The global beauty industry, worth a staggering $500 billion, has made sweeping promises to reduce its environmental impact in recent years. Yet, despite these efforts, many experts say the industry's sustainability credentials are woefully inadequate.
In 2021, Simon Kucher's Global Sustainability Study found that 60% of consumers worldwide view sustainability as an important factor when making purchasing decisions, and a further 35% are willing to pay more for sustainable products. This growing demand has propelled many beauty brands to set ambitious environmental goals, including moving away from single-use plastics, implementing recyclable packaging, and providing greater transparency around product ingredients.
However, consumers still struggle to understand the sustainability credentials of many products, according to the British Beauty Council. The industry's efforts to clean up its act have been inconsistent, and far short of making a recognizable impact in the absence of collective goal-setting, global strategy, and standardized regulations.
One major area where brands are falling short is in transparency around ingredients. There is currently no international standard for the beauty industry on how much product ingredient information should be shared with customers – or how to do so. This has led to "greenwashing," where sustainability claims are often touted but not substantiated, and companies using marketing language like "clean beauty" to make their products seem natural when they may not actually be.
Even natural ingredients can have toxic loads, warns Jen Lee, chief impact officer at US-based brand Beautycounter. "Natural vs synthetic ingredients has been a conversation," she explains. "People think natural is safer, but it's not always the case."
The beauty industry's plastic packaging is also a major sustainability challenge – 95% of all packaging is thrown away and the vast majority is not recycled. Despite efforts by some brands to phase out harmful plastics and adopt post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, many still use single-use plastics and are falling short of their targets.
Beauty retailers play a pivotal role in driving sustainability change, but many vary when it comes to setting standards for brands they sell. Jessi Baker, founder of the technology platform Provenance, notes that "smaller businesses do more, full stop." They move more nimbly and don't need to restructure their entire supply chain.
To address these gaps, some experts argue that governments and multinationals should enforce regulations and set a baseline for brands to operate from when making sustainability claims. However, Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability and impact at beauty retailer Credo Beauty, says the private sector will drive change through market leadership.
"The regulation can raise the floor a bit," she notes. "But that's never going to be what the market can do." Instead, it is individual brands and customers who are taking bold action to address climate shortcomings in the industry.
In 2021, Simon Kucher's Global Sustainability Study found that 60% of consumers worldwide view sustainability as an important factor when making purchasing decisions, and a further 35% are willing to pay more for sustainable products. This growing demand has propelled many beauty brands to set ambitious environmental goals, including moving away from single-use plastics, implementing recyclable packaging, and providing greater transparency around product ingredients.
However, consumers still struggle to understand the sustainability credentials of many products, according to the British Beauty Council. The industry's efforts to clean up its act have been inconsistent, and far short of making a recognizable impact in the absence of collective goal-setting, global strategy, and standardized regulations.
One major area where brands are falling short is in transparency around ingredients. There is currently no international standard for the beauty industry on how much product ingredient information should be shared with customers – or how to do so. This has led to "greenwashing," where sustainability claims are often touted but not substantiated, and companies using marketing language like "clean beauty" to make their products seem natural when they may not actually be.
Even natural ingredients can have toxic loads, warns Jen Lee, chief impact officer at US-based brand Beautycounter. "Natural vs synthetic ingredients has been a conversation," she explains. "People think natural is safer, but it's not always the case."
The beauty industry's plastic packaging is also a major sustainability challenge – 95% of all packaging is thrown away and the vast majority is not recycled. Despite efforts by some brands to phase out harmful plastics and adopt post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, many still use single-use plastics and are falling short of their targets.
Beauty retailers play a pivotal role in driving sustainability change, but many vary when it comes to setting standards for brands they sell. Jessi Baker, founder of the technology platform Provenance, notes that "smaller businesses do more, full stop." They move more nimbly and don't need to restructure their entire supply chain.
To address these gaps, some experts argue that governments and multinationals should enforce regulations and set a baseline for brands to operate from when making sustainability claims. However, Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability and impact at beauty retailer Credo Beauty, says the private sector will drive change through market leadership.
"The regulation can raise the floor a bit," she notes. "But that's never going to be what the market can do." Instead, it is individual brands and customers who are taking bold action to address climate shortcomings in the industry.
. They've been talking about sustainability for years, but it seems like most of them are just paying lip service 
. I mean, 95% of packaging is thrown away and most of that isn't even recycled? That's crazy! 
. Companies claiming to be all about natural ingredients but then using toxic loads for some products? No thanks 
. It's like they're trying to fool us into thinking their products are better for the planet than they really are.
. They seem to be doing it right, moving quickly and adapting without needing to restructure everything. And customers are driving change too! We're not going to keep supporting companies that don't care about our planet 
.
. We can't just wait for governments or big corporations to step up – we need to hold them accountable ourselves 
. It's time for the beauty industry to put its money where its mouth is 
.
#SustainabilityMatters! I think the private sector has been doing some amazing work to drive change in the beauty industry, especially when it comes to setting standards for brands they sell 
#GreenBeauty. But yeah, governments and multinationals do need to step up their game with regulations that enforce sustainability claims 
#RegulationIsKey.
#SmallerBusinessSustainability. And let's not forget about individual customers who are making conscious choices in the beauty aisle 
#EcoFriendlyBeauty.
. And don't even get me started on plastic packaging... 95% of all packaging ends up in the trash?! That's wild. We need more regulation, more leadership from brands and retailers, but also individual action from customers - it's time to take responsibility for our beauty choices! 
they're like "oh we're reducing our plastic usage" but then you do some research and it turns out they're still using tons of single-use plastics... meanwhile, smaller businesses are over here killing the game with eco-friendly packaging and transparent ingredient lists 
it's like, yeah we know our product is not as natural as we claim, but hey it sounds good so you should buy it 
I think its crazy how many ppl r payin more 4 sustainable products & companys still r "greenwashin" 
usin market langauge 2 make it sound like they're doin somethin when really they ain't. We need standardizd reg's so we can trust what we're buyin 
, making empty promises 
and then doing nothing 
. Consumers want to know what they're buying 
about their ingredients 
.
The stats are crazy 
- 60% of consumers care about sustainability 
. They just slap a "clean" label on their toxic products 
Let's give it up for smaller businesses 
who are actually making a difference 
. We need more of that 
!
. Like, come on, 500 billion dollars isn't a lot to ask for, right? 
And, honestly, I'm not sure if 'greenwashing' is even a thing anymore - maybe it's just called marketing now 
.
And single-use plastics? Forget about it 
. It's like, we can't all just be 'market leaders' forever... someone needs to come in and say, "Hey, this is what's fair and reasonable" 
.
. And smaller businesses are actually doing some amazing things 
. So maybe we just need more recognition and support for those tiny brands that are making a big impact 
. Ugh, my brain hurts from all these contradictions 
.
. Newsflash: it's not! 
. We need some real change around here, not just a bunch of companies trying to save face by saying they're being sustainable