Lifting the Curtain on Greenwashing in Beauty
Lifting the Curtain on Greenwashing in Beauty
With Susanne Manasi and Neada Deters
By HURS Team
Nearly every new (and old) beauty and skincare brand wants a piece of the clean, organic and natural beauty pie. The market segment is expected to rule the 530 billion-plus dollar beauty and personal care industry. Globally, the natural and organic beauty market is estimated to reach over 50 billion dollars by 2027, starting at only 29.9 billion dollars in 2021. But what do all these terms even mean? Most define ‘clean’ beauty as products that are made without ingredients that can be harmful to your health as well as the earth. The problem is that attaching the term clean, organic or natural beauty to a product doesn’t come with any regulations, resulting in a disparity between what you believe you’re buying into and what beauty and skincare companies are selling. And with terms like vegan, natural, organic and clean all used interchangeably, the beauty space becomes increasingly difficult to navigate for consumers.
But overall, the shift is a positive one. The pandemic changed the collective mindset. Consumers started to question the products and brands they were buying into and how they impacted their health and the environment. Additionally, there was more attention for the inconsistency in regulations around cosmetics in different countries. To give you some context; the European Union has banned around 1300 chemicals in cosmetics, while the US has only restricted 11. It comes as no surprise that consumers want to take matters into their own hands, while governments are playing catch up.
For an insight into the world of clean, organic and natural beauty, we asked two industry insiders about the importance of considering what you put on your skin, the difference between natural and organic and their thoughts on the beauty industry at large.