Some of the leaders in the natural personal care industry will debate key
challenges in the North American edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, taking place in New York on May 12-14 at the Marriott Downtown New York. For the first time, the summit will have a dedicated session in which CEOs of major natural personal care firms will give insights into how they are tackling critical business issues.

Topics on the CEO roundtable agenda are rising consumer expectations, natural & organic standards and certification, ethical partnerships and implementing sustainability programs. The CEO roundtable comprises heads of Aubrey Organics, Weleda North America, Juice Beauty, Dr. Hauschka Skincare, Burt’s Bees and Yes To Inc.

With the number of standards proliferating in North America, the CEOs will
share their views on schemes, such as USDA Organic, NSF 305, NPA and OASIS. The adoption issues and merits of these standards will be debated, as well as potential dangers of ‘green seal washing’. Green marketing is also high on the roundtable agenda. The CEOs will discuss the role of marketing in combating the threat of competing products, especially those making
unsubstantiated natural and green claims. How do leading brands plan to meet rising consumer expectations? What marketing communications work best for the growing needs of the LOHAS consumer?

The CEO roundtable will also give insights into the growing importance of ethical partnerships. Apart from relationships with raw material suppliers, what ethical partnerships should cosmetic companies consider? How can companies provide greater transparency and traceability across the supply chain?

With sustainability covering a wide range of organization issues, the roundtable will also look at the challenges in developing and implementing a sustainability program. The summit will give delegates the opportunity to share their views on these discussion points, as well as pose related questions to the CEO roundtable.

Organized by Organic Monitor, the aim of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit is to encourage sustainability in the beauty industry by bringing together key stake-holders and debate major sustainability issues in a high-level forum.