In a landscape where "natural beauty" dominated conversations in 2015 and "clean beauty" took the spotlight in 2019, the current ethos of the beauty industry revolves around "sustainability" — a multifaceted term that encompasses various marketing buzzwords and initiatives. Defining sustainable beauty proves challenging as it often acts as an umbrella term for numerous subcategories, including clean and natural beauty, leading to a daunting experience for consumers navigating the beauty aisle.
Despite the continuous growth of the cosmetics industry — with the US market alone valued at $60 billion, according to a McKinsey report — a significant 67 percent of shoppers express a desire to make a positive environmental impact, as reported by Euromonitor. This underscores that "sustainable beauty" isn’t merely a conscious consumer choice but also a crucial business strategy for brands.
While some companies concentrate on sustainable packaging, others are reevaluating their marketing approaches. Below, we delve into several sustainable beauty practices that experts anticipate will gain traction in 2024 and beyond.
Gen Z Spearheading Change
A report from Unidays characterizes Gen Z shoppers as "a generation with high hopes and high expectations. They want retailers to be sustainable so they can be sustainable — without compromise." This observation aligns with the trends observed by brands. James Park, president of skincare brand Herbivore, highlights that the demand for sustainability among Gen Z consumers is a driving force behind its increasing prominence across all markets. "The Gen Z consumer is more conscious and environmentally aware than any other generation based on the consumer research we've conducted," says Park.
Kristin Wolf, Ulta Beauty's senior vice president of enterprise strategy and transformation, concurs, emphasizing, "Our guests — particularly Gen Z — are increasingly interested in products that align with their beauty needs, values, and lifestyle practices, prompting brands to adapt to meet their expectations. This involves assessing how ingredients are sourced, formulated, packaged, and ultimately disposed of — as these factors are pivotal for environmentally conscious beauty enthusiasts."
Addressing the Packaging Predicament
The beauty industry confronts a monumental waste issue, with the beauty and wellness sectors alone churning out over 120 billion packages annually, a considerable portion ending up in landfills, reports Averson Dennison. Packaging proves problematic, often too small, flexible, or composed of multiple materials for traditional recycling. Additionally, over 10 percent of beauty and personal-care products are wasted due to overproduction or spoilage. Given these stark realities, many companies are innovating packaging solutions to combat this crisis.
Some emerging brands like Ethique and Superzero are pioneering products entirely devoid of plastic — no refillable cartridges, no glass, only the formula itself. Others are focusing on zero-waste alternatives. Take Plus, for instance, a solid body-wash sheet packaged in a dissolvable wrapper made from wood pulp, activated into a foamy lather upon contact with water. After use, consumers can simply drop the sachet into the drain, where it dissolves within seconds. Legacy brands face a different challenge: how to revamp existing products for sustainability while maintaining customer loyalty. Historically, this aspect has been overlooked for two main reasons: consumer comprehension of the environmental impact is limited, and implementing changes proves arduous on a production level.
MAC Cosmetics: Pioneering Sustainability in the Beauty Industry
Consider MAC Cosmetics, which launched in 1984 when recycling awareness was scant and plastic's environmental impact was poorly understood. Recognizing this, in 1990, MAC pioneered the industry's inaugural take-back program, Back to MAC, enabling customers to recycle used lipstick tubes at MAC stores. Aida Moudachirou-Rebois, general manager for the brand, acknowledges the ongoing difficulty in recycling cosmetics due to their complex composition. Nevertheless, MAC now designs products with sustainability at the forefront, incorporating post-recycled materials and utilizing FSC-certified carton boxes for secondary packaging. Additionally, the brand prioritizes sustainability in store design and emphasizes direct-to-consumer channels to reduce its carbon footprint.
Transitioning to sustainable packaging isn't straightforward. According to Caliray brand founder Wende Zomnir, it's easiest to embed sustainability from product inception. This approach may lead consumers to seek sustainable alternatives to their favorite brands rather than waiting for them to reformulate. Zomnir emphasizes that while brands can evolve existing products for sustainability, greater creativity and freedom are afforded when designing new products holistically, rather than simply making substitutions. She underscores that every sustainable change, no matter how small, contributes and can be easily scalable.
Brands exploring sustainable packaging within existing product lines are experimenting with refillable cartridges, as seen with Drunk Elephant's Protini Polypeptide Cream Refill and Dove's 0% Refillable Deodorant. Wolf asserts that whether sustainability is integral from inception or introduced later, it's a conscious choice and increasingly significant to customers.
Embracing Circular Impact
While sustainability often focuses on the tangible product, experts predict that more brands will broaden their perspective to encompass the entire process from start to finish. This holistic approach entails ethical ingredient sourcing, safe labor practices, and consideration for small, local, or underserved communities.
Global beauty brands like MAC Cosmetics and L'Oreal's brand Garnier partner with organizations like Plastics For Change to effect change beyond product materiality, extending to local communities. Plastics For Change not only collects plastic waste for recycling but also employs and invests in development within the informal sector, ensuring a sustainable value chain. Andrew Almack, co-founder of Plastics For Change, stresses the importance of infrastructure for collection and segregation to integrate materials into the circular economy successfully.
Analyzing a company's approach to circular change is as crucial as the materials used for product packaging. Almack underscores the necessity of creating livelihoods for waste pickers and establishing infrastructure for material collection and recycling.
Prioritizing Transparency
Social media, particularly platforms like TikTok and Instagram, will play a pivotal role in influencing sustainable beauty practices, fostering accountability and action from brands and retailers alike. Ulta Beauty leverages its evolving Conscious Beauty assortment to offer consumers transparency in their purchasing decisions, prioritizing vegan, cruelty-free, clean ingredient, sustainably packaged products that leave a positive impact.
Brands like E.l.f. Cosmetics exemplify transparency with its Fair Trade Certification stamp, signaling a commitment to fair labor practices and environmental responsibility. Such certifications communicate brands' dedication to sustainability, albeit at a significant cost.
Implementing sustainable practices can be costly, prompting larger beauty companies to scale these efforts across their operations for maximal impact. Garnier, for example, initiated its Green Beauty Initiative to drastically reduce its environmental footprint, focusing on plastics and packaging, product formulations, and factory practices in response to evolving consumer habits and global events.
To conclude, as the beauty industry grapples with its environmental impact, pioneering brands like MAC Cosmetics lead the charge in embedding sustainability into their ethos. Their initiatives, from pioneering recycling programs to prioritizing eco-friendly packaging, set a precedent for the industry. Despite the challenges of transitioning to sustainable practices, the commitment of these brands underscores the growing importance of sustainability to consumers and the necessity for all beauty companies to embrace more eco-conscious approaches. With innovation, transparency, and scalability as guiding principles, the beauty industry can continue its journey toward a more sustainable future.