Personal Care Report Launch

The Need for Safer Chemistry in Beauty: Opportunities for Innovation, a report released on October 19 by Safer Made, a venture capital fund, calls for chemical and material innovation in the global beauty and personal care product industry.

You can read more about the report in this article released today in Vogue Business.

You can also join us for a discussion of the report next Thursday, October 26th at 10am PT / 1pm ET as we discuss our new report. Sign up for the webinar here.

Americans use an average of 12 beauty and personal care products every day to clean, protect, and improve the appearance of skin and hair. Most people assume that personal care products, ranging from body wash to makeup to baby lotion, have been assessed for safety, and that sustainability claims are meaningful.

“We’ve known for decades that there are everyday products containing chemicals that can be harmful to human health or the environment,” says report co-author Mia Davis. “While consumer awareness and brand marketing around safety and sustainability have been steadily increasing, we still see many of the same problems–and therefore the need for solutions.”

This is the first report to highlight major challenges in ingredients and packaging across the beauty and personal care industry. The authors identify specific needs for safer chemicals and processes, and provide a snapshot of innovative green chemistry companies, promising new materials, leading brand and retailer standards, and other positive changes.

“We focused on ingredients’ performance and function, which is critical to arriving at safer alternatives that will actually work in products,” says report co-author Marty Mulvihill. “In addition, we are seeking to avoid hazardous chemistry, meaning inherently harmful chemicals or unsustainable feedstocks or processing.”

For example, silicones are a diverse class of petroleum-derived ingredients. Some silicones have been identified as endocrine disrupting chemicals, meaning that they can interfere with hormones and disrupt reproduction and development. Silicones are also environmentally persistent and do not break down in wastewater treatment facilities. Patrick Foley, Founder of P2 Science, a company providing safer alternatives explains, “Beauty and hair care brands come to P2 Science because they want to eliminate silicones from their formulations. Our Citropol(™) high-performing ingredients work well in formulations and help brands make safety claim and meet carbon reduction and biobased chemistry goals.”

Research and market trends show that people change their buying habits when they learn about the use of harmful chemicals or unsustainable materials. Changing consumer behavior creates a demand for safer chemistry, but investment and innovation is needed to continue to move the industry in the right direction.

Annie Jackson is the Co-Founder of the beauty retailer Credo, highlighted in the report. She elaborates on the importance of this work: “Credo’s role within the industry is to take a leadership position on product safety and sustainability. Safer Made’s report gives us a resource that we can share with our brand partners as they continue pushing for innovative ingredients in products and packaging.”

“At Safer Made we see the beauty industry evolving, but we also see outstanding needs and barriers to meaningful progress,” says Adrian Horotan, one of the authors of the report. “This report serves as a roadmap for innovation to guide inventors, entrepreneurs, product managers, and investors as they think about ways to improve the existing chemistries and materials.”

This is Safer Made’s third industry report, following apparel/textiles and food packaging.

Download the report here: https://www.safermade.net/personal-care-report