EP86. Are we dumbing down sustainable beauty?

I've just finished recording an episode with Emily King of Farewell, and by the time this recording goes live, you'll already have listened to my interview with Emily in your favorite podcast app because it was released last week. It was so interesting to talk about sustainable sourcing projects in the cosmetics industry. We discussed baobab, frankincense, rosehip amongst others. Many beautiful ingredients that we know and love in the cosmetics industry. But talking about the sustainable sourcing of ingredients made me think, how does this fit with the ongoing Naturals vs. Synthetics debate in the industry? After all, there are still plenty of people out there, even some influencers, telling their followers that it's better to use synthetic ingredients because they deem them to be more sustainable. For that reason, I wanted to jump on quickly record this super short opinion piece and challenge you to join me in thinking about what sustainability really means for our ingredients. Foreign. Dallmeyer Chartered environmentalist, biologist and the 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 main takeaways from the podcast interview that 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 before we get into the nitty gritty of my latest green beauty opinion, what does sustainability actually mean? Well, when I completed my postgraduate studies in environmental management and corporate sustainability two decades ago, we used to talk about the so called three legged stool of People, Planet and Profit. If one leg isn't there, the stool falls over. If both legs aren't there because you're only focusing on profit, there's no stool. So really, we need to think of sustainability as a balancing act between environmental justice, social responsibility and economic viability, where we consume beauty products in such a way that we don't compromise the needs of future generations. And that's why it's so interesting to learn that there are influencers out there telling their followers that it's not sustainable and to use naturally grown ingredients in their beauty formulations. Now to be fair, I don't follow any of these people because I have better things to do with my time. But I hear snippets about what's going on in the industry and I sit here shaking my head a lot of the time when their opinions reach my ears. So is their opinion valid? Is it more sustainable to use a synthetic ingredient over a natural one? Well, how on earth would I know any scientist worth their salt would answer that question with it depends on the ingredient and on its life cycle, and we'd have to test it. But that's not the sort of nuanced answer you expect anymore on social media, where opinions have to be communicated in binary simplistic terms. So not only is it wrong to say that one entire category of ingredient is more sustainable than the other without having any data to back it up whatsoever, it also tends to disregard two legs on that three legged stool. And for me, that came out of last week's podcast episode very strongly. The sustainability of an ingredient not only depends on its ecological sustainability, but also relies on the communities around that ingredient being able to continue with their traditions and cultures. Think of shea butter, seaweed, coconut oil, moringa oil. I'm sure you can think of other cooperatives that you've heard of around the world where livelihoods are forged by producing and protecting plant based ingredients. We can't just make sweeping statements that aim to wipe out the trade around traditional beauty ingredients just because some people dumb down the naturals versus Synthetics conversation on social media. People's livelihoods depend on these ingredients and ensuring a sustainable trade of those plants may actually lead to them being protected further for generations, enhancing biodiversity and driving environmental conservation. Ultimately, I find the sustainable beauty conversation is currently still far too simplistic and the industry needs to do better. There are nuances to all of these discussions. Sometimes, yes, it may be better for the environment to use a lab synthesized version of a specific ingredient, but sometimes it may well be better all round to use the natural version. The truth is that we don't know unless we investigate on a case by case basis. And we're not qualified to make any such statements unless we delve into the story behind that ingredient and have cold hard data to back it up. So my challenge to you for this week is simple. Next time you hear someone making a simplistic argument about a complex topic, consider whether it's just a crowd pleaser for social media, or whether they have actually considered all of the nuances involved. Chances are they haven't. There's a lot of polarization in the beauty industry, particularly when it comes to naturals, and things just aren't that clear cut. You can't make sweeping statements about the sustainability of beauty ingredients. It's just not possible. So I also challenge you to consider whether you want to follow people who don't consider the nuances. There might be better ways to spend your time. I appreciate I've been slightly controversial this week, but I'm getting a little bit tired of all the rubbish I read and hear in the beauty industry. We can do better than this. We really can. And it's by taking a balanced, sensible viewpoint that the beauty industry will become 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, please make sure you do so in your favorite podcast app and leave me a five star review. If you enjoy the conversations I host. I'll be back soon. My next episode.