(WHY) NATURAL/ORGANIC IS NO LONGER ‘NICHE’ – IT’S “IT”

When the first Beauty Shortlist post went live in June 2009, “green” was pretty much relegated to “niche” – and for many consumers on the outskirts of “natural & organic”, green meant gloopy avocado masks and sink-made strawberry face scrubs.

Back then, Aveda, The Body Shop and Origins were arguably the the main (semi) natural brands the “high street” knew about.

Slim pickings. 

Weleda launched in Switzerland in 1921, and other early green pioneers include:

Neal’s Yard Remedies (1981)

Dr Bronner (1948)

Dr Hauschka (originally known as Hauschka Healing Skin Care by Elisabeth Sigmund in 1967)

These brands and a not very huge choice of similar nature-powered beauty brands were already shining the light for ethical and natural, with their plant, flower, fruit & herbal-based formulations while global conglomerates packed global warehouses with long-lasting, mass-produced preservative-packed very not natural products.

Planet-friendly, all-natural, and a fantastic multi-tasker

Much love for this Beauty Shortlist favourite

Other early organic, eco pioneers who have been pivotal in changing the beauty/health landscapes are:

The Soil Association (1946 – yes happy Organic September!)

The Vegan Society (1944)

Leaping Bunny (cruelty-free cert) – 1990’s

If I remember rightly (?) Dr Hauschka didn’t even advertise and you had to be on a green beauty mission to seek out clean brands (I spent many happy Saturday afternoons at the NYR store in Covent Garden, enthralled by the indigo glass bottles on display). Side note: California and Australia have historically led the way, but Europe has pretty much caught up now – the innovators going forward will be those with planet-positive packaging.

And we have Dame Anita Roddick’s The Body Shop to thank for spreading the Fairtrade and “bring back your plastic bottles so we can refill them” message.

In 2009, the potent, intelligent wisdom of plant-centric skincare and holistic health was far from ‘mainstream’ – it still isn’t, but organic sales have forged ahead and this upside-down uncertain virus-plagued year is fuelling eco/organic sales even further.

According to Neilsen, organic food sales “surged” this spring, during lockdown, by over 25% 

And for all the beauty lovers, organic beauty sales are skyrocketing – as Formula Botanica reports:

In 2015 Grand View Research predicted organic beauty sales to rise to $15.98 billion by 2020 but reality exceeded that number. The real 2019 figure was closer to $36 bn with great expectations (ie $54 billion by 2027 – I think it will be higher).

 

Formula Botanica – the foundation & launch pad for many stellar indie artisan brand founders who’ve gone on to win Beauty Shortlist awards

Looking ahead, I think these positive initiatives will become a core part of the beauty industry, or at least we’ll see quite a bit more of them – particularly:

– plastic-free

– zero trace (home compostable)

– zero waste & low waste

– eco packaging innovation (and alongside, less packaging)

And a big one: more much-needed natural INCLUSIVE BEAUTY makeup and skincare brands – huge untapped potential.

So. In a bizarre year tainted by loss, fear, uncertainty, and an over-riding sense of weariness, lack of physical contact and restricted freedom…we DO have positives to look forward to.

I believe organic food, sustainability initiatives, green beauty and natural health could well enjoy a global platform far bigger than we’d expected.

 

 

 

And last but not least – there’s a really good energy around the Beauty Shortlist Awards this year (there always is but this year feels special and very, surprisingly, optimistic – against the rather depressing backdrop to life, lately).

Brands have been emailing to say they’re really looking forward to next March’s awards, and telling me they’re forging ahead with exciting new launches and collaborations with eco organisations, etc.

It’s so good to hear this while we set our sights and hearts on better things to come…

ENTRIES are OPEN for the 2021 Beauty Shortlist Awards
beauty | grooming | wellbeing & CBD | eco lifestyle & plastic-free
A Date for The Beauty Diary
Join us on Tuesday 2 March 2021 and celebrate the most-loved, expert-tested natural products of the year with us at the 2021 BEAUTY SHORTLIST & WELLBEING AWARDS!

One of this this year’s Australian Beauty Shortlist winners, Retreatment Botanics by Olivia Newton-John

 

NEW-ISH TO GREEN BEAUTY? ALWAYS READ THE LABEL…

If you’re new-ish to green beauty, a quick word of advice:

READ THE LABEL (rather than what’s in the marketing or front of the product), this is the only way to know if what you’re buying is all-natural/organic.

If it has a synthetic-y smell, it’s 99% sure synthetically fragranced and if “zero this, zero that” is plastered all over the packaging, check that you’re not buying from a greenwashing brand. (Greenwashing – pretending you’re green when you’re absolutely NOT, just to capitalise on the big sales surge in organic products, the big globals are good at this).

Case in point: Nivea’s Pure and Natural range, which any normal person would imagine is just what is says – pure and natural.

Erm…no. In fact the Advertising Standards Agency contacted Nivea and asked the brand change the wording on all of its websites some years ago because of misleading (greenwashing) wording.

Here’s an EXAMPLE when we look at this product’s INCI – flagging just one ingredient:

NIVEA PURE & NATURAL SOOTHING DAY CREAM FOR DRY OR SENSITIVE SKIN

Note that Nivea’s “SPECIAL/KEY INGREDIENTS, aka argan and chamomile are 14th and 15th on the ingredients list! You are buying water, vegetable oil, alcohol and stuff you don’t want to be buying.

Cheap, synthetic ingredients = lower competitive price and bigger profits.

INGREDIENTS

Aqua, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Alcohol Denat., Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Methylpropanediol, Octyldodecanol, Dicaprylyl Ether, Glyceryl Stearate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Tocopherol, Maltodextrin, Sodium Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol**, Linalool, Limonene, Citronellol, Benzyl Alcohol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Geraniol, Parfum

** Used as an anti-bacterial in cosmetics and stabilizer in perfumes, phenoxyethanol is actually very harmful. It is harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through skin, especially to nursing mothers or infants. Phenoxyethanol can have an effect on the brain and the central nervous system

As for J&J’s Baby Powder…which I call a self-care nightmare.

Following years of the asbestos scandal and mighty fines for J&J, they’ve finally pulled the product – goodbye! It’s being phased OUT due to the adverse advertising and massive court fines that made its stock price plunge and numerous class action lawsuits claiming it triggers ovarian cancer.

HAPPY ORGANIC SEPTEMBER

ORGANIC SEPTEMBER isn’t just a celebration for those of us who are already living a cleaner life, it’s the perfect month to switch from synthetic to natural/organic.

Other ways to find stellar, ethically-made products:

1) Check out The Beauty Shortlist and Mama & Baby Awards winners.

2) Look for the certification logos – like NaTRUE, The Soil Association, the French green ECO logo, etc.

3) Buy from natural retailers, there are lots to look at.

The brilliant news is, Natural & Organic is no longer ‘niche’ – it’s “IT”.

Here’s to ALL of us supporting our planet and wildlife, because it’s our collective home…

For keeping things green – all the consumers, green retailers and brand founders, the good food and beauty brands, the farmers, distributors, bloggers, surfers, documentary makers, all the green organisations, holistic health therapists, the green activists, eco magazines and planet-positive media outlets.

For protecting Nature – because she knows best.

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