“Clean Beauty” is a descriptive two-word phrase that has edged its way into our everyday vocabulary. The words mark consumers’ passion for “natural” products that are defined as free from animal testing, toxic additives, and the like. In addition, “clean beauty” tends to describe companies and brands that have an openness about their sourcing methods and ingredients.

At FIT’s annual Capstone presentation (read the full story at BeautyPackaging.com), Shannon Curtin, senior vice president, Consumer Beauty North America, Coty, Inc., noted, “Makeup is a tool for transformation, and one of the newest ideas in the industry today is transparency. It is a cultural movement right now to have transparency and truth,” said Curtin.

The movement is picking up interest, followers—and speed, with several related announcements made just within the last month or so.

At the beginning of June, Sephora launched its new “Clean” beauty seal, which is intended to make laborious and confusing labels easier to read and sort through. Each curated product with the Clean at Sephora seal will not contain sulfates SLS and SLES, parabens, formaldehydes and formaldehyde-releasing agents, phthalates, mineral oil, retinyl palmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan and triclocarban.

“More and more clients are coming into our stores looking for beauty brands that are free of certain ingredients that they may be looking to avoid,” says Cindy Deily, Sephora’s senior director of skin-care merchandising. “Clean at Sephora is our response to a consumer demand for more transparency and improved navigation.”

Brands, too, continue to pile on the approval symbols that assure consumers of purity and transparency in beauty products. Weleda just obtained the brand new UEBT (Union for Ethical Biotrade) certification for sourcing with respect. The new UEBT label will first appear on Weleda products in the beginning of next year, and the certification will tell consumers that they are buying products from a company that treats people and biodiversity with respect.

But like Green Packaging, Clean Beauty will certainly be open to scrutiny and debate.

I’ve just returned from MakeUp in Paris where Clean Beauty was definitely a trend on suppliers’—and attendees’—lips. Stay tuned for our exclusive coverage of the show.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our vast resource of packaging items, decorative techniques and services in this month’s special annual Buyers’ Guide, beginning on page 74 of this issue—and online at BeautyPackaging.com.

Enjoy the summer!