Sustainable Cosmetics Summit Aims to Reduce Beauty’s Environmental Footprint

The three-day event in October will be dedicated to initiatives that lower the environmental and social impact of beauty products and packaging.

By Amarjit Sahota, managing director, Organic Monitor

Some of the thought leaders in sustainability will be discussing practical initiatives for the beauty industry at the upcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit. Taking place in Paris, October 18-20, the summit will be the first of its kind that focuses on various methods to reduce the environmental and social impacts of beauty products.

With research showing that the highest environmental footprint is from cosmetic packaging and ingredients, the summit will devote two sessions and workshops to these key areas. The Green Formulations session aims to tackle some of the leading ingredient and technical issues, while the Sustainable Packaging session will look at various methods to reduce the packaging impact.

A Sustainable Cosmetics Summit also took place in March in New York.

Titled “Lowering Environmental Impacts,” the opening session of the summit is designed to explore the various sustainability activities beauty companies can undertake. Professor Michael Braungart, founder of EPEA International, will illustrate how the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) design approach can be used to measure and reduce environmental impacts. Rainer Plum, founder of Tautropfen and New Ethics Institute, will highlight positive case studies of CSR and corporate ethics in the beauty industry. Rik Kutsch Lojenga, from the Union for Ethical BioTrade, will reveal its latest biodiversity barometer research, while Bereca, a Brazilian packaging development company, will show how ethical sourcing can have a positive impact on social communities and the environment. Beraca has won several awards for encouraging sustainable development in the Amazon basin. Other papers look at common methods to offset carbon emissions and how beauty companies can become carbon neutral.

With high interest in ecological ingredients and standards, the Green Formulations session will hone in on some of the major issues. An update will be given of the leading natural and organic cosmetic standards in Europe (Cosmos and NaTrue), followed by a discussion of the practical implications of the new European Cosmetics Directive. Subsequent papers will look at some of the challenges companies face in developing “green cosmetics,” covering surfactants, emulsifiers and natural actives.

The potential of organic fragrances will be explored by CPL Aromas, a company that has successfully managed to develop and market certified fragrances. David Reccole, founder of NatureCos and Couleur Caramel, will go through the technical hurdles in obtaining organic certification for color cosmetics. The company has shown rapid growth to become the largest natural color cosmetics firm in Europe, operating several organic makeup cafes in Paris.

Slowing market growth rates and rising competition are bringing marketing to the forefront in the natural cosmetics industry. The third session of the summit will discuss Marketing and Distribution Innovations, giving case studies of companies that are successfully meeting the ethical and ecological challenges. Organic Monitor will kick off the session with an update of the European natural and organic cosmetics market, highlighting the major market and competitive developments. Details to be given include emerging distribution strategies, such as investing in concept stores and e-tailing.

Ido Leffler, co-founder of Yes To Carrots, will discuss the challenges and pitfalls of expanding distribution. Since its launch in 2007, Yes To Carrots has expanded distribution to over 25,000 outlets. Leffler will outline how his company has overcome major obstacles to successfully compete with mass brands. A leading European retailer will share its experiences with natural cosmetics and outline its sustainability initiatives. Other papers look at the growth in e-tailing, social media and consumer insights.

Sustainable packaging will be the theme of an interactive workshop.

With packaging having the largest environmental impact of beauty products, the final session will be devoted to Sustainable Packaging. The session will open with a broad overview of the various ways beauty companies can reduce their packaging footprint. The potential of biopolymers in beauty packaging applications will be explored by Mirel Bioplastics, while a leading packaging firm will look at novel uses of recycled packaging in beauty products. Other papers cover eco-packaging designs, reusable packaging and novel applications. John Delfausse from Aveda—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors— will share some of the company’s pioneering packaging initiatives. Aveda is the world’s largest user of post consumer grind packaging in the beauty industry.

Sustainable packaging is the subject of an interactive workshop set for day three of the program. With the use of case studies, the workshop leader will illustrate how beauty companies can adopt sustainable packaging solutions. Another plenary workshop will focus on one of the most contentious issues in the cosmetics industry: the role of parabens as preservatives. Judi Beerling, head of technical research at Organic Monitor, will go through the various paraben-free preservative systems, highlighting the formulation and technical issues involved.

Organized by Organic Monitor, the aim of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit is to encourage sustainability in the beauty industry by bringing together key stakeholders and debate key industry issues in a high-level forum. This new edition of the summit is believed to be the first-ever summit that is dedicated to practical initiatives that lower the environmental and social impacts of beauty products.

The launch of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit follows the success of Organic Monitor’s various seminars, workshops and summits on the organic and related product industries. In 2009, over 600 executives from five continents have attended such events at various international locations that include Frankfurt, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, Amsterdam and Nuremberg. More information is available at www.sustainablecosmeticssummit.com.

Organic Monitor is a specialist research and consulting company that focuses on the global organic and related product industries. Since its formation in 2001, the firm has been providing a range of business services to operators in high-growth ethical and sustainable industries. Services include market research publications, business and technical consulting, summits, seminars and workshops. For more information, visit www.organicmonitor.com.