Trends such as Blue Beauty, led by Jeannie Jarnot and Kapua Browning, are based on an observation: 75% of marine waste is plastic waste.
The BIG IDEA: think of every cosmetic product as being eco-responsible, from A to Z. From sourcing (with natural and biodegradable formulas), to brand commitments, to going through recycled and/or recyclable bottles and its carbon impact.
Let’s have a glance at some brands that are already riding the wave of BLUE BEAUTY!
Stop the Water!
Recently bought by BEIERSDORF, STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME is a 100% biodegradable natural cosmetic brand. Beyond its name as a wink to eco-consciousness, it produces only solid or refillable products. Furthermore, every purchase generates a donation to GOODWATER PROJECTS.
Waterless Wave
Waterless cosmetics fill many Blue Beauty expectations: no-water formulas allow products to be created without preservatives. It leads to lighter products and this in turn, to a lighter carbon footprint. Some brands such as YODI go further with clean and pure powdered formulas and eco-designed packagings.
Cocorico Beauty
LA BOUCHE ROUGE, a young French make-up brand, couples luxury and eco-consciouness. It removes as much water as possible from formulas and fabrication processes. For each LE ROUGE purchased, the brand finances 100L of potable water in Togo. Red cherry on the cake, it has removed plastic from its products and stakes on luxury refillable packagings.
No water, thanks!
Water is pointless in cosmetics as it has no moisturizing action. Based on this evidence, MINIMA(LISTE) made the choice of waterless formulas, reducing the INCI lists to their minimum. To fit with its “less for better” philosophy, its packagings are not only recyclable but upcyclable. Lastly, conscious of water preciosity, MINIMA(LISTE) acts with NGOs to sink wells in Africa.
Make it solid!
Initiated by green beauty & niche brands, solid cosmetics are now a must- have in personal care ranges. Market leaders such as L’ORÉAL & NIVEA are launching their own references. This galenic formulation is often cleaner. Due to the solidided products, it uses less water and allows carton packaging instead of plastic bottles.
Plastic bank
PLASTIC BANK is a social and ecologic initiative which creates work and value by recycling plastic waste collected in oceans in developing countries. Thanks to their partnership with HENKEL, 15 Million bottles made of recycled plastic have been sold since 2018. Other groups involved include WE/DO, an eco-ethical and transparent professional haircare brand.
Ocean-friendly Suncare
Swimming in the sea will soon be banned in Hawaii unless the individual is using a coral-respecting sunscreen. A lot of sun care brands have already cleaned their formula. Special mention to: LABORATOIRES BIARRITZ: Clean formula made with natural marine ingredient and local sourcing & fabrication. SEVENTY ONE PERCENT: Created by and for the surfer community, each product has been thought to be safe to the environment and to the consumer.
Tesco × Marine Species Safeguard
To get its consumers aware of plastic ocean pollution, TESCO MALAYSIA launched reusable bags with endangered species illustrations. To encourage its consumers to reuse the bag instead of throwing them in the sea, there is a unique barcode on it: each reuse awards its owner with discounts.
La Mer × Blue Heart Oceans
Since 2017, through its Blue Heart Oceans foundation launch, LA MER supports worldwide projects to protect the oceans with campaigns and donations. This year they launched this gorgeous BLUE HEART limited edition.
Biotherm × Coco Capitan
BIOTHERM and COCO CAPITAN collaborated on a Limited Edition of the iconic Life Plankton Elixir. The purpose? To create awareness about phytoplankton, threatened by ocean pollution and still producting more than 50% of earth oxygene. This initiative falls perfectly within BIOTHERM’s commitment to ocean protection that has seen several partnerships with foundations and a donation of 1% of the brand sales to BLUE MISSION NGO since 2012.
Dig deeper…
It’s not innovative anymore to launch eco-conscious products: it’s a trend that will last and fill a debt we have on our planet. Consumers are more and more eager to clean their purchases and it’s becoming a key differentiation to the brands. Nowadays, 73% of millenial women are looking for clean beauty solutions, and the number is growing.
Many eco-conscious initiatives are drowned among green washing – let’s find a way to communicate about them with appropriate tone of voice and channels. Brands have to focus on a unique cause that matches with their DNA and is relevant to their audience.
Saving water in formulas and fabrication processes is also a clever way to avoid preservatives, to clean the product and reduce carbon footprint. Solid and waterless cosmetics are already trendy, and Asia is already looking for more innovative formulas such as frozen-dried cosmetics.
