“Sustainable practices are no longer nice-to-have”: Heavy push toward eco-friendly personal care solutions

15 Sep 2022 --- The beauty and personal care space is witnessing an increasing turn toward environmentally sustainable and planet-conscious ethics and NPD. This raises questions about what “eco-friendly” means, why the market trend is changing and how companies can find better solutions for the body and the planet. To answer, PersonalCareInsights brings together industry players, speaking to Cargill, Givaudan, Symrise and DSM representatives.

No harm motto
Melanie Duprat, category manager and sustainability representative at Givaudan Active Beauty says: “In a very simple way, eco-friendly products do not harm the environment, like pollutant solvent, or a transformation process that uses a lot of energy.”

“An eco-friendly product neither harms nor impacts human safety nor the environment. Further, it contributes to conserving resources,” notes Marie-Pascale Rogier, project manager for Nagoya and sustainable sourcing at Symrise. 

Moreover, it is essential to consider the product’s complete lifecycle, from renewable sourcing through green chemistry and processing to low impact on the planet in the end-of-life management of the product, says Cyril Lemoine, new technical business development manager at Cargill Beauty. 

Product lifecycle includes suppliers’ impacts, transportation, impacts linked to product use, packaging and disposal, adds Meriem Saber, sustainability manager at DSM personal care and aroma.

“In general, by eco-friendly products and services, we mean that they are not crossing planetary boundaries or aggravating the current situation, and even products that enable a planetary regeneration,” she continues. 

Eco-friendly products do not harm the environment. R&D tips
Duprat explains that in Givaudan’s Center of Excellence in green fractionation, they follow six rules for eco-extraction. 

The first one is using renewable plant resources, followed by favoring “alternative” solvents. Thirdly, it is to reduce energy consumption by reducing the number of steps or choosing less energy-intensive parameters and recycling primary material/solvents. Also, processes must promote the use of co-products or waste, reduce unit operations and lean to undenatured, biodegradable products. 

“Since most personal care and cosmetic products end their life cycle in wastewater, biodegradability and low- or zero- ecotoxicity are key,” adds Lemoine. 

“A product is eco-friendly when it can demonstrate sustainable use of raw materials from renewable sources that are ideally organic and biodegradable. We currently use the OECD guidelines to assess biodegradability and ISO 16128 to qualify a product as Natural,” shares Meriem. 

However, she flags that “natural labels” do not always mean environmentally sustainable or biodegradable. Other factors like availability of the raw material, competition on scarce resources for food/feed purposes and land consumption need to be considered. “Therefore, our portfolio includes ingredients produced by chemical synthesis or biotechnological processes, identical to the substance’s nature.

Transparency and clean beauty
Rogier notes having observed a heavy push for more clarity and transparency. 

“The clean beauty trend is reflecting the need for eco-friendly solutions. Consumers are conscious of the environment and are concerned about the impacts of sourcing raw materials on people, environment and supply chains.”

According to Rogier, consumers know about monitored substances, look beyond eco-friendly claims, and demand evidence like certification by third parties. 

“The natural and organic cosmetics market is booming, with an estimated CAGR of almost 10%. Natural personal care and cosmetics are no longer a niche segment but are becoming the standard. Consumers have made the switch, and they expect brands to follow,” adds Lemoine. 

“To live up to that expectation, formulators must make the switch. That may seem challenging, but in the challenge, we can find the opportunity to source new ingredients produced from renewable feedstocks, and where possible, process them with green chemistry and ensure they are biodegradable at the end of their lifecycle.”

Meriem says that beauty and personal care solutions are a dynamic, expanding market. “There is a fast-growing online market supporting revolutionary concepts often driven by environmental and societal concerns and relayed by influencers.Cyril Lemoine, new technical business development manager at Cargill Beauty. ”

Regulations and packaging push
Duprat shares that many companies have started to work differently, for instance, using less packaging (less plastic) and more renewable sources like bamboo.

“Today, we are working in that direction, which can also be done at the beginning of the supply chain. We can make the difference at every step of ingredient creation, with the same goal of promoting responsible products and encouraging responsible consumption.”

“In parallel, the global regulatory context has evolved considerably. The EU Green Deal, for example, sets the extremely ambitious goal to achieve zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. Also, the European Commission published a chemicals strategy for sustainability in 2020 as part of the EU’s zero pollution ambition,” underscores Rogier. 

She believes the future of personal care is linked to the ability of the industry to transform itself. “Symrise is designing its every launch to offer eco-friendly solutions, and its portfolio has undergone a green transformation.”

Recognizing the critical situation
To prevent eco-friendly labels from becoming “just a trend,” it is essential to ask why they are crucial in the first place.

“Let’s take the example of waste. More than 100 billion tons of resources enter the economy every year, and only 8.6% get recycled. Today, the use of resources has tripled since 1970 and could double again by 2050. This is why we have to work differently to protect the planet, not only for us but also for the next generations,” highlights Duprat. 

“In today’s society, sustainable practices are no longer a “nice-to-have,” they are a conscious requirement. We can no longer develop new ingredients without taking their environmental impact into account,” flags Lemoine.

Moreover, Meriem says it is critical to recognize that humans are part of a larger planetary context. “It is deeply related to humans finally realizing the limited availability of resources and hence starting to measure the impact of human activities on planetary boundaries.”

“There is ample evidence of accelerated resource depletion, environmental damage related to population growth and urbanization and consumer demand following this global awareness. The industry is key in offering solutions that reduce the burden on the ecosystems.”

Rogier adds that the industry must provide solutions that offer actual efficacy to consumers and guarantee that cosmetics will avoid contributing to global warming and pollution of the environment.

Upcycling initiatives
At Givaudan, BisaboLife, a sustainable biotech (-)-α-bisabolol, and Koffee’Up, an active oil from spent coffee grounds, are examples of eco-friendly solutions. Coffee grounds can release methane. However, the company turns the grounds into an active oil with antioxidant benefits.

“By using white biotechnology, we can create a biosourced and natural bisabolol without Amazon deforestation. It is 100% natural and fully renewable carbon and readily biodegradable. It uses 220 times less land to produce 1 kilogram versus the traditional method.” 

Renewability efforts
At Symrise, they practice minimalism solutions to reduce the number of formula ingredients. 

The company has also developed multi- functionals like Hydrolite 5 green, Hydrolite 7 green to deliver a good sustainability profile, along with renewable sources SymEffect Sun, SymMollient S green and SymMollient PDCC. 

Additionally, the ingredient SymFerment, a postbiotic, is derived from bio-fermentation developed with an upcycling technology. “A range of upcycled oils which valorize the side products of the food industry offer premium oils from the fully traceable origin and offer tested properties.” 

“Our Active SymVital Mada combines science with a positive impact on people. Farmers produce and transform ginger in Madagascar. In turn, they benefit from education, health system insurance, and revenue all year round.” 

Natural labels do not always mean that products are sustainable or biodegradable. Noteworthy actions
Lemoine shares that Cargill’s portfolio of personal care ingredients shows a high level of naturality. “By 2025, 90% of the Cargill Beauty portfolio will have a natural index of at least 93% per ISO 16128. Also, by 2025, 95% of the Cargill Beauty portfolio will be biodegradable and 60% will be readily biodegradable.”

“Moreover, Floramac 10 macadamia ester replaces silicones like dimethicone while maintaining the same or even better sensorial properties. We aim to provide more and more solutions to upcycle material by valorizing waste-streams and giving waste a second life.”

Additionally, the company offers “promise programs” where it supports local communities to protect nature and ensure good use of the landscape without damaging the ecosystem. 

Revising targets
DSM recently reinforced its Sustainability Commitments by revising its Scope 1 and 2 targets reduction, accelerating the route to net zero by 2050, shares Meriem. 

“We have reached our target for purchasing electricity from renewable sources almost eight years ahead of schedule and we are now aiming for 100% worldwide by 2030,” she continues. 

“DSM developed Bio-Retinol, the world’s first fully biobased Vitamin A, using biotech to reduce waste and carbon footprint. Another example is Tilamar PDO, a biotech ingredient developed with Metex Nøøvista. It is the first made-in-Europe cosmetic 1,3-propanediol, 100% bio-sourced from non-GMO and palm oil-free feedstocks and showing a lower carbon footprint than commercial alternatives.” 

Meriem reports that the company is finding more eco-friendly solutions for UV filters, like its Parsol EHT.

By Venya Patel