EP72. We must get to Net Zero in Beauty

So I've just finished recording an episode with Austin Whitman of the Climate Neutral Certification Scheme and by the time this recording goes live, you'll already have listened to that interview in your favorite podcast app because it was published last week. So it was great recording the interview with Austin and hearing from someone actively encouraging beauty brands to do something about their carbon or climate footprint. I've been interviewed for a lot of publications on the topic of carbon neutral beauty in the last year, after my colleague Anna and I originally covered it on this podcast. But there are still not that many beauty brands taking part in the conversation. So it was wonderful to hear all about the work that Austin and his team are doing, as well as hearing about the uptake they're seeing from the beauty industry. For that reason, I wanted to jump on quickly, record this super short opinion piece and challenge you to join me in thinking about how we can get the beauty industry to net zero. 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 that we released last week. So 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. Now, as you can imagine, in my line of work I see a lot of certification schemes come past. It almost feels as if every week sees the launch of a new certification label. I often despair for the beauty brands out there who are probably left scratching their heads wondering which one or ones they should consider for their formulation. But when I heard about Climate Neutral and how they were specifically targeting beauty brands, I have to admit I got quite animated and excited. It's not easy running an indie beauty brand, particularly not in the dawning age of sustainability. And I say dawning because the beauty industry only seems to have recently woken up to this discussion that we've been having for many decades outside of beauty. The fact is that beauty brands are going to come under increasing pressure to avoid or reduce their contributions to the climate and ecological crises that we're facing. But how do you measure your climate footprint? How do you account and compensate for it? How do you then operate your business in such a way that you avoid and reduce any impacts that you have moving forward? And most importantly, how do you do all of that in a way that's open to public scrutiny and allows customers to compare brands with each other and that's where a certification scheme comes in very handy, because someone has then done all the legwork for you. So 10 years ago, natural was not much of a thing. In beauty, you could be a natural skincare brand and it was possible for that to be your niche. You could comfortably stand out as a brand by claiming to be natural. Ten years on, natural is now expected from you as the default. It certainly isn't a niche anymore. And then drawing parallels from that experience, in our current times, it's still possible to stand out from the crowd by claiming to be a sustainable beauty brand, which in itself, when you think about it, is absolutely insane. But I promise you that 10 years from now, sustainability will be an expected norm for all beauty brands. Customers won't let the industry get away with anything less. Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. And many beauty brands are going to need to ask themselves incredibly challenging questions that go to the very heart of their existence whilst they're on that journey. But the ones who emerge from this time of intense reflection are the ones who have the ability to stand the test of time. We must get to Net zero in beauty and do our bit as an industry. And the only way that's going to happen is through measuring, offsetting, avoiding and reducing our climate footprints. So my challenge to you for this week is simple. I want you to think of yourself as being part of the Global Sustainable Beauty Task Force. If you buy beauty products, you are a member by default. It's a bit like my kids schools pta. You're in it whether you like it or not. So now that you know you're a member, I want you to think of yourself as being out there in the world to challenge brands and retailers and other shoppers to think more long term about the beauty products that they buy or make or use. Climate neutrality is part of that. And it's only through these challenging conversations that we're going to make change. Remember that none of this is going to happen without you. So thank you for sticking with me. I really hope that you join me on this challenge. The beauty industry can do so much better and it's through your help that we'll get there. Always remember, this is a team effort on the journey to Net zero. 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 podcast, please make sure you do so in your favorite podcast app. And I'LL be back soon with my next episode.