Could Carbon emissions be the key to deciphering the sustainability of beauty products?

One would like to think all beauty products are clean, green, and high performing. However, there are still brands that operate from obsolete business models that put profit over people and the planet. Even with the best of intentions, greenwashing is to be expected.

This is unfortunate since, through their platforms, brands have an opportunity to educate consumers about the environmental attributes of their products. Making it harder to choose what to purchase since there's no set definition of what is sustainable, and the lingo used for marketing makes some products seem better than they actually are.

Some of the most common buzz words used are: sustainable, organic, non-toxic, biodynamic, eco-friendly, natural, and vegan. Let's delve deeper into sustainability, considering primarily it depends on what we are aiming to sustain and for whom. Should we be asking ourselves, for example: is there such a thing as a sustainable product? 

Laurence Delebois, founder of Masters of Good, an international network of entrepreneurs working to build better fashion, design, and beauty businesses, says, “what is sustainable to me may not be sustainable to you – we all have our beliefs. You may be sensitive to animal welfare and look for vegan products as your first "sustainability" criteria. At the same time, I will ban products using too much plastic because that's more important to me.” She believes in communication and recommends that brands should pick one focus and go all-in on that — such as La Bouche Rouge makeup, which is 100% plastic-free makeup. 

Alexander Franzen, founder of Carbon Calories, a company that prepares carbon footprint reports, has dedicated his work for over a decade to build tools to assess and report lifestyle carbon footprints, global greenhouse gas emissions, and product carbon footprints. With these tools, Carbon Calories makes these hard-to-grasp numbers accessible, presenting them much like nutrition facts for food labels. 

At Carbon Calories, the most critical sustainability certification is to account for the product's carbon footprint. In short, carbon accounting is necessary so that companies can assess, track and plan decarbonisation. It is the antidote to greenwashing. Like Delebois, Franzen believes how brands communicate their sustainability efforts is essential. “I think the best word to use in place of sustainability is "balance" because that implies action or movement to maintain balance."

Sadly we won't save the planet by recycling plastic; we also need to reduce our carbon budget, and it becomes tricky when brands use zero-carbon terminology as the number one sustainability mind-blowing fact.

Considering that heating the water accounts for 95% of the carbon emissions associated with washing our hair. If companies produce zero-carbon shampoo or body products, lifestyle emissions can only be reduced by 5%, even if beauty brands decarbonise their products entirely. The remaining 5% is accounted for by the soap, shampoo, conditioner, and associated bottles, which are typically plastic.

So what can consumers do to help? One way is to buy low-carbon shampoo and recycle the packaging, while companies need to put the work in to supply these products and invest in renewable energy facilities.

When you choose which "sustainable" product to buy, not all brands will tick the boxes – any brand can claim to be sustainable, after all, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the products are entirely environmentally friendly. As a consumer, consider which criteria means most to you and start there. And consider – as the consumer you hold the power. Just think, if you opted for cold showers, this would help reduce emissions of washing by 95%.

How can we, the consumer, feel empowered and stay informed?

 "Sustainability isn't a binary decision like buying low-carbon instead of high-carbon. Sustainability comprises a series of interdependent decisions over a product's entire lifespan and what the product is made from,” says Franzen when asked what sustainability means to him.

The irony is that the most sustainable product is the one not purchased. We need to change the mantra from "the more the merrier'' to something that reminds us to slow down and consider what we consume. Our own slow living resolution is to: Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Recycle and Repair.