Just this evening I was scrolling through Beautyhabit and noticed a problem.
I don’t know about you, but Beautyhabit has always had a siren’s hold on me. Somehow, this website makes indulgent 150 dollar serums seem like dire necessities. I never thought that Beautyhabit would become a bastion of natural and organic finds, yet over the years the category is now listed as the first tab on the menu!
But here’s where I took pause over a growing dilemma. While scrolling through one screen after another of so-called natural products, I noticed decidedly non-natural brands like Decleor and Darphin sitting alongside Lurk and Odacité. It’s not only Beautyhabit but in all stores that are jumping on the green beauty bandwagon: there has been a dilution of the meaning of natural and organic and somewhere along the way, the truly authentic, natural brands are paying the price.
There has been a dilution of green beauty and the truly authentic, natural brands pay the price. Click To Tweet
I believe that part of the issue is that as a movement, we have never defined what “green” actually means, nor have we given a definition of “all natural,” hence the many ways that conventional brands adulterate those terms. Perhaps partially this was due to an unrealized need. We simply didn’t know how necessary it would become to set boundaries to protect naturally formulated beauty and prevent greenwashing, defined here as a company or organization that “spends more time and money claiming to be ‘green’ through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact.”
Another possibility is that inherent in green beauty is a metamorphic and organic quality that won’t allow itself to be pegged and categorized, much like nature itself. Those illusive qualities are hard to define.
So in an attempt to restore green beauty to its original factory settings, to help preserve the integrity of the visionaries who began formulating natural products years ago, I raised this topic of giving a definition to “green beauty” in a closed Facebook group of nearly 4,000 members and we put the nominated definitions to a vote. Here is what we came up with, though it is open to further refinement and improvement.
Green beauty is:
Most of us agreed that green beauty is:
- A movement: a mindful effort of beauty and wellness brands to source the purest, most sustainable ingredients possible, in order to create efficacious and safe products
- An environmental standard: a commitment to the earth, guarding its resources and the medicinal properties of plants, herbs, flowers, etc.
- A community: a group of like-minded people determined to share what they’ve learned and discovered, so as to inspire and educate others to make mindful choices
- A lifestyle: a conscious choice to avoid products proven to be harmful to the health of our planet and its inhabitants
In order for a product or brand to be labeled under the term “green beauty,” the requirements include:
- The absence of ingredients that have been shown through studies to potentially harm health or to destroy the environment with cumulative use, often referred to as toxic chemicals (i.e. those linked to hormone disruption, cancer, deforestation, etc.)
- The meticulous attention to using ingredients that are non-toxic and natural
- A consideration of eco-friendly and organic sourcing, where possible, fair wages and working conditions
- A concern for environmental impact, sustainability, and carbon footprint
- An ongoing commitment to ethical formulating, transparency, research, innovation, and growth
Adherence to each one has gradations, since “green beauty” is an umbrella term that encompasses organic or non-toxic products. It is ultimately left up to the consumer to determine what suits their prerequisites prior to purchasing as there are no guarantees that all brands that call themselves “green” conform to these principles.
[With thanks to Stephanie Ferguson, makeup artist and blogger and founder of Säf, whose definition has great merit and was incorporated here.]
Distinguishing Green | Clean | Non-toxic | Vegan | Cruelty-free | Organic | Safe
While it may seem as though “green beauty” is an all-encompassing term, many people see it splintering further.
Shannon Burkhalter added the distinction that the following refer to different aspects of what is considered “natural”:
“Green speaks to the impact on resources, including trees and water, sustainability, reduction of landfill volume, and fair-trade, avoiding human and animal exploitation. Clean means what the product does not contain—carcinogens, hormone disruptors, irritants, neurotoxins, etc.,” said Jean Francis Scholtes.
Do take a minute to check out Adina Grigore’s definitions of “natural,” “organic,” “non-toxic,” and “hypoallergenic” here. She’s the founder of S.W. Basics and author of two books—one about the need for simplicity in skin care and one on essential oils—and she knows a thing or two about skin.
As you can see, there’s definitely more refinement needed but here’s a start. Let us know your thoughts in the comments as well as whether or not a definition is needed. Do we leave the terms as ambiguous and allow the consumer to decide what’s ok for them or not? Do we need to further educate buyers as to what green actually means?
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There definitely needs to be separate definitions in regards to beauty and health products. Only when consumers become conscious of and educated in terminology in regards to all the important category definitions will there be a real demand for truly green/natural products. Also, companies definitely need to be held responsible for the ingredients they use and not be able to “cover” their use of harmful ingredients with nebulous claims which mislead the consumer while harming our Environment. Thank you Sarita for beginning this insightful and important discussion.
Sarita, thank you for talking about this. As I embark on launching my skincare line, I have the credentials of being named the top Esthetician in US for 2016 by 14 formulators, scientists, ingredient experts and industry leaders, I’ve also been personally mentored by a formulator with a USDA Organic certified lab who also creates many of the raw ingredients all the labs in the world use, plus I grew up on a commune where natural and organic was a way of life.
With all that said, I have decided to not refer to my products as “green” or “natural” at all, even though they are more so than most, because of just this issue.
The words have lost their meaning.
I have decided to let my products stand on their own merits, and concentrate on helping my clients understand what’s in the bottles, how to use intention when applying, connect with themselves in the mirror and be mindful and loving with their thoughts.
*Mindful Beauty*
With the work that you are doing, just maybe I’ll decide to proclaim some Green…This is crucial information and so timely for me to see.
Thank you!
Love, Amy
Well written Sarita! I envision the future of sustainable, “green” beauty to become more mainstream than the mainstream, easier to understand and more accessible to the masses (not just the privileged crowd who can afford luxury skincare and cosmetics). Wouldn’t that be great? Ultimately, a worldwide push for greener, more sustainable personal care products will be better for everyone – humankind, animals and the planet. BUT there’s a huge challenge ahead of us and that is going to be ensuring consumers are educated about what green beauty really is and how to identify greenwashing. If we don’t succeed here, the big companies will simply exploit the movement even more than they currently are, and the movement will quickly fall out of popularity and will be seen as “a fad that once was”. I think we’re heading in the right direction with getting tighter on the definitions within the green beauty space… you’re contribution here is going to have a huge impact.
Fabulous commentary, Sarita. It’s amazing the brand dilution that has accelerated, even over the past year. More refinement of a definition of “green beauty” is certainly needed as it’s become a very generalized term. It helps so much to have articles like this outlining a clear core definition as a foundation to build upon. In the “Distinguishing…” section, I’d add for #3 that vegan does not equal cruelty-free nor does cruelty-free equal vegan, by the standards outlined by Leaping Bunny logo certification, etc. The “vegan” term can be another area of “washing” and includes some brands touting the vegan card that have conducted animal testing in the past or have ingredients sourced from suppliers that conduct animal testing. Conversely, there are companies claiming cruelty-free status and do not conduct animal testing, but may use non-vegan ingredients like honey, beeswax or even other animal derived products as ingredients. For this reason, consumers must educate themselves, do their own research (or consult with trusted sources like this blog) and not take these terms as all-inclusive gospel. Let’s hope we can all share this article widely to educate:)
Always food for thought Sarita. I’d love to know where/when/who the term “green beauty” began. My take is that no there shouldn’t be a definition…..Products/brands that fit the requirements outlined above have existed long before the words “green beauty”. So I think though the term came out of a grassroots movement, it has always being ultimately more about marketing and identifying a certain lifestyle, aesthetics, more hip than hippie vibe etc. It’s sadly predictable that companies see $$$ and jump on the band wagon/greenwash. I think legislation/education about ingredients rather than labels is more important so we don’t fall for it and companies will know they would be called out on their claims. The vegan issue is complex because there seems to be an assumption/perception that vegan = green, but often vegan alternatives are synthetic sourced from coal, petroleum etc which is not natural, organic (except chemically!) or green at all.
I guess I have more questions than answers.
Green = good for the environment. How do we know if a product or brand is good for the environment. What do we look for on the label or website that will tell us if the product is good for the environment?
Nontoxic/clean = safe for human use. Is there one set of ingredients that have been determined to be safe/unsafe for human use? My experience is that different brands and different green beauty “gurus” have different lists of ingredients that they think are nontoxic. For example, some people think parabens are toxic and others don’t. Does nontoxic mean products that have only plant-based chemicals? Should the definition of nontoxic/clean be narrowed to mean a “plant based chemicals” product?
Vegan = meets cruelty free standards. What are these standards? Are there set standards or is this left up to different interpretations, like clean? Is there a certification process like there is for organic products? How do we know if something is vegan? I believe on most brand websites those that are vegan do say that they are vegan, but are others?
Also, what does natural mean. How would you categorize brands like Decleor, Aveda, Clarins and Darphin. What is it about them that makes them unclean? I believe they are generally considered to be natural brands.
You are trying to define green beauty so if green just means good for the environment it is not encompassing the ingredients of the product. Should green also include the product’s ingredients? Can a product be green but not clean? Shouldn’t we start calling it “clean beauty” because the most important aspect of the movement is to get people to use products that are clean. Whether the brand uses processes and packaging that is good for the environment should be secondary, not primary, shouldn’t it?
Is the ideal product one that is green, clean, vegan and organic? Do we need to create a new classification just for products that meet that criteria? Should we come up with a rating system to rate products based on those four criteria? Do we need to create a word or label that encompasses those four criteria?
It seems that people define these things in a way that best meets their needs in many cases. So when they are educating people they are educating them based on what their individual definition is. I don’t know if there is any way to put a stop to that.
All excellent questions, Janis. This is just the beginning of a conversation refining each of the terms that are thrown around rather carelessly in the industry. As far as the brands you mention (Decleor, Aveda, Clarins, and Darphin), I’ve checked out their ingredients over the years and they are definitely neither clean nor natural, though they market themselves that way. In terms of “clean beauty,” I don’t know if the most important aspect of the movement is using clean products. I would say that for every person, the value is different. For some, the most important feature is not harming the environment and sourcing sustainably, while for others it would be cruelty-free ingredients. I agree that it may not be easy to define these terms, yet if those of us who care what they mean don’t do it, it leaves it open to further dilution and loses its meaning entirely. That would be unfortunate. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
This is such a great article and so relevant to today. I recently started a blog called Natural Beauty Maven (http://cfiano.wixsite.com/naturalbeautymaven) where I review so-called “natural” products but really take a close look into the ingredients so consumers know what they’re actually putting on their skin and how it affects their health and that of the environment. It’s so interesting and eye opening to see that sometimes the “natural” products are so far from it! I’m glad you brought this dilemma to light and look forward to reading what others have to say.
Thank you, Cara, and best of luck on your new blog!
This is SUCH an important topic – thank you for bringing this conversation to light on your blog! This is a concept our brand has been pondering and exploring recently too – we actually just released a YouTube video this week where we discuss this exact topic. Thanks for your perspective – we are excited to be on this journey with you as fellow green beauty advocates! 🙂
Oh great, Traci! I’ll have to check out your video. Thanks for the heads up. 🙂