Battling over-consumption, waste and greenwashing
6 Jan 2022 --- Working with a group of industry experts, the Sustainable Beauty Coalition (SBC) has designed a guide to help consumers dispel sustainability myths around their sought-after beauty buys and opt for authentic, environmentally-friendly products. “We created the Planet Positive Beauty Guide to help consumers make greener, better-informed purchasing decisions when it comes to selecting more ‘planet positive’ beauty products,” says Jayn Sterland, Chair of the SBC.
Following the release of the British Beauty Council’s sustainability report Courage to Change in November 2020, SBC was set up with the aim of accelerating sustainability efforts in the beauty industry. It also strives to work with government representatives to support the race to net zero campaign.
A recent study of 23,000 beauty shoppers found almost half (48%) are looking for more information and clarity about brands’ values and commitments to the environment, the SBC reveals. Ingredients, recyclability of packaging and animal welfare were among the most frequently searched-for topics.
“Making ethical beauty choices can be difficult,” says Sterland. For example, one poll found that 61% of consumers struggle to tell if hair and skin care products are ethical from the information on packaging. “We want less packaging that is made from recycled materials; we want formulations and ingredients that do no harm to the planet or to our bodies; we want transparency on where the company is on their sustainable journey,” confirms Sterland.
From raw material sourcing, biodegradability and zero waste, to cruelty-free products, equity within the supply chain and limiting the use resources such as water in the production of beauty items, the scope of sustainability has expanded in recent years. Commenting on how the SBC settled on the areas it covered in its Planet Positive Beauty Guide, Sterland said: “Our group of industry experts first agreed on the definitions for the most used terms and definitions we see used such as natural, organic, cruelty-free, etc.”
To create these definitions, SBC teamed up with supply chain solutions provider Provenance, exploring its framework of beauty ‘Proof Points’. Provenance formulated its Proof Points as a way for consumers to compare beauty brands and their products and help give consumers confidence and trust in their BPC selections.
To help with the navigation of the guide for users, SBC split it into four categories: Ingredients, packaging, people (ethical standards and pay) and sourcing (how ingredients are collected). “These four lenses cover the majority of the concerns consumers have when it comes to purchasing,” shares Sterland. “However, it is fair to say this is edition one of the Guide, and we plan to expand and add to it on an ongoing basis.”
Testing the marketeers
A year on from Courage to Change, the SBC has created its Planet Positive Beauty Guide to highlight the proliferation of greenwashing taking place in the beauty industry and provide clarity of what sustainable beauty actually means.
“Consumers tell us, due to the amount of ‘green-washed’ spurious marketing, it is very difficult to understand which brands they should buy from,” shares Sterland. “This is because our industry is under-regulated and companies are allowed to make claims without substantiation, making it very difficult for even an expert to cut through the ‘greenwashing’ of marketing today.”
With its Planet Positive Beauty Guide, SBC hopes to bring clarity to beauty consumers. To this end, the guide helps consumers find answers to questions including:
- What ingredients are there in the product?
- How is it sourced, packaged, and produced?
- What do you know about the company that produces it?
- How does the company treat its employees and suppliers?
- Where should we go to find the answers?
Increasingly, beauty brands are aware they need to reflect consumers’ sustainability demands if they are going to stand out in the busy marketplace. “It is clear shoppers want their beauty routines to go easier on the planet, so it is up to brands to ensure that they bring sustainability into the heart of their operations and not just use buzzwords in marketing,” Sterland reveals.
“Currently no beauty brand exists that doesn’t, in some form or other, damage our planet,” highlights Sterland. “What is important is the direction of travel and, ultimately, the length of the journey the company is on.”
“We want transparency from every beauty company as to where they are on this journey, supported by audited technical information about responsible sourcing and all regenerative farming methods deployed; if they pay the ‘Real Living Wage’; use clean energy; are cruelty-free; aim to reduce their water consumption every year; and so on,” details Sterland. “Independent certification standards exist for all these areas and are essential for honesty and transparency when marketing claims.”
As we move into 2022, SBC would like to see conscious consumerism as the focus for brands and consumers. “Our hope is to reduce the proliferation of new products launched on the market which ultimately drive consumerism,” says Sterland.
“We all have bathroom cupboards full of products we have bought on a whim. Our aim is to help the consumer make better, more educated choices over what she/he buys and hopefully to reduce overall consumption and waste, thus lessening the impact of beauty on the environment. At the same time, we seek to hold brands to account over the substantiation or their marketing claims.”
By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist