As the cosmetics industry is pushing at all times to innovate and create the next big thing, more formulators are looking out to sea for their source of inspiration.
This is entirely understandable as the sea holds within its vast depths an enormous range of chemical compounds unstudied and uncharacterised by scientists, and any number of them could be useful to our industry as well as the wider world. As the natural cosmetics market continues to develop, the need for naturally-derived active ingredients consequently increases, and as such marine-derived actives are a perfect starting point. However, as we have found to our cost, sudden interest in a new natural product can have a devastating impact on the surrounding ecosystem, and one research company, Organic Monitor, has recently expressed concern about the spike in marine-derived cosmetics. In a statement released in October last year, Organic Monitor drew a comparison with the fishing industry in which nonsustainable sourcing of seafood has led to a 90% drop in the number of predatory fish in the oceans. The fact is that the oceans operate a delicate balancing act, and a depletion in one area will quickly have a knock-on effect in another. According to Organic Monitor: “With the cosmetics industry having an insatiable appetite for novel ingredients, Organic Monitor expects marine sourcing to increase in the coming years. The challenge is to combine innovation with sustainability. In this respect, natural cosmetic firms could lead the way since many have sustainable sourcing embedded in their corporate DNA.”
Novel areas of research
Aqua Bio Technology
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