Sustainability and transparency in the cosmetic industry: the clean beauty movement and consumers’ consciousness

Abstract

Increasing concern about health, also due to the Codiv-19 emergency, and on the effects of human activities on our planet have made sustainability a priority. All industries are trying to become environmentally friendly, and the beauty sector is one of those. Environmental concerns have made green marketing a powerful tool that beauty companies can use to advertise their products and establish a relationship based on transparency with consumers. Green marketing focuses on product’s composition and ingredients, but also on the production systems through which the item is put on the market. A new market segment known as “clean beauty” has been created to identify personal care products formulated without harmful ingredients that can be toxic to the human body and harm human health. These products are safe, non-toxic, and feature transparent labeling about their compositions and ingredients' sourcing. The reality however is more complex that it seems. In the USA cosmetics are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which requires cosmetic products to be free of any ingredient that can damage human health, but only 11 cosmetic ingredients are banned in the US. In Europe, cosmetics are regulated by the EU Commission with the Regulation (EC) No.1223/2009 which banned over 1300 toxic ingredients. Despite European law being stricter than the USA one, a lack of rules that directly affect green beauty products has generated confusion in consumers’ minds. Terms such as “natural”, “clean”, “green” and “safe for the environment” have not a clear legal definition yet and words like “organic” and similar are only partly regulated. This has led to the use of “greenwashing”, which happens when a firm conveys false or misleading information about the benefits its products have on human health and the environment. This chaotic situation has negatively affected consumers' purchasing habits and has damaged not only misleading brands, but also honest ones. With this paper I would like to investigate the current situation regarding the clean beauty movement from the perspective of consumers, going from their knowledge of the sustainable beauty world to the factors affecting their purchasing. The aim of this work is to gather an understanding of how consumers perceive green cosmetics if they are affected by greenwashing practices and in which ways companies can obtain clients' trust and contribute to a greener planet. The paper will be structured as follows: Ch.1: overview of the beauty industry and its main players, distribution channels, history, expected growth rates and trends + clean beauty market intro. Ch.2: green marketing (trends and characteristics), greenwashing (case studies), lack of regulation (USA vs EU) and external certification bodies. Ch.3: an online survey will be created to gather information about consumers knowledge of clean beauty, how greenwashing affects their buying decisions, their green purchasing habits (e.g. reading ingredients lists, knowledge of certification logos), factors augmenting or reducing the green gap (what influences consumers purchasing decisions) and more. Chapters 1 and 2 will be based on secondary data (scientific papers and articles on platforms such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Emerald Insight, Research Gate , etc.). Ch. 3 will be based on the research project (primary data obtained through the survey). The target group for this research will be cosmetics customers, with a focus on the Italian market.