EP96. Ingredient boycotts won't help sustainability

I've just finished recording an interview with Olivier Dubourdieu of the Responsible Mica Initiative, and by the time this recording goes live, you'll already have listened to my interview with Olivier in your favorite podcast app because it was released last week. It was fascinating delving into the world of mica as clearly it's a very complex topic and it needs a multi stakeholder approach to come up with solutions to eradicate child labor and to lift people out of extreme poverty when they're supplying the glittery ingredients that prop up the entire beauty industry. And as I reflect on the conversation we had around the industry's insatiable desire for mica, I want to pick up on a question that I asked Olivier about whether it's better to boycott an ingredient such as mica that is currently produced unsustainably. We see this mindset come back a lot in our community. Is there something wrong with an ingredient? Fine, we'll boycott it. However, as I want to highlight in today's podcast epis, there are always more nuances to that discussion and you cannot always make such a binary argument for or against an ingredient. 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 when it comes to our ingredients. 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 let's talk about boycotting. It's a popular topic in the natural and indie sector, and it also ties in with the discussion we've recently been having with some of our followers around the fact that one of our latest topics in our continuing professional development membership site, the Lab at Formula Botanica is Rainforest Ingredients. A few of our followers felt very strongly and passionately that we shouldn't be teaching about formulating with rainforest ingredients and that the only answer answer is to avoid using them entirely. That's part of the reason I put the question about boycotting to Olivier in my last interview and his answer was very clear. No, we should not boycott mica because then we actively harm the communities that derive their livelihoods from these mines. And he went further than that. He also made it clear that the Synthetic alternative is not necessarily better and might even have a higher carbon footprint. So let's unpick this a bit more. Why is boycotting certain cosmetic ingredients not the answer? Well, I've got five reasons for you, and these can apply to pretty much any ingredient, so let's run through them. Firstly, the alternatives are not always more sustainable. Take the example of palm oil, for instance, which is frequently held up as an ingredient that should be boycotted. However, palm oil itself is not the issue. It's an incredibly efficient botanical ingredient. It's amazing. The problem is that we consume far too much of it and that's causing wide scale ecological damage around the world. According to the World conservation union, the IUCN, globally palm oil production negatively affects at least 193 threatened species is not just orangutans. But what would happen if we stopped using palm oil altogether and instead replaced it with sunflower oil or olive oil or rapeseed oil? The answer is that we would need significantly more land in order to be able to grow alternative crops. And those crops would likely require more water. The alternatives are not necessarily based in biodiversity hotspots like palm oil often is, but they would have their own sustainability challenges. So just shifting from one ingredient to another is not that simple. Secondly, people's livelihoods depend on these ingredients, so cutting them off doesn't always make matters better. Social responsibility is inherently part of sustainability. We've seen this with cooperatives around shea butter, coconut oil, marula oil and frankincense essential oil, to name just a few examples. I interviewed the Fair Wild foundation for the podcast last year, and Emily King, their business engagement officer, made exactly this point. 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 their cultures. Boycotts would have a highly detrimental impact to a lot of communities. If we all stopped using mica tomorrow, thousands of artisanal minds would go out of business. Yes, it would stop child labour, but it would also stop all other labour. Thirdly, boycotting is often impossible because some of the ingredients people feel so strongly about are so ubiquitous that they're in everything. We saw this with the example of mica. Not only will you find mica in many makeup formulations, but you'll also find it in your toaster, in your kettle, in your car's paintwork, in your car's brake pads. It's everywhere. Now, you might think that you can boycott mica by buying formulations from brands that don't use it, but there will still be mica in all other aspects of your life. Same goes with palm oil. You could try and cut it out of your cosmetics, but I promise you it will still creep in somewhere. So you're fighting a losing battle with some of these ingredients. It's often better to buy from brands that you know support the sustainable sourcing of those ingredients. Now fourthly, and I think this is a really important point to make, often investing in biodiversity, regeneration and conservation schemes as part of using the ingredient will make it a more sustainable choice in the long run. The simple fact is that we can put a lot more resources into ecological conservation work when people are interested in the ingredient to start with. Sadly, no one is going to voluntarily pour thousands into protecting a plant they know nothing about. Or dare I even say they don't care about. But if a plant has commercial value and if it's a commodity that we want to use long term, businesses are far more likely to put money into protecting the botanicals we love and currently over consume. Finally, the fifth point I want to make is that the issues around sustainability are complex, which is why they require proper consideration. It's why you heard Olivier from the Responsible Mica Initiative talk about a multi stakeholder approach. It's why work on the ground takes time. You can't just go in and make sweeping statements about an ingredient that you yourself have not grown, harvested, mined or processed. You need to understand the nuances which are not taken into account by boycotts. So my challenge to you for this week is fairly straightforward. If you want to boycott something, boycott the rampant consumerism encouraged by the beauty industry. Consumption and production levels have to come down. We have no choice. Next time you see a brand tell you that you need to buy their product because otherwise you're not good enough. You're not clean enough, you're not white enough, or you're not young enough, boycott them. Believe me, you'll find plenty of examples in the shops. This insidious messaging is everywhere in the beauty industry and we need to boycott that. But also boycott your own choices from time to time. Do you really need 16 products sat on your bathroom shelf? Probably not. Start to lower your requirements for your own beauty consumption. Encourage others to do the same. This will have the knock on effect you desire and may eventually ease the pressure on all of these cosmetic ingredients. Ultimately, the biggest thing you can boycott is ignorance. I encourage you to make considered decisions, buy from certified brands, find trusted resources and empower yourself. That's how we make change together. 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, subscribe Please make sure you do so in your favorite podcast app. Leave me a five star review if you enjoy the conversations I host and I'll be back soon with my next episode.