Beauty & Wellbeing Market Report - Flipbook - Page 13
O
The way consumers are shopping
is changing. Hungry for
information, they are researching
products online before buying,
looking at reviews and details
about ingredients and packaging.
The lockdown exacerbated
this trend as consumers found
themselves with more spare time
enabling them to create online
connections and join communities
of like-minded people.
Unfortunately greenwash in
this sector is still rife, and as a
consumer it’s difficult to decode
ingredients. Soil Association’s
COSMOS Organic logos provide
shoppers with a quick and easy
on-pack reference that they can
trust. The logo is a reassurance
that all the hard work has been
done - across the entire supply
chain - to ensure the product is
ethically sourced and produced.
– Katie Hill,
Co-Founder, My Green Pod
12 | Beauty & Wellbeing 2021
THE LOGO
LOOK F
Demand for
transparency
R
Our analysis found that online
research was the most influential
way to shop for organic beauty
and wellbeing products with a
third (30%) of consumers finding
products this way. Product
reviews accounted for 25% of how
people buy organic products and
packaging claims and ingredients
influenced 24% to buy an organic
product. Just over two in five
(42%) of those surveyed agreed
that looking for certification logos
helped them choose sustainable
beauty and wellbeing products18.
However, while consumers may
be focusing on the sustainability
of their beauty and wellbeing
products, the need for transparency
is as strong as ever. Unlike organic
food and drink businesses, organic
beauty brands are not legally
required to be certified. Any beauty
brand can claim to be organic
even if its products contain just
1% of organic ingredients. Soil
Association Certification has
As part of our sustainability
initiative, Project Earth, we’ve
undertaken extensive consultation
with industry bodies and
certification providers to develop
a product labelling scheme to
highlight good practice based
on environmental, human and
animal welfare issues. This will
help us to meet our commitment
to making sure that the most
environmentally impactful
materials used across our business
come from certified, sustainable
sources by 2025.
– Daniella Vega, Director of
Sustainability, Selfridges
long campaigned for greater
transparency in the market so
that consumers can make their
purchasing decisions based on
clear information. The British
public supports this position with
over half (55%) of consumers
agreeing that organic beauty and
wellbeing should be regulated in
the same way as food19. Trust is
now a key part of any purchasing
decision with 49% of consumers
surveyed admitting they are
worried that beauty and wellbeing
brands are greenwashing their
environmental credentials and two
in five saying they don’t trust the
marketing claims on beauty and
wellbeing products20.
Certification logos ensure
consumers can find truly organic
products in a crowded market
full of potentially misleading
marketing messages. As consumer
demand for transparency
continued to grow in 2020, the
call from brands and retailers
demanding further sustainability
improvements within the beauty
industry has grown louder
too. From L’Oréal to Amazon,
businesses are focusing on
sustainable strategies, such as
Selfridges’ Project Earth campaign.
Certification is helping these
brands deliver against their targets
in a measurable way.
Beauty & Wellbeing 2021 | 13