What Is Clean Beauty?
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Clean Beauty Ebook 2019 Safe and Sustainable Silicones for Clean Beauty Clean Beauty Directory and Formulary • Clean • Safe • Sustainable • Eco-Friendly Replacing • Bio-Based Microplastics Sustainability Drives Consumer Purchases Free Ebook Sponsored By: CT16_ad_template.indd 1 12/10/18 3:46 PM Market Intelligence | C&T ® KEY POINTS • Clean beauty aligns with a variety of tenets: minimal ingredients, consumer safety, social responsibility, transparency, etc. • This free “Clean Beauty E-book” combines these approaches in one resource to provide cosmetic formulators with a tool for any clean beauty path(s) they follow. Decoding Clean Beauty Jeb Gleason-Allured and lean beauty is something everyone is talking about with- Rachel L. Grabenhofer out ever defining it. While the specifics may vary, most Cosmetics & Toiletries retailers, brands and even consumers agree the key pillars include: safety, sustainability, ethics and transparency. In attempt to decode this market phenomenon, consider this quote from Gregg Renfrew, CEO and founder of Beau- tycounter: “[O]ur mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone … ” CBeautycounter grew 27% between 2017-2018, and in 2018, it was the most searched beauty brand online in the U.S., generating $320 million in sales for the year, per NPD num- Reproduction in English or any other language of all or part of this article is strictly prohibited. © 2019 Allured Business Media. 2 | www.CosmeticsandToiletries.com www.grantinc.com 2019 Clean Beauty E-book Consumers want products that are thoughtfully designed for the least possible negative impact— as they, the shopper, define it. bers. That makes it not only the largest digital-native oils.” Qualifying products feature a Clean at Sephora brand, but also one of the top stand-alone brands sticker. These designations also serve to make it in all of beauty. The brand even sent reps to Capitol easier for consumers to determine which choices are Hill in 2018 to lobby Congress to act on preventing “best” in an increasingly crowded marketplace filled “harmful” ingredients from being used in beauty and with countless upstart indie brands. personal care. This activism represents a growing But not all free-from claims are embraced equal- embrace of the precautionary principle— the world ly by consumers. For instance, Nielsen data shows view held by many consumers and upstart brands. clean brands that eschew specific no-no ingredients The growing reality is consumers want brands and key artificial ingredients grew by 4.2% in 2018, and retailers to deliver products that are thoughtfully compared with brands that merely declared them- designed to have the least possible negative impact selves artificial-free, which grew by just 2.6% in 2018. on human health, the environment and society—as Another Nielsen report noted, “In our study … ‘free they, the shopper, define it. This no doubt rightfully from’ claims didn’t stand out as much to consumers rankles plenty of suppliers and chemists who are as some of the specific ingredient mentions, but over- frustrated by the nuances and technical realities that arching ‘free from harsh chemicals’ and ‘non-toxic are all too often lost in the conversation. But there ingredients’ themes were very believable to achieve are ways to use emerging green technologies, safe various skin care benefits.” synthetics, consumer education and institutional Brands that operate in the EU have an added technical know-how to find new paths forward. challenge: The latest update to the EU’s EC No. 655/2013 regulation now prohibits free-from claims Free From ‘Free-from’ as of July 1, 2019. The latest annex prohibits the use What’s not in a product has become the focus of of free-from claims for ingredients prohibited by the beauty industry in recent years. It’s no surprise, the EU Cosmetics Regulation (e.g., heavy metals); then, that data from Nielsen shows “free-from for formulations that are merely in compliance with artificial fragrance” brand dollar sales rose 2% in the law; for ingredients that aren’t supposed to be 2018, compared with 0.1% for the total personal present in the product; for products that leverage an care sector. These now represent about 28.2% of the ingredient for specific attributes (e.g., preservation total market. or fragrance) without claiming those attributes (e.g., Meanwhile, retailer no-no lists provide a strong an aromatic material not claimed as a fragrance), tool of trust-building and differentiation for retailers unless that attribute is a side function of the general of all sizes. SpaceNK, for instance, states that clean ingredient family; or for ingredients/ingredient fami- beauty “refers to any formulation that is free from a lies that are legally used. Notably, there are instances list of potentially harmful and irritating ingredients, where free-from claims will be allowed, including des- and instead uses a combination of plants, vitamins, ignations for vegan products (i.e., free-from animal- minerals and botanical extracts to help restore skin derived products). to its optimum health and vitality.” The company adds, “Clean also refers to products and brands that The Case for showcase a concerted effort to manufacture more Safe Synthetics consciously, whether it be recycled packaging or The beauty industry, just like the foods industry, sustainable ingredients.” has suffered from the false equivalency of natural At the same time, the Clean at Sephora program with safety. However, in the age of veganism and features products “formulated without SLS, SLES, safe ingredients, conventional materials have a role parabens, formaldehyde, phthalates and mineral to play. For instance, silicones are an inert, non- 2019 Clean Beauty E-book www.grantinc.com Cosmetics & Toiletries® | 3 Decoding Clean Beauty reactive technology that boosts the sensory impact marketers and savvy social media teams to advocate of products without skin irritation. These materi- for science-based conversations about products that als also comply with the Clean at Sephora beauty focus on safety, efficacy and value. standards. At the same time, consumers have real concerns about sourcing ethics when it comes to Go Blue or Go Home naturals, with palm oil and coconut oil often in Brands in the clean/sustainable space grew rapidly the spotlight. In fact, according to Mintel, 74% of in 2018, including Tata Harper (38%), Kopari (66%) Spanish beauty and personal care consumers are and Coola (59%), according to NPD data. Many concerned that ingredients used in natural products brands have adopted green practices that focus on are not sustainable. limiting harm to people and the planet, while offering Ethical and sustainability considerations have transparency around ingredients and business prac- helped fuel the use of responsible synthetic op- tices. A subset of those brands have evolved further, tions throughout the beauty industry. For instance, pushing into what’s known as blue beauty, which seeks Mintel found synthetic beeswax appeared in 5% of to avoid harm while also addressing or undoing dam- global makeup launches in 2018, compared with 3% age from the past. in 2014. Carmine launches dropped from 37% to This blue mindset takes the form not just of zero 23% between 2013 and 2018. Cruelty-free makeup waste, but also of generating negative carbon foot- brushes with synthetic fibers are also on the rise prints. Companies operating in this space will leverage Conventional chemistry can continue to play a role closed loop concepts, as seen with some packaging in improving the sourcing and sustainability ethics pilot programs under way with P&G, Unilever and of the beauty industry and score points for sound others, in addition to upcycling concepts, reusable science in the process. technologies, truly recyclable materials that won’t ulti- mately end up in a landfill, and, interestingly, focusing Meet the Skintellectuals on boosting the economic well-being of a wider swath The beauty industry may have an emerging ally of society. (For more on this subject, see the July/Au- in getting the word out about the benefits of cosmet- gust issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries). ic ingredients of all kinds. Skintellectuals are true beauty nerds. They’re hyper-knowledgeable about brands, products and ingredients and are probably least likely to utter the phrase “if I can’t pronounce the name, I don’t want it in my products.” The skintellectual is the answer to the over- whelming anti-technological attitude found among a significant number of beauty consumers who prize natural above all else. These consumers understand why ingredients are included in products and can explain what, exactly, they do. But they’re also demanding. They want formulas that work hard and deliver clinic-standard results at-home. These consumers can also be leveraged by 4 | www.CosmeticsandToiletries.com www.grantinc.com 2019 Clean Beauty E-book This activity, paired with transparency, has a payoff. Accord- ing to NPD data, 78% of consumers trust transparent brands more than conventional companies, while 73% are willing to pay more for products from transparent brands. Label to Lab: 7 Strategies What does clean beauty mean from a technical standpoint? Initiated by food consumers, this movement started with the “clean label” mindset. It meant omitting artificial flavors and colors; using pure and safe ingredients; and minimizing additives, which ultimate- ly shortened ingredient lists to the essentials—especially those with familiar-sounding names. Rachel L. Grabenhofer Similarly, clean beauty follows many of the same tenets: remov- C&T Managing Editor ing unnecessary ingredients; ensuring user and environmental safety; transparently disclosing what’s in a product, etc. To formulators, clean beauty products exhibit roughly seven characteristics, some or 2019 CLEAN BEAUTY E-BOOK all of which may be employed in a given product: 1. Simplified Formulas, meaning going back to the basics, opti- mizing for efficacy and leveraging multifunctional solutions.