New technologies and sustainability are causing disruption in the cosmetic & personal care industry. Cosmetic brands and ingredient firms are investing in a raft of green initiatives, whilst technology is influencing raw materials, production processes, and distribution.
Such developments will be featured in the next Sustainable Cosmetics Summit . The tenth North American edition of the executive summit will be hosted in New York on 8-10 May.
Packaging pollution has become a major environmental issue for cosmetic & consumer goods industries, with about 300 millions of tonnes of plastic waste generated each year. Andrew Dent, Executive Vice President of Material Connexion will host a workshop on Reducing Packaging Impacts. Highlighting industry best-practices, he will guide cosmetic & personal care brands on how to make their packaging more sustainable. Shane Wolf, General Manager of Seed Phytonutrients, will show how the brand is using novel packaging made from post-consumer paper. Launched on Earth Day 2018, Seed Phytonutrients are marketed as ‘farm-to-bottle’ beauty products as the company is sourcing organic ingredients directly from American farmers.
Aveda has been implementing green initiatives since its formation in 1978. Melissa Chelminiak will give some insights into how it is addressing its environmental and social impacts. The company has won many awards (including Sustainability Leadership at 2017 Sustainable Beauty Awards) in recognition for programs involving ethical sourcing, renewable energy, product design, and responsible packaging. Other topics covered in the opening session (Sustainability Developments) include regenerative agriculture, methodologies to measure impacts, social risks in supply chains, and retailing case study.
New Technologies are having a disruptive influence on production, processing and / or traceability of ingredients, as well as marketing of finished products. An update will be given on how plant cell technology is creating novel actives, as well as sustainable processing methods. Philip Prather from Down Under Enterprises will use Australian sandalwood as an example on how technology is being used to provide traceability for raw materials. Another speaker will discuss the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence; other topics include mobile apps for sustainable cosmetics, social media marketing success stories, and marketing implications of new technologies.
Green materials continue to make headway into cosmetic & personal care products, however there are some concerns about the long-term implications. Serena Pozza from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation will discuss the role of such materials in a circular economy. How can existing personal care ingredients be adapted for repeat use? How can truly sustainable chemicals be created? Dr. Ellen Kamhi will give an update on the growing array of natural ingredients used in functional skin care products. Other speakers will discuss new materials from food side streams, natural ingredients for hair care products, and innovating with green materials.
The Sustainable Cosmetics Summit will be hosted at Park Central Hotel New York on 6-8th May. By focusing on new technologies and sustainability developments, the summit aims to help operators realise opportunities created by their disruption.
