LETTERIA GRECO*, GIULIA CASTIGLIONI
*Corresponding author
Sinerga Group, Gorla Maggiore, Varese, Italy

Abstract

In recent years, cosmetic sustainability has become a real concern for cosmetic companies. Although the main discussion usually regards packaging materials and micro plastics, after a market analysis and a deep topic investigation it came out that what is important to consider is the entire product life-cycle.
Not only packaging, then, but also a rethinking of the entire cosmetic product supply-chain, from the selection of raw materials to post consumer use.

BACKGROUND

A growing attention of consumers to be more sustainable and to live more ethically has been registered by Mintel. Consumers are approaching a more environmentally conscious lifestyle and are trying to reduce waste in all aspects of their lives, both private and public. Reducing waste, reusing, recycling: living healthier is a fast-growing trend (1), and it is expected to grow exponentially with the rise of global concerns on the effect of pollution on both our health, the environment and the fauna.

However, there’s still a lot of confusion between natural and sustainable products and it is always important to understand the differences.

What is a sustainable product? A sustainable cosmetic is to be produced through a process that must ensure that the benefits given by the use of one or more resources needed to produce it in that moment will be equally guaranteed to future generations, considering also environmental, economic and social impact.

A very different concept if we think to a natural cosmetic, whose definition is that of a product formulated with ingredients from green sources only marginally processed throug ...