EP84. The beauty industry is avoiding the elephant in the room
Welcome to this Green Beauty Opinion in which Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier asks if by using trending terms like 'waterless', the beauty industry is shying away from the very real challenges of sustainability. Waterless is on the beauty industry’s lips, and follows on from concepts like carbon neutral and biodegradable beauty, skinimalism, beauty miles and more. But, waterless is a particularly irritating term as behind the scenes every beauty product leaves a water footprint, large or small. Waterless is no doubt used by well-meaning beauty brands keen to do the right thing for the environment. But, as Lorraine argues, by heralding the latest concept as yet another definitive blueprint for sustainability, the beauty industry is glossing over issues and avoiding the elephant in the room: its inherently unsustainable model of rampant economic growth built on finite resources. Latching on to single concepts deflects attention from the far more challenging blueprint for sustainability the industry needs to adopt. Lorraine invites us all to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk in our drive for beauty industry sustainability. Listen in for a thought-provoking five minutes that challenges us to be the voice of change and integrity, making the beauty industry better and more sustainable.