As Zion Market Research recently shared, “The global market for natural and organic cosmetics will reach approximately $21.48 billion in 2023” and “at a compound annual growth rate of approximately $37.44 billion by 2032.” It is projected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 7.19% from 2024 to 2032.
As consumer demand for increasingly sustainable cosmetic options skyrockets, manufacturers must navigate best practices to source, formulate, and produce products that meet their needs, and companies need to navigate impact migration and quality. They remain exposed to liability issues surrounding warranties.
To explore these issues and more, CosmeticsDesign spoke to Polina Dekhtyar, senior sustainability strategist at Boston Consulting Group company Quantis, for insight.
CDU: Can you give us a brief background about your professional experience, your company, and your relationship with the cosmetics and personal care products industry?
Polina Devchar (PD): I have spent much of my career at the intersection of business and sustainability. I am passionate about enabling more sustainable consumption and production models for the products we consume every day, with a particular focus in recent years on the cosmetics and personal care industry.
After several years in strategic consulting, he joined The Estée Lauder Companies, where he worked on internal transformation and corporate marketing initiatives. I joined the Cosmetics and Personal Care team at Quantis (a Boston Consulting Group Company) in 2022 because I wanted to work more directly on the sustainability challenges in this sector. Quantis is a specialist sustainability consulting firm that provides guidance to some of the largest companies. Around the world on a sustainability journey.
I have had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s top cosmetics players on topics such as eco-designing products, building climate change strategies to contribute to global net-zero goals, and reducing waste. Because the beauty industry is a product-driven, innovation-driven industry, we are particularly interested in how choices in beauty product design can contribute to overall sustainability performance.
CDU: What is Impact Shift and what role does cosmetics and personal care product manufacturers and suppliers play?
PD: Impact shifting is when measures taken to reduce environmental impact in one region have a negative impact on another region. For example, if a company replaces one carbon-intensive feedstock with another without conducting a comprehensive environmental assessment, there is a risk that the new feedstock may turn out to have similarly negative impacts on biodiversity. there is.
Avoiding impact migration requires product innovators to move beyond narrow goals to a more holistic ecodesign approach aimed at limiting overall environmental impacts across comprehensive impact domains. need to do it. Companies that identify and mitigate impact shift risks will future-proof their material choices and accelerate their trajectory towards impact reduction.
Manufacturers of cosmetics and personal care products need to better understand the overall impact of the various ingredients used in their products and strengthen and upskill their R&D teams to leverage impact data. . Manufacturers should also work with suppliers along the value chain to improve traceability of materials and reduce the risk of impact shifts.
CDU: What are the best practices for selecting raw materials for sustainable cosmetic and personal care product formulations?
PD: There are several best practices for choosing sustainable raw materials.
- First, consider the formulation and identify highly impactful ingredients and potential substitutes. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach can be used to understand the different potential impacts of different ingredient options and proactively flag trade-offs in formulation design.
- Take an eco-design approach to product design by integrating sustainability considerations throughout the design process and establishing the necessary governance to include environmental performance in decision-making.
- We work with certified product and raw material suppliers that adhere to vetted sustainable sourcing standards.
- Develop robust sustainable sourcing policies and monitor and collaborate with suppliers to ensure compliance. This also requires creating transparency and traceability in often complex supply chains.
- Collaborate and support value chain partners to support their own sustainability initiatives (e.g. through capacity building and innovative financing) and deploy best practices such as regenerative agriculture. can.
- We support continued innovation by partnering with suppliers who develop vetted, low-impact raw materials alternatives.
By incorporating some of these best practices, manufacturers of cosmetics and personal care products can contribute to a more sustainable and responsible industry.
CDU: Regarding Impact Shift, what are the risks associated with raw material selection?
PD: When many beauty brands think about the sustainability of their raw materials, they now focus on a few selective factors, such as responding to key consumer trends such as natural beauty, or meeting commitments on carbon and plastic reduction. The main focus is on goals. These are very important goals in themselves, but thinking too narrowly about material selection and innovation can lead to unintended trade-offs in other areas, such as water use and deforestation.
We know that in some cases, high demand for certain materials can have significant impacts on nature. For example, palm oil cultivation was eventually stopped. Causes 7% of the world’s deforestationAccording to FAO, it occurred between 2000 and 2018 and is now a well-known red flag example.
While companies are now phasing out or sustainably sourcing palm oil, there are other natural materials that are growing in popularity and can endanger local ecosystems. This doesn’t mean these materials shouldn’t be used, but brands should evaluate their raw material options holistically to understand the overall potential impact and be aware of potential trade-offs. , it is important to choose the best option overall. Manage sustainable sourcing.
This is especially true as regulations and reporting standards evolve to include considerations beyond carbon (e.g. the EU CSRD includes multiple disclosure areas such as biodiversity, water and circularity). ).
CDU: What should manufacturers and suppliers pay attention to when considering future-proof product formulations to comply with environmental standards?
PD: Both brands and suppliers need to keep up to date with high levels of environmental regulations and standards relevant to their industry, especially as they are rapidly evolving in the EU. Understanding both regulatory and consumer trends helps companies stay ahead of the curve and future-proof their products beyond compliance. Given the length of innovation cycles, especially in the beauty sector, brands need to think ahead to keep their portfolios in line with environmental standards.
Once aware of the key requirements and considerations, brands can apply robust LCA-based environmental assessments and ecodesign principles to ensure their products are compliant. Regulations and consumer trends are also increasingly moving towards greater transparency regarding the sustainability performance of products, so a solid understanding of the different impacts of products will strengthen communications with consumers. Helpful.
CDU: What do you predict about future trends in sustainable cosmetic and personal care product formulations?
PD: With 40% of the cosmetics industry’s environmental impact occurring during product use, a focus on consumer education and engagement is here to stay. Initiatives like his EcoBeautyScore, an industry-driven harmonized environmental score for products, are growing, aiming to help consumers make more informed sustainability choices.
Additionally, ecodesign and circularity are also influential themes shaping the industry, allowing companies to avoid shifting impacts as they are integrated into every stage of product development, while opening the door to new opportunities. Masu. While circular principles have historically been primarily associated with packaging, brands are also beginning to experiment with renewable, recycled, and upcycled materials.
Finally, the industry is witnessing new ingredient trends that promote the protection of nature and biodiversity, potentially opening the door to innovative, low-impact cosmetic ingredients.
CDU: Is there anything else you would like to add?
PD: The beauty and personal care industry is starting to see a shift from promises and goal-setting to action. Consumers, investors and regulators expect companies to track and demonstrate progress towards their goals, and sustainable product design and sustainable sourcing are key to achieving that progress. It will be a means. Companies can therefore expect their choices to become increasingly scrutinized.
At the same time, the recognition that beauty brands need to think beyond carbon and be vigilant about their impact on nature, especially since beauty is highly dependent on natural inputs and has a significant impact on nature and biodiversity. is increasing in this field.
Innovation is in the DNA of the beauty sector, and I think brands can really harness that incredible power of innovation to come up with new solutions that reduce the overall environmental impact of their products.
