Lorraine Dallmeyer, CEO of Formula Botanica, warns that biodegradability claims for cosmetic ingredients and packaging often lack solid research or only work under specific conditions like industrial composting. Bioplastics carry their own risks: they fragment into microplastics and have been linked to child labour in sugarcane sourcing.
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I've just finished recording an episode with my colleague Anna Green here at Formula Botanica and by the time this recording goes live, you'll already hopefully have listened to that interview in your favorite podcast app. Now I really enjoyed recording this episode because it's quite possibly the most complicated one we've ever done for the Green Beauty Conversations podcast. I hope it gave you food for thought too. In my opinion, the beauty industry just isn't leading the conversation on biodegradability yet, so I really hope that this episode helps provide more clarity. So I decided to jump on real quick, record this super short opinion piece and challenge you to help change the conversation around biodegradable beauty. Hi, it's Lorraine Dallmeyer, Chartered environmentalist, biologist and CEO of award winning online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica. I host the Green Beauty Conversations podcast and these are my green beauty opinions in which I share my takeaways from the podcast interview we released last week. In this short episode I put forward my main thoughts on the topic we last discussed, as well as setting you a challenge to make the green beauty sector a better place. So when I first started looking into biodegradability and cosmetics, I honestly thought this would be a well researched and thought out discussion topic. And actually I was shocked by how little information I could find. I combed textbooks and scientific research papers and official organizations and I just also tried to back up some of the biodegradability claims made by beauty brands. There was hardly anything to be found. And when I did find information on how long it took for ingredients to break down, this often related to the biodegradability of ingredients in industrial composters. In other words, a lot of beauty brands are making claims about biodegradability and not always backing them up with facts. Now I will say that the bigger brands, the ones we mentioned in last week's podcast such as l', Oreal, they are doing the work on degradability. But this information isn't necessarily trickling down to the smaller brands. And that's just the ingredients. I mean the packaging conversation around biodegradability is happening, but it's complex and there isn't a clear cut solution. And I don't think the conversation is going in quite the right direction either. As Anna and I discussed, it isn't just a matter of making 120 billion units per year out of bioplastics that break down quicker. You're still ultimately then manufacturing 120 billion units or more of packaging a year. Now that's not to say that we shouldn't be incorporating bioplastics in beauty packaging, and I think it's worth acknowledging that. It's great that many of these bioplastics are phasing out the use of virgin plastic, but bioplastics aren't without their own challenges. Apart from the fact that certain bioplastics may break down into microplastics rather than being processed by microorganisms, Sugarcane plastic packaging has recently come under fire for being linked to child labor in some South American countries. So we have a way to go until we get it right, and I strongly feel that this ties together with the discussions we need to be having about circular beauty. Another topic we recently covered on the podcast Biodegradability is a fantastic goal and should be part of the overall sustainability conversation in the beauty industry, which in my opinion currently does not go far enough. But I want us to acknowledge that biodegradable beauty is more than just packaging. It requires us to look at the ingredients we use, the environment into which those ingredients are discharged, the way we approach our beauty products, and the amount we consume. So my challenge to you for this week is that the next time you're applying your skincare or makeup or hair care, review your bathroom shelf and look to see who's making biodegradability claims for their ingredients or packaging. Can you find anything? If you can, go and check out the brand's website and see how they're backing up those claims and then come over to Formula Botanica's or my personal social channels and tell me what you've found. I'd love to hear from you. So we have the ability to make great change by leading these sustainable beauty conversations with integrity. No one else is challenging these topics efficiently. So I really hope you'll join me on my mission to make the beauty industry a better and more sustainable place. Thank you for listening to my Green beauty opinions. Remember to visit the Formula botanica website@formulabotanica.com to try our free online formulation course. And if you haven't subscribed yet to the Green Beauty Conversations podcast, and if you haven't listened to last week's episode yet, please make sure you do so now in your favorite podcast app. And I'll be back soon with my next episode. Sam.
