In the leadup to the 10^th annual Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in the US, Ecovia Intelligencehas released a list of green predictions for the year ahead.

Global demand for natural & organic cosmetics. Initially stemming from Europe and North America, demand for natural and organic cosmetics is becoming increasingly global. Asia’s share of the international natural cosmetics market is expected to continue to rise as its consumers seek products without contentious synthetic chemicals.

Multinationals launching natural & ethical lines. In the last 12 months, Unilever launched Love, Beauty & Planet, Henkel introduced Nature Box, and L’Oreal launched Seed Phytonutrients and La Provençale Bio. On the launch pad for 2019 are P&G’s Pure by Gillette and Garnier’s new organic skincare line. More such product launches are likely as multinationals continue to chase the ‘ethical dollar’.

Investments and acquisitions. Expect to see more investments and acquisitions involving natural and organic cosmetic firms this year. Some of the notable acquisitions in the last 12 months were Logocos Naturkosmetik by L’Oreal, The Organic Pharmacy by Istituto Ganassini, and Natural Products Group by Groupe Rocher.

Reducing packaging impacts. Consumer concerns about plastic pollution in the oceans and landfill is making cosmetic and personal care companies address their packaging impacts. A growing number of companies are looking at sustainable materials and/or eco-design approach. In 2018, REN Clean Skincare received the Sustainable Packaging Award at the Sustainable Beauty Awards)for using ocean plastic. More companies are likely to follow REN, P&G and Henkel in using ocean plastic in product packaging.

Sustainable sourcing. Cosmetic and ingredient firms will continue to invest in sustainable sourcing of raw materials. More sustainability schemes are likely to be introduced for single ingredients, as well as general sourcing practices. In recent years, we have seen many new standards, covering base ingredients (sustainable oils), minerals (Responsible Mica Initiative) and ingredient types (sustainable seaweed).

Ethical labels. Expect to see more ethical labels on cosmetic and personal care products in 2019. In the last few months, Herbal Essences got an Environmental Working Group (EWG) Verification label and Natura Brasil products received Leaping Bunny certification. Other labels making headway include Vegan, Halal, Non-GMO, as well as COSMOS and Natrue (natural & organic labels).

Clean beauty retailing. Credo Beauty has already made its mark in the US as a clean beauty retailer. More such retailers are likely to open their doors in North America and Europe. At the same time, more conventional beauty retailers are having ‘clean beauty’ sections. Sephora and Space NK are two such retailers devoting shelf-space to beauty products without contentious chemicals.  Indie brands will continue to gain popularity; Douglas recently announced plans to expand its range of small niche brands in its European retail network.

Growing power of millennials. The millennials are already some of the most avid buyers of natural and organic products; they will wield greater influence as their spending power continues to rise. As they buy more from online platforms, Amazon and other eretailers will gain market share for natural and ethical products.

The Sustainable Cosmetics Summit North America  will be held in New York from May 8-10.