In order to win this trend, beauty brands are expected to be transparent, especially those who openly promote as eco brands. For instance, around 45% of consumers claim responsible sourcing is important to achieve sustainability, whereas 24% request the brands to use ingredients manufactured in a sustainable process.

Soil Association Certification found that 2022 is the eleventh consecutive year in growth to get progressive results in certified natural beauty and wellness products. According to its Organic Beauty and Wellbeing Market Report, 48% of consumers are more concerned about the environment now than before the pandemic and 55% are willing to buy eco-friendly products.

Eco Beauty Trends

With sustainability placed in the centre and the main position for consumers, the trends related to eco-beauty brands are getting high. Here are the top trends in the sustainable beauty industry.

Cruelty-free

The vegan cosmetics industry has its own worth of $2,66 billion in 2023 and, with a CAGR of 6,83%, it is expected to touch $3,7 billion by 2028. In the skincare industry, cruelty-free is not just about fighting against animal cruelty. It contains several beauty, health, and wellness benefits. The products are produced without any toxins and chemicals. It creates a positive impact on the environment too as there will be only a small trace of parabens, triclosan, sulphates, and microplastics which means there is less chance of the materials getting into the environment.

In 2021, a survey by The Vegan Society estimated that around 38% of consumers think that the product with a “vegan” label contains no animal-sourced ingredients. They prefer these items over traditional products due to the medical benefits they possess.

PeTA has mentioned sustainable brands like Dr. Botanicals, Alchimie Forever, Earth Kiss, ESW Beauty, Hylunia, Ferver, MuLondon, and NuRevealSkincare to be 100% vegan. Other eco brands such as OSEA Malibu, Ora’s Amazing Herbal, Harlo, Mukti Organics, and Noosa Basics market themselves as vegan labels.

The leading brands are setting down their paths to vegan by dropping a collection and programs. In November 2022, NYC Professional Makeup released its vegan makeup collection with inspiration from the film Avatar: The Way of Water. The brand also promised to decrease its negative effects on the environment. Lotte Duty-Free launched a vegan cosmetic collection in its online portal LDF BUY in May 2022.

The market leaders in Vegan cosmetics are L'Oreal SA, E.L.F. Cosmetics Company, Coty, Inc., Beauty without Cruelty, and MuLondon.

Transparency Over Ingredients

Consumers are expecting the brands to be more public with their labels and ingredients. Around 72% of the buyers want their desired brands to be honest and straightforward with their product offerings and ingredients.

Based on an NIQ report, over 6,4% of beauty and personal care products are promoting sustainability with claims such as biodegradable, recyclable, BPA-free, and plastic-free. At the same time, the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network found that 42% of the sustainability-labelled products were false. However, consumers are getting alert in this situation.

Brands are using as much resources and power to implement transparency in their products by taking control of the production. LOLI Beauty is sourcing ingredients on its own instead of looping a third-party supplier in to segregate the ingredients on its own. Au Naturale Cosmetics has built a lab inside their facility to control the production.

On the other hand, suppliers are helping the brands to achieve their goals. An ingredient supplier named Croda is using a traceability system that connects the farmers/ingredients manufacturers to beauty companies.

Sustainable Packaging

One of the most talked about topics in these trends is packaging through sustainable means. The packaging is expected to be designed to have a minimal impact on the environment. Have a look at some features of sustainable packaging.

Minimalistic

About 86K tonnes of excess CO2 are emitted due to the oversized packaging that holds 85 m^3 of just air that is shipped to households in the UK each year. This value can bear 36 times the O2 amount in London. Many companies such as Sparck Technologies, EcoCubly, and Vhadam are providing compact packaging services. Brands such as Australia's Formi and China’s Stellar Works are using innovative techniques that lessen the delivery box’s size.

Recyclable

Packaging items that can be recycled and reused is another feature of sustainable packaging. Vilvah from India uses the recyclable packaging process using aluminium and glass. Kiehl's India did a Recycle & Be Rewarded Program for its purchasers to return their empty boxes and jars of the brand in return for discounts. The same was done by Vilvah with a #BringItToVilvah hashtag. Asa Beauty offers product refills for its customers.

Biodegradable

Packaging that can be dissolvable and biodegradable is important for the combat against landfill wastes. It breaks down quicker than the plastic packaging. A Japanese Designer trio named AMAM was named the Grand Prix winner at the 2016 Lexus Design Award for creating seaweed packaging instead of plastic. Scholars are recommending beeswax wrap for packaging too.

Merging Categories

Nowadays, mental health and wellness categories are getting closer to the beauty industry. The beauty products are expected to enhance self-care and relaxation. This has allowed the eco-beauty brands to enhance their take on this merger.

WishCare is an organic beauty brand that believes in natural self-care over anything else. Its handmade eco-friendly products are promoted as the medium to assist in the consumer's way of self-care.

Brands such as Little Seed Farm, Fat and the Moon, Elate Cosmetics, Earth Harbor, Activist Skincare and Lovett Sundries promote sustainability in their label along with the term “self-care”.

Anxiety Cosmetics provides cruelty-free, vegan products that are believed to elevate your mind to happiness and calmness.

Government and Reliable Association Initiatives

NPD data reports that 54% of the clean beauty buyers research the products on their own before buying them and 37% believe in the retailers to give them assurance on a product.
As sustainability is trending and becoming more in demand, eco-beauty brands and retailers will make themselves more than familiar with ESG needs. With the brands continuing to release ESG claims, it is the government’s responsibility to keep an eye on the brands and their truthfulness.

There are many certifications issued by reliable associations for the brands to help the consumers choose the right products. The leaping bunny is a cruelty-free certification from the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC). Labels including True Botanicals, ILIA Beauty, and W3LL PEOPLE hold this certification.

The B Corp. is a major certification scored by companies when it achieves a good score in governance, community relations, employee treatment, and environmental impacts. Elate Cosmetics, Ethique, Alima Pure, and Sunday Riley have this certification.

The brands will also have to understand more about other certifications such as Ecocert Cosmos Beauty, Organic by NSF International, USDA, Fairtrade, FSC, and Rainforest Alliance.

Retailers

Retailers play an important role in the consumer’s decision-making process. Due to this, there has been a situation where the retailers are pushing the brands to get into a more sustainable structure. Major players like Amazon, Sephora, Target, and Ulta are concentrating on assisting their customers to find sustainable and appropriate products for them.

Nykaa has a blog named Beauty Books with insights including the most sustainable beauty brands in their retail website along with some product recommendations. Sephora has dedicated a page titled Clean + Planet Positive Beauty Brands, comprising product recommendations in the categories of Makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance.

Skinmalism

Another continuing trend in 2023 is Skinmalism where people prefer minimal skin care routine. According to the Founder of Yavana Aesthetics Clinic, there has been a hike in patients' number due to the irritable and sensitive skin reactions caused by the multiple product usage and toxic ingredients in them. Using an excess amount of products for skin care can interrupt the skin’s pH and lead to some serious damage.

Therefore, with the world moving towards sustainability and a simple-over-extravagant life after the pandemic, a minimalistic approach to skincare is getting more attention.

The eco beauty brands have proven to be more trustworthy and usable for consumers. Along with them, the leading beauty brands are taking sustainable routes to win this trend. Garnier has introduced micro-fiber Eco Pads that can be reused to replace disposable cotton pads. The Glow Pot has dropped its bamboo jar packaging and reusable cotton pads.

The Indian Actress and Louis Vuitton’s brand ambassador, Deepika Padukone, owns a self-care brand called 82°E which offers products that support minimalism and eco-friendly ingredients usage.

Cover Image: Eco-Friendly Beauty Brands, courtesy Condé Nast Traveller India.