Monday, May 30, 2011

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit 2011 NYC

Press Release

May 20, 2011 London – Provide more authenticity and efficacy were the key messages from the fourth edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, which took place in New York City on 12-14 May 2011. The summit brought together over 180 executives from various sections of the beauty industry to discuss critical issues relating to natural & organic cosmetics and sustainability. 

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Organized by Organic Monitor, the summit covered a diverse range of sustainability topics including environmental impacts, social footprints, sustainable supply chains, ethical marketing & distribution, natural & organic cosmetic standards and green formulations.  

Various speakers and delegates called for greater authenticity from brand owners, in response to the high level of consumer confusion about natural claims and green marketing. Although many brand owners have taken the certification route to authenticate their products, the major agreement was that certification should be no substitute for product efficacy. A number of summit participants stated the challenges of adopting natural & organic standards, with product performance sometimes sacrificed for certification logos and symbols.  

William McDonough, co-founder of MBDC, addressed the summit with his opening keynote. He showed how the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) design approach can be used to create positive impacts on the environment and social communities. Examples were given on how C2C can utilize waste materials when a product reaches the end of its lifecycle. 

According to McDonough, ‘a global population of 9 billion is not a problem, but an opportunity for the beauty industry’ since it creates additional demand. He states the problem is managing this growth by designing beauty products that do not have just zero impacts, but positive impacts.  

Aveda, a sustainability pioneer in the beauty industry, highlighted the ecological and social footprints of cosmetic products. Charles J. Bennett stated that growing public concern means the beauty industry needs to engage more with consumers. The importance of a mission-based corporate ethos was emphasized, as this is guiding Aveda in all its sustainability actions. The company uses renewable energy to power its operations, recycles over 75% of its waste, and 90% of its botanical ingredients are from organic agricultural sources.  Procter & Gamble shared its systematic approach to sustainability, and how it uses lifecycle assessment to implement sustainability programs. It has set ambitious 10 year goals for raw material sourcing, packaging reduction, renewable energy and waste reduction. The consumer goods multinational stated it has already reduced over 20% of plastic packaging of some brands by eco-design and using biopolymers.  

Also in the pioneering sustainability initiatives session, another multinational shared its vision of reducing its ecological footprint by a third by 2030. To meet this target, Henkel is focusing on eco-innovation and sustainable partnerships with its stake-holders. Pete He raised the question of undertaking the lifecycle analysis of a natural personal care product. How does it compare with a conventional product? The company is looking at algae-based biopolymers so that it does not divert agricultural land from food production. 

The opening session closed with a panel discussion on sustainability metrics. The difficulty in obtaining external metrics led some speakers to suggest that ‘intentions are more practical than checklists’ when considering sustainability.  

Building sustainable supply chains was the theme of the second session. Beraca stated how sustainable sourcing can contribute to biodiversity and social communities in the Amazon. Shea butter was used as an example by Dr. Peter Lovett on how ingredient sourcing can create positive social impacts in African countries. Social impacts by fair trade were explored by Maya Spaull from Fair Trade USA. The growing popularity of fair trade has led to over 320 beauty products to carry the Fairtrade mark in the US. 

One of the main highlights of the 3-day summit was the CEO roundtable. CEOs of leading natural personal care companies formed a roundtable to discuss key industry challenges. On the question of standards, the general consensus was that certification was secondary to product efficacy. As one speaker stated, ‘a poor certified product lets everyone down, as we have to try twice as hard to convince consumers to try an organic product again’. Another CEO stressed the importance of positive marketing, ‘it is better to accentuate the positive elements’, rather than undertaking fear-based marketing that focus on paraben-free, SLS-free, etc. Another CEOs re-affirmed the major challenge for natural & organic brands was providing greater authenticity to consumers, especially with so much confusion about what is natural.  

Day two of the summit opened with a key note from Stacy Malkan, author and cofounder of Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. According to Malkan, demand for green cosmetics was stemming from consumers becoming more information savvy. In a later paper, she highlighted the dangers caused by environmental chemicals to human health and the need for public education.  

Karen Behnke, founder of Juice Beauty, highlighted the challenges of taking an organic brand into mainstream channels. Behnke shared her experiences in taking her brand into Target retailers and the difficulties in competing with mass market brands. The potential of biodynamic cosmetics was discussed by Dr. Hauschka Skin Care. By taking a holistic view, it was shown how biodynamic products can have a healing effect on the skin. Other papers in the marketing & distribution session covered sustainable packaging, global distribution developments and ethical retailing of natural personal care products. In her paper on consumer insights, Kathy Sheehan from GfK Roper Consulting showed how USDA NOP had become the second most important eco-label in the US. She suggests beauty companies prepare for a future in which all brands will have an associated sustainability value. 

Green ingredients and standards were the theme of the final session on day two. Updates were given on natural & organic personal care standards in North America, including the new USDA bio-based standard. Many summit participants expressed concern that the eco-label can be applied to products containing GM ingredients, adding to the existing consumer confusion. Other papers in this session covered natural & organic fragrances, paraben-free preservative systems, and innovations in natural actives.  

The summit came to a successful close with 50 delegates attending the interactive workshop on day three. Judi Beerling, head of technical research at Organic Monitor, discussed the various options available to formulators when using green fragrances, emulsifiers and surfactants. The challenges of natural & organic ingredients, including efficacy, safety and stability were once again highlighted.  

The fourth edition of the executive summit raised many questions about sustainability in the beauty industry: What are the approaches to measure the environmental and social footprint of a cosmetic product? What about water stewardship? Are natural & organic beauty products always safer than conventional products? Are consumers really aware of what comprises a natural beauty product? How are organic brands tackling raw material issues? What makes an effective natural & organic cosmetic formulation? The next editions of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit aim to address such questions. 


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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Emma Watson, "Catch My Heart If You Can"

Emma Watson, actress, and Lancome, global cosmetic line, team up to create an eco-perfume. At least, that's the plan... Read MORE: [From Coffee Break...]

Mini Mogul Emma Watson wants to start eco-friendly line with Lancome...

Emma-watson-lancome_greening_beauty

WWD has a new interview with Emma. Sadly, you have to have a subscription to read it. Good news is other news outlets are releasing snippets of the interview. Biggest news so far is from Fashionista who reveals Emma is in the beginning stages of developing an eco-friendly beauty line with Lancome. 

“I’m very interested in ethical clothing,” continued Watson, who revealed she’s talking to Lancôme executives about a possible eco-friendly project. “It’s very early stages,” said Watson

Elle reveals that Emma was heavily involved with the development of the fragrance and now even entertains directing ambitions.

In an article in today’s WWD she lists a handful of directors that she hopes to work with and says she’s entertained thoughts of going behind the camera, too.  “It’s funny, the guys at Lancôme were like, ‘You need to be directing, Emma.’ I had ideas about every aspect. I’m sure I drove them insane,” she said

Jezebel goes into more detail on how just involved Emma was with the line.

Emma Watson did basically everything when it came time to be a face of a new Lancôme perfume, you guys! First, "I helped choose the color of the rose," says the actress. "I was involved in the concept for the [ad] film and the tag line, 'Catch my heart if you can.'" And the tag line. She also reports that she "helped" choose the perfume's name (Trésor Midnight Rose), select her co-star, Cyril Descours, and was responsible for the overall inspiration — Godard's Breathless. "The hat [in the ad] was my hat, which I bought at a flea market in Paris. I was very involved in the script.

People Magazine posted a small summary of the article. 


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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Caudalie Spa

By Paige Donner

Paige Donner is a Luxury Writer

There is one spa that was voted The Best Spa In The World by Condé Nast readers in 2010. That spa is in France's Bordeaux region and sits serenely in the middle of a vast and prestigious AOC Graves vineyard. The spa? It is Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa.

Caudalie Spa, Bordeaux, France - Greening Beauty c. Paige Donner

Photo by Paige Donner c. 2011

On her parents' vineyard and just next to her sister's Small Luxury Hotel, Les Sources de Caudalie, in Bordeaux, Mathilde Thomas discovered a naturally occurring hot springs 540 feet below ground. This is the site on which she and her husband, Bertrand, built the signature Caudalie Spa based on the anti-oxidant, ant-aging properties they have patented from the seeds and skins of grapes.

Caudalie Vinotherapie beauty products are used exclusively at this idyllic spa in the Bordeaux countryside, in a vast wooden structure planted next to a pond with swans and indoor-outdoor swimming pools. Treatment rooms are both upstairs and downstairs and it is possible to walk from your hotel room in your robe to your spa treatment in the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa with only a few feet of exposure to the outside air.

Caudalie Spa, Bordeaux, Greening Beauty c. Paige Donner

Caudalie Spa, Bordeaux, Greening Beauty c. Paige Donner

Famous among their treatments are the Barrel Bath, the Honey and Wine Wrap, thePulp Friction Massage with fresh grapes and the Crushed Cabernet Scrub. At each of the relaxation stations are small dishes of fresh grapes alongside pitchers of fresh water. Portishead and other "lounge" music is piped in overhead from the sound system, unless you request classical or another genre.

Caudalie Spa Greening Beauty c. Paige Donner

You can also go for a simple Caudalie Grand Facial Treatment. This includes a full facial massage, gentle buffing cream made from a base of crushed grape seeds, a moisturizing (or purifying, as needed) mask and anti-ageing serum for eyes and lips. You also have the choice of a hand or foot massage. Afterwards you are welcome to linger downstairs in the lounge chairs that overlook the vineyards and dip into the pool that has strategic water jets fitted at just the perfect height to pulsate relaxing water onto your neck and shoulders.

There is also now a Caudalie Spa in NYC. Read More on Greening Beauty.

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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Hyères Festival: Céline Méteil Wins

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Sunday,1 May Hyères, France  The jury, presided over by Raf Simons, unveils the winners: French designer Céline Méteil has won the Première Vision Prize, one of two prizes attributed in the Fashion Competition of the prestigious Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography.

Selected from among ten finalists, Céline Méteil created a collection of airy and structured origami dresses made from jaconas. This stiff and transparent cotton plainweave is ordinarily employed to create a three dimensional muslin prototype of a garment. Her highly architectural clothing entertains a dialogue with the body, building on layers of transparency and lace and shaped in subtle balance with fluid knits.

Baptised "Plié Backstage", the collection was produced with the support of Sophie Hallette, Mario boselli Yarns & Jersey and TESJ, all PremièreVision exhibitors, and Close to Clothes, a Mod Amont exhibitor.

Céline Méteil, 32,also won the"Prix du Public",and has worked with John Galliano, Nicolas Ghesquière (at Balenciaga) and Felipe Oliveira Baptista. At thispoint she is aspiring to launchher own brand. This is the first year that PremièreVision, the World's Premier Fabric Show, has partnered withthe Hyères festival and sponsored one of its prizes, in the amount of 10,000 euros. But the Première Vision Prize goes beyond the awarding of the prize money to the winning young designer.

Première Vision, whose vocation is to further contacts between professionals in this most creativeof fields, is fully committed to this programme to support young design talents, and to building a longterm relationship.

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