Olive Tree People champions waterless beauty to combat global water crisis

Olive Tree People is replacing the water in skin care with an elixir from Spanish olive trees to achieve a more nutrient-dense alternative, save water, and increase water access in the world’s scarcest areas. 

According to the waterless brand, the beauty industry consumes eight trillion liters of water annually. Meanwhile, UNICEF reports that 2.3 billion people worldwide lack access to basic, clean drinking water. 

Reflecting the ongoing water crisis, a recent report by the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps stresses that Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, might be the first modern city to run out of water by 2030. 

By making beauty formulas waterless, Olive Tree People says it saves 200 liters of water per product, all of which goes to its African drinking water project, Oliveda for Africa. The project started in 2013 and currently provides 15,000 people in Africa, across multiple villages, with supplied water from wells. Some countries receiving the aid include Tanzania and Senegal. 

The brand ensures that its upcycled water from beauty products is safe — after coming into contact with many different ingredients.

“We remove the ‘dirty water’ from skin care and transform it into literal spring water for communities in need,” says Thomas Lommel, olive farmer and founder of Olive Tree People. 

The company harnesses hydroxytyrosol from olive leaves to create its bioactive elixir that replaces water.Mimics the skin’s lipids

Olive Tree People says beauty products often contain 70% water and high amounts of preservatives because the products have a highly oxidative effect. Water is usually combined with industrially processed oils to achieve a stable emulsion.

The brand harnesses hydroxytyrosol from olive leaves to create its bioactive elixir, which replaces water. The elixir is said to be up to 4,000% more potent than vitamin C and also has antioxidant properties.

The company reports that its solution has an absorption rate three times higher than water. In its skin care products, the company swaps processed oils for arbequina oil, which is bioactive, cold-pressed, and mimics the skin’s natural lipids. 

“It can be up to 3,000 times more nutrient-dense than conventional products,” says the company. It uses ingredients from Spanish mountain olives and is sourced from Olive Tree People’s 31,500 trees. 

“Why dilute skin care with water when nature offers something far more potent?” says Lommel. 

Waterless skin care trends

Mercy Corps’s report says that access to water in Kabul is collapsing. It finds that 80% of the groundwater poses a public health risk due to high levels of sewage, arsenic, and salinity, which may spike disease rates. Some households spend 30% of their income on water.

Mercy Corps’s report says that access to water in Kabul is collapsing.Earlier this year, Olive Tree People launched a campaign to emphasize hydroxytyrosol and cold-pressed Arbequina oil instead of water and petroleum-based ingredients to highlight the brand’s commitment to sustainability.

Other personal care companies are also recognizing the need for action. Procter & Gamble has been working on its Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program for 20 years and recently announced it has delivered more than 23 billion liters of clean water and aims to reach 25 billion by the end of 2025.

Besides contributing to people’s access to water, waterless beauty also aligns with environmentally sustainable goals, IOI Oleo recently told Personal Care Insights.

In 2023, researchers from the UK developed a technology that removes 98% of water content from beauty and skin care products. This technology transforms water and oil-based products into small discs of paper-like material that can be “instantly” rehydrated with a drop of water.