The Green Chemist: Natural sourcing complexities require increased transparency
28 Jul 2025 | The Green Chemist
Dr. Barbara Olioso, founder and CEO of the Green Chemist and the Green Chem Finder, discusses the complexity behind achieving sustainable production of natural cosmetics. She says that the significant demand for natural ingredients in beauty products needs cautious sourcing practices and clear sustainability strategies that do not cause harm. She also stresses the need for transparency and verifications for manufacturers.
This is Beatrice Vilander for Personal Care Insights.
Joining me today is Doctor Barbara Olioso, founder and CEO of the Green Chemist and Green Chem Finder, and we are going to dive deeper into the topic of natural cosmetics and its manufacturing process in terms of environmental sustainability and also ahead of the EU deforestation regulation law taking effect later this year.
So, would you like to start with a brief introduction of yourself and the companies that you represent?
Thank you very much, Beatrice.
Yes, I'm a chemist and I've been formulating natural organic, cosmetics for over 20 years.
I'm very passionate about applying sustainability to cosmetic development and sustainability to natural cosmetics beyond, really beyond natural and, and make them really, cost-effective, performing, and really future-proof.
OK, thank you for that.
And could you start by explaining how natural cosmetics may negatively impact sustainability?
Naturally is, it's a big movement, and I think it's more about sourcing natural ingredients in a sustainable way, and that's why I'm so passionate about applying sustainability.
All cosmetics have an impact of some sort, the manufacturing of ingredients, the manufacturing of the finished products, the shipping, etc.
So, because we all crave this, being close to nature, we want to feel safer and, and nourished by nature.
There is this great demand for natural ingredients, and obviously we need to be careful about sourcing these ingredients with a clear sustainability strategy.
So that we don't cause any environmental destruction, damage to biodiversity, deforestation, and other, you know, all sorts of problems.
There is also the end of life, all cosmetics end up in the drains in a way or another.
And so it's important that they are formulated, keeping in mind what happens at the end of their life, what happens once they end up in wastewater treatment plants.
And that's another impact.
Beyond the impact of sourcing ingredients, there is also the impact of the finished product on the actual water systems, what happens to cosmetics then.
Thank you.
And what is the actual way to ensure that?
Oh, as I said, we need, we need a clear strategy.
So it's not just about natural and a moderated sustainability zone in Cosmetics Global, and I can see that a lot of suppliers now are gearing up.
They've been preparing for several years, they are, they use life cycle analysis, not just to measure the environmental impact of the, of the manufacturing of their ingredients, which Be CO2 emissions, water consumption, eutrophication, all sorts of criteria that can be measured, but also to optimize, to optimize the production process, and this is very exciting to see, and these more forward thinking suppliers are also supplying this data to their customers so that they can futureproof the formulations as a result.
So traceability, transparency, all sorts of data is required now when you source natural ingredients.
Alright, and to what extent is highlighting natural cosmetics as a sustainable option greenwashing?
Can you elaborate on why it could be?
It's not?
It is sustainability is complicated, so it's easy to take the shortcut.
The shortcut is it's natural, therefore it's sustainable.
It's not.
So we really need to think with this holistic approach, looking at the complexity of the supply chains, look at the.
End of life of ingredients, making sure they are biodegradable and they have this, this good, good end of life.
So it's really about a strategy, but obviously, communicating this to the consumer is rather complex.
It's not easy because, you know, they have a short attention span, they have a limited understanding of this complexity.
So we are unraveling this kind of communication and there are different Different approaches, there is a qualitative approach, like using a certification like Naru or Cosmos, or there are more, quantitative approaches, like the scores, the ED Eco Beauty Score Consortium and the Green Impact Index that are showing these indexes more connected to this matrix I was telling you about, making it simpler for consumers to understand, but as I said, it's a working process at the moment.
All right.
And do you see an increased use of these certifications?
The Eco Beauty Score Consortium, as such, it just, it's, it's about to launch the, the first few tests, products.
The Green Impact Index, went to market with it over a year ago, so there is certainly an increase of the, embracing of these score system.
And also when it comes to certifications, there is also an increase, because people want validation.
They know they're being greenwashed.
How do they know that?
How do they, what's the antidote?
The antidote is a third party validation of some sort.
All right, thank you.
And further looking at the production process of natural cosmetics, how much land, water, or other natural resources are actually needed for its production?
Yeah, yeah, this is a, it's a good question, and it, it would be nice in an ideal world, it would be nice if I could like take my formulation, put it into a computer, and ask the computer to give me the answer.
The thing is, because again, we are in this process.
Of unraveling the transparency, the data behind ingredients, which is not an easy task.
We don't have access to all of this information.
There are also, there is also this diversity, for plants, so there are plants that absorb more CO2, they might require more water, during the plantation phase, and there are others that, you know, don't require water at all, but they don't absorb much CO.
CO2, but they might have some social benefits, you know, for the local communities, they might boost biodiversity because they're widely cropped.
So that's why we need this holistic approach.
We need to take into account, you know, the carbon, the water, but also the social impact, the biodiversity, all of these, and then we take a decision, and there isn't a perfect decision.
There is a decision you can live with, with awareness.
Yeah, thank you.
And ahead of the EU deforestation regulation that's coming into effect later this year, what is actually needed for the industry to align with this and how, how far has it come yet, if you, if you have any insights on that?
Yes, there are suppliers that are working very hard, you know, to, to, to comply with this regulation, and the ones that have a transparent supply chain, they have the resources to do it, and they're already doing it.
There are also suppliers that, you know, make raw materials and they get their raw materials from the open stock, so they haven't got the traceability that's required to comply with the UDR so some brands, as a result of that, are also looking for alternative crops, which could be coconut, but also coconut.
Could become, you know, one of the, the crops in, in the EUDR.
So, at the moment, I think it makes more sense for the industry to go for, resilient supply chains and simply pay more rather than looking for a raw similar raw material, the same raw materials supplied from , a different crop.
Thank you.
And you were speaking about transparent and resilient supply chains.
So, is it a big difference between large companies and small companies in terms of achieving this?
Yes, I think obviously the, the large companies, they have the clout, the weight, you know, to, to, to, to ask for this data, but I would say things are, are changing, they're evolving, and there are suppliers that offer this transparency just across, it doesn't matter what size you are.
Obviously, if you are an LCA specialist versus, you know, just the buyer, maybe you will get less data.
So I think it's about choosing suppliers with mindfulness.
So choosing suppliers that have resilient, transparent supply chains, that are happy to work with, you know, sort of SMEs type of producers, and I think There are quite a few suppliers out there doing that because I've seen it at the sustainability zone, I think Cosmetics Global, so the, the industry is open to SMEs for sure.
Interesting, thank you.
And to finish off, what are, what does the future hold for sustainable cosmetics?
Is it looking into lab grown ingredients or boycotting certain ingredients or what do you see as the main trend?
But for me, transparency is the key, is the essence, you know, getting to know the ingredients or as, as much data as possible.
Obviously, processing data can be overwhelming, sourcing the data, sourcing the data, processing the data can be overwhelming.
So I see the rise of the use of tools.
I've launched my own tool for green chem chemistry preservatives, the Green Chem Finder, where formulators can just log in and choose, select different criteria, cosmetic science.
Criteria, pH, physical status, or palm, if they, you know, if the ingredient is from palm or not, if it's free from preservatives or not, and other sustainability criteria.
So, as seen now, not just with the green can find them, but also suppliers are providing these tools, so that formulators, you know, can just conveniently find the best match for their formulas.
Do you have any other comments?
I would say what I've seen this year in Cosmetics Global is really suppliers showing multiple certifications.
So one certification is not enough, they have plenty of certifications, because, again, this is the antidote to greenwashing, so can I trust, can I, you know, what is the reason why I should believe you, and I've seen.
Even with upcycling, upcycling is a big trend, and people are asking, how do I know you are really upcycling?
So, in the industry now, it's trickling in and, and people want validation, validation, validation, validation, and certification is an easy way to get validation.
Multiple certifications.
Alright, and do you think that in general it would be difficult to fake these certifications or these claims?
Oh yes, it depends if the third party validation.
So you have accreditations, where basically it's more of a desktop, documents check, and, you know, with that, I think it's less thorough than a proper third party validation, according to the ISO 17065, where basically you have an inspection.
And when you have an inspection on site, then, you know, the, the, the accreditation has got much more weight, it's got higher price tag, obviously, but I think that it's, it's, you know, it's a good way to, you know, to show the, the validity of the, the certification for sure.
