By Shikhee Agarwal, AVP, Kiehl’s India
The demand and interest of people in sustainable lifestyles has been on the boom. The green ways of living have shifted from major day to day practices to some of our personal practices as well. Yes, we are talking about skincare and beauty, the two topics we love the most. People are leaving behind the chemical-based products and are now adopting natural ones to pamper their precious skin. They don’t want to expose their delicate skin to harsh chemicals and that is why all the beauty brands and manufacturers are stepping into the world of sustainable beauty to make the future better.
In the market, the products based on 100% natural and organic ingredients, are popular among the majority of people which accounts for 63%. People want the products to be environment-friendly in every way which includes not just the ingredients but the packaging as well. All are now more aware that the benefits of natural products are beyond just a few stated in the trends as we now know, that the products we’ve been using consist of certain elements which are extremely toxic for our skin and can cause long-term damage. And as a result, the beauty industry is now turning into the GREEN industry. All the brands are, noticing the trends and demands of the public are trying to tap the market and because of this we now see so many new ‘CLEAN’ beauty brands coming up. All these green products are based on eco-friendly formulations, naturally derived ingredients like green tea extract, centella asiatica (Cica) and latest technology in the field of beauty. Also, the packaging is done keeping in mind the ‘GREEN BEAUTY’ concept. Instead of chemical-based inks and plastic bottles, the mostly used natural alternatives are soya ink and bamboo packaging. Also, we can see that all these alternatives are renewable such as bamboo, which is the fastest growing plant and on use, doesn’t affect nature.
The top three reasons for the customers to choose Sustainable products are: responsibility towards environment, visible results after use and the long-term health of their skin. As for the producers of these products, taking a sustainable move never meant compromising with the quality of the product but a way to stay in the eye of the consumers by taking initiatives towards the wellbeing of the environment which they also saw as a chance of boosting their sales. Now, more high-quality products are being produced by the brands which are free of elements like parabens, mineral oils and sulphates. This also improves the reputation of the brand in the market and attracts more attention towards its products.
Apart from this, if we look at the future of the sustainable beauty market, it is a promising and bright future. Already, a growth of 15% has been seen in the market which has surpassed the existing personal care and cosmetics market which has a share of 5% in the growth rate. According to an estimate, the sustainable beauty market is expected to see significant growth and reach $25.11 billion
