There's a growing demand for accountability and social responsibility from brands, and a push from consumers to create products that are respectful of animals and the planet. Because who wants to feel like they're contributing to animal cruelty and environmental disaster when they apply a lipstick or use a face wash? No one.
But what are the standards we're using? Will our purchases, realistically, make a positive difference for the issues we care about?
It's easy to be cynical about the effectiveness of individual efforts to combat climate change and animal cruelty when the industries responsible for the climate crisis and mass extinction (fossil fuel industry, the US military, the agricultural industry) are operating on a business as usual basis and bankrolling politicians who will let them continue making obscene profits at the expense of the future of the planet. It's upsetting, and demoralizing. That said, the by 2025, the global beauty market is projected to be worth more than $758 billion USD. That's not insignificant.
Consumer rejection of unsustainable packaging and single-use plastics will make a difference in the beauty industry's offerings, and so will consumer rejection of products tested on animals and a preference for vegan formulations. But how do we define cruelty-free and sustainable?
The testing of most widely-used common ingredients was done on animals long ago, so it's the finished products being tested on animals that has been the issue, and the only companies doing that were big brands wanting access to the Chinese market. As of this year, China no longer requires animal testing on imported cosmetics (with exceptions for certain products like hair dye, sunscreen and hair growth products). And that's huge, and almost certainly a result of consumer demand for cruelty-free.
Should we care if the dye in our lipstick is derived from a type of bug? Especially if an estimated 40,000 families in Peru are making a living harvesting and selling those bugs? And when you're eating or drinking just about anything, you're consuming some bug parts, guaranteed.
What about really IMPORTANT insects, like bees? Some people believe beeswax can be ethically harvested, as long as the bees aren't harmed. Some people don't think that's possible. But in both cases, alternative waxes and alternative dyes exist, so if a consumer is uncomfortable with the thought of bees and bugs being involved in their cosmetic production, there are always other options.
Sustainable packaging is a tricky issue because so many cosmetics require specific containers for formula stability, but glass packaging (like ours!!), refillable containers and zero-waste products are becoming more widely available. The plastic-free movement is building steam, thanks to new revelations about just how little plastic is actually recyclable. We've been fooled for decades about that, and it's destroying our oceans.
Larger companies who ship widely will not necessarily be favoring the weight of glass, though, so plastic will still be widely used until eco-friendly packaging technology improves. The industry has heard the demands though, and so look for that to improve, as well.
In summary, while the environment is not going to be saved by our individual consumption habits, consumer demand for more sustainable packaging and accountability has made a difference and driven the change in the beauty industry, at least. How can this knowledge help us address the main offenders? Campaign finance reform would go a long way toward reducing the power of the worst environmental offenders, so that needs to be the big push. Can all cosmetic companies start calling for this? That would be the coolest.
-FCB