The cosmetics industry is changing and now transparency and concern for sustainability prevail. So much so that some of the largest and most powerful groups such as LVMH, L’Oréal, Unilever, Henkel and Natura & Co have decided create a scoring system in order to calculate the environmental impact of the cosmetic industry and thus be able to offer the consumer information “Clear, transparent and comparable”.
In this way, the cosmetic products of the brands will be evaluated based on different criteria common to all that would be subject to four key principles such as: create a common method to measure environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the product, including packaging and use; a database common environmental impacts for ingredients and materials standard premiums; a common tool to calculate the environmental impact by product; and a system of harmonized punctuation which allowed for an easy comparison for consumers.
As far as we have learned, they will collaborate with the sustainability consultancy Quantis, to build the evaluation methodology and the scoring system, in order to provide consumers with as clear information as possible so that, in the words of the brands, “The work developed by the consortium will be published and accessible on a strictly voluntary basis both by the participants of the consortium and by all other interested parties.”
And continuing with the statements, they have also commented that “The new evaluation and scoring system will aim to meet the growing consumer demand for greater transparency on the environmental impact of cosmetic products: formula, packaging and use. The objective is to improve the information that is available to consumers and allow them to make more sustainable consumption decisions ”.
Even earlier this year, Nicolas Hieronimus CEO of L’Oréal already commented that consumers now expect “Complete transparency of brands and companies” and this is one of the ways to satisfy that demand which requires a “progressive transformation” from all industry sectors.
On the other hand, as pointed out Sunny Jain, CEO of Unilever, “Many of us want to make more considered decisions in our lives, but it is not always easy to know the environmental impact we are having through simple things like selecting which soap to buy or which shampoo to use. This is where the new consortium can make a difference. Working together with our companies, our goal will be to provide people with easy to understand, transparent and comparable information, based on a sound scientific approach. This will help the one billion people who use our Unilever beauty and personal care products all the days to make even more informed decisions ”.
Undoubtedly, we think it is a great idea that will help us to know more about cosmetic products, to know how to choose better and with more knowledge and to continue contributing to a world beauty more sustainable.
Photos | @diorbeauty, @dove, @lorealspain