balancing act. It requires attention to the formulation process, the compatibility with other ingredients over time and temperature variations, as well as the sensory experience on the skin or hair.”

“Green” and “sustainable” beauty go “beyond the packaging and eco-friendly dimensions to encompass environmental responsibility, increased effectiveness, and long-term health,” according to Clare Panchoo, vice president of Health Ingredients at Evolva.

“Sustainable beauty takes into account social, environmental and economic aspects throughout the whole production chain of a product, from sourcing to formula creation, to ensure an altogether positive impact.” 

Supporting the idea that green beauty goes beyond the ingredients used, Pauline Martin, operational marketing and communication manager at Givaudan Active Beauty states: “Green beauty has an aspect of sustainability. A 360-degree sustainable approach linked to respect for nature but also for the process of production.”

Market impact
The “green beauty” trend has a significant impact on the personal care market. Innova Market Insights’ top trend for 2021 “Transparency Triumphs,” shows that three in five global consumers want to know the source of their products and how it is made.

Additionally, three in four global consumers expect companies to “invest in sustainability.”

Pauline Martin, operational marketing and communication manager at Givaudan Active Beauty.Personal care products come into direct contact with customers’ bodies and are often released into the environment, leading to a need for transparency, comments Rossetti.

“Consumers want to know which ingredients are in the products they use, how they work and if they harm the environment. Also, consumers want to know where their products come from and under what conditions they were manufactured,” she adds.

Demand for ingredient traceability
Consumers also want to ensure that the ingredients used are not damaging the environments from which they originate. As a result of this market dynamic, many high-profile cosmetics businesses prioritize raw material sustainability and traceability, comments Ollagnier. 

“The biodegradability of the raw materials is rising among the list of customer product development priorities,” he says.

“Ultimately, these brands are looking to tell the story of the direct connection that exists between their products and the farm where the nature-derived ingredients they contain were sourced from.”

Today, sustainability is not a “nice to have” but a “must have.” Organic, vegan, sustainable and ethically derived cosmetics have grown more mainstream due to this, Panchoo comments. 

Impactful sustainability
Meanwhile, a 2019 ScienceDirect analysis, found that sustainability impacts occur at all stages of a cosmetic product’s life cycle.

Companies in the cosmetics industry have implemented a broad range of strategies that make cosmetic and personal care product formulation and processes more sustainable, and this will continue in the future with the move toward a circular economy,” says Panchoo.

Transparency is a motivating factor for customers, with 89 percent of French women wanting “full transparency” in beauty products, according to a Givaudan survey.

“Our study demonstrates that 76 percent of consumers look for natural ingredients and 69 percent of consumers care about ingredient origin when buying a beauty product,” says Martin.

Innovation in the green beauty space
Technology platforms, such as fermentation, are used to help alleviate sourcing bottlenecks in nature.

Consumers have a rising demand for the biodegradability of the raw materials in their products. 

Evolva recently launched L-Arabinose, which is “a rare sugar with reported sugar blocker properties and currently is used as an excipient in the cosmetic industry. Evolva is initiating a study to support the use of L-Arabinose for skincare benefits,” says Panchoo.

Givaudan Active Beauty has a “Sourcing4Good program” that will help to accelerate the company’s actions and “promote sustainable agricultural practices,” and preserve wild harvest supply chains and therefore reduce the environmental footprint and promote biodiversity. 

Mangixyl is a recent ingredient launch by the company, sourced in Burkina Faso as part of the “Sourcing4Good” program.

“Our production site in France is located in a biorefinery area shaping the future with the circular economy. Here, we create a sustainable alternative to hyaluronic acid, with zero CO2 impact on the environment and directly coming from plants,” says Martin.

Adapting to the cosmetic environment
Cargill Beauty is also innovating in this space. The company has StarDesign Power, which is formed by “combining two different starches with complementary thickening and emulsifying properties from the food sector and adapting them to the cosmetic environment,” adds Ollagnier.

The Cargill Waxy Maize Promise ensures that this product is sourced entirely from European waxy corn, which is a significant benefit, he comments.

Carrageenan is another component with a lot of promise in the personal care industry. It’s made entirely of natural materials and blends performance, versatility, and environmentally friendly sourcing. 

It is 100 percent nature-derived and combines performance, versatility and sustainable sourcing. Up until now, the ingredient’s potential in the beauty space was “limited to skincare, cleansing and oral care products.”

There is a growing need for sustainable ingredients across the cosmetics and personal care industries.In September 2021, Cargill Beauty will “roll out kappa carrageenan, which is suitable for applications like face sheet masks and solid skincare. When mixed with other grades, this new launch will allow us to propose original and inspirational textures: from textured waters to solid gels,” adds Ollagnier.

Sustainable product development
Industry players interested in sustainability produce products that are biodegradable and environmentally friendly.

In this space, BASF developed a line of “light emollients” that can be employed in various applications and provide an alternative to volatile silicones.

“Our readily biodegradable Undecane or Tridecane is very close to Cyclomethicone thanks to its volatility. Its performance has been proven in multiple applications, including a liquid foundation where it enhances color stability and a sunscreen oil where it delivers UV filter stability,” adds Rossetti.

The company also launched Euperlan OP White, a “wax-based and readily biodegradable opacifier.” It can be used instead of “traditional opacifiers that are based on Styrene or Acrylates Copolymer and result in a pure white appearance in the final formulation, comparable to polymer-based opacifiers.” 

BASF’s latest addition to its portfolio is the texturizing biopolymer Hydagen Clean, which offers “a natural alternative to synthetic polymers.”

“The cold processable rheology modifier, obtained from the tuber of the konjac plant native to Southwest China, is suitable for aqueous systems like gels, fluids and serums, as well as more novel formats such as patches, jellies and peel-off formulations,” says Rossetti.

By Nicole Kerr