Author: annamae

In recent years there has been a shift towards organic ingredients in beauty products, consumers say they consider sustainability a key factor when shopping for beauty products, but industry solutions so far have come up short, according to critics.

Given the damage already inflicted on the natural environment, simply “sustaining” our ecosystems may not be enough to offset climate change and ensure the long-term productivity of farmlands which beauty companies source their ingredients from.

Regenerative farming could be one of the biggest shifts right now, the practices of regenerative farming are so new that the term “Regenerative Agriculture” itself is only just coming into public awareness – or is barely even there yet – though it has a long provenance in multiple forms, and possibly replacing sustainable, it is worthwhile to dig into what regenerative farming actually means, not only for the beauty industry, but for the world.

People have been practicing agriculture for more than 10,000 years. Many of the farming practices used in different forms of agriculture have had a significant impact on the sustainability of food systems, food security, animal wellbeing, environmental health, and human health.

Emissions such as greenhouse gases are due to Industrial agriculture, and the health of the soil is exterminated by chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which are important for creating organic matter. 

Deforestation, (air) pollution, land modification, monocultures, and transportation are all accountable for generating emissions.

Not only does industrial agriculture affect the environment but also our health in terms of what we eat. The development of chronic diseases, cancers, and foodborne pathogens due to animal-based foods, pesticides, concentrated high-speed meat production, resistance to antibiotics due to excessive use of antibiotics in animal agriculture, and lack of nutritional value in foods have been a severe problem.

By taking the necessary measures and progressing to regenerative farming methods, agriculture could go from being considered one of the main causes of health and environmental issues, to a solution for these problems.

It is one of the most significant steps we can take to reverse the trend of global warming due to climate change, alongside reforestation efforts and the elimination of burning fossil fuels.

Regenerative is a term used to describe farming practices. “Regenerative Agriculture” defines farming and grazing practices that reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity, resulting in carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.

Regenerative farms follow the same principles, such as minimizing soil disturbances, (which can be reduced by e.g., tilling), keeping the soil covered with vegetation, having increased plant diversity, keeping living roots in the soil as much as possible, integrating animals into the farm as much as possible.

Healthy soil means healthy natural raw material, which once incorporated into beauty products also enhances skin health.

Regenerative beauty brands source their ingredients sustainably, seeking out suppliers who support regenerative practices and biodynamic farming. By using these suppliers to create their products, regenerative beauty brands actively seek to better the earth with their products. 

Beauty companies are acting more on becoming transparent to give consumers a better understanding of where their products come from, even though all-natural products gain traction with consumers, and consumers are more conscious of their purchasing choices as well as having a preference for brands that have the interests of the environment as part of its core values, much still remains to be done to make the beauty market sustainable.

Unfortunately, greenwashing makes a company or a brand seem more environmentally friendly or sustainable than it really is, and it is a sad reality of the beauty industry.

We have assembled some of our preferred regenerative beauty brands, for whom sustainability is not a marketing ploy, but a way of life.

Weleda has respected the environment and the natural resources from the start. The environmental consciousness goes beyond their sourcing to include every aspect of Weleda, their products and their packaging. The standards for sustainable packaging are as close as possible to regenerative design but not fully. Not only must it protect the life energy and potency of the ingredients, but Weleda manufactures from sustainable materials and the packaging is made recyclable once its packaging life is over.

Weleda is known for its hydrating creams. Their most well-known product; Skinfood is a universal moisturizer great for your face, elbows, hands, and feet. With extracts of gentle viola tricolor, calendula, and chamomile in a rich, thick base of oils and beeswax, Skin Food hydrates skin to give you a healthy-looking glow.

Eclo is a true innovation when it comes to the (green) beauty industry. Their raw materials come from local regenerative cultures (algae, flowers, leguminous plants), such as organic hemp, rye, and algae from France.

The R&D and Production of Eclo are in Brittany in a green factory, the products are solid and do not contain water, the formula of their products is sustainable and 100% biodegradable, as well as their containers and packaging, they come from FSC certified forests in the EU.

Their well-pigmented lip tints, eyeshadows, and blush made their debut in Eclo’s product line recently. Needless to say, we are loving it. This might be the long-awaited brand breaking new grounds in the beauty industry.

After her career as a makeup artist, Munemi Imai founded MŪN skin.

MUN offers mostly skincare, including facial cleansers, serums, moisturizers, body serums, and oils. MUN Their products’ key ingredients are healing botanicals, which are grown in conditions that help protect the soil’s ecosystem, retaining nutrients and potent bioactive compounds. While MUN is dedicated to creating sustainable skin products and protecting the environment, MUN has partnered with several women’s co-ops in Morocco to sustain economic development.

The co-ops produce the ingredients: Argan, Prickly Pear Seed, and olive oils used in MŪN products. The operation is a self-regulated, functioning ecosystem, with new trees planted according to the desired scope of production. What is surprising about products such as the Aknari Brightening Youth Serum is that it contains as few as 3 ingredients; prickly pear seed oil, argan oil, and rose flower essential oil.

Dr. Bronner’s hygiene and care products range from different soaps, lip balms, lotions, and more. They have been taking leading steps in the right direction in regard to regenerative farming. In 2020, they started to offer their first Regenerative Organic Certified product: coconut oil from Sri Lanka. 

Dr. Bronner’s is part of a select group of companies and farms which have taken part in a pilot program that will help shape the guidelines for regenerative organic products in order to create products that better the soil health, and act earnestly to reverse climate change.

In addition to their regenerative organic farming projects, Dr. Bronner’s also has tree-planting and soil enrichment programs, they use only post-consumer recycled packaging and they have strict waste and water use reduction practices in place with production.

Japanese brand DAM DAM has partnered with regenerative farmers in Japan to source the ingredients for their products, their different products are made from the Shiso plant, Konnyaku root, Komenuka, and Kaolin clay.

The founders of DAM DAM, Giselle Go and Philippe Terrien shared, “As a brand, it is important for us to support farmers who stay on and maintain stewardship of their ancestral land. It is a circular relationship: we source our hero ingredients from them, allowing them to continue regenerative farming practices (crops from this practice are typically excluded from food distribution). Through their pesticide-free practice, they rehabilitate the soil, encourage biodiversity within crop species, and replenish the soil using residue from distillation for our formulation as natural compost. It is an exchange that benefits all of us.”

Even though the sourcing of the ingredients is transparent the packaging of the product is not clear whether sourced from recycled materials, or from natural ingredients for their packaging.

Natura & Co group is currently not regenerative, but they are redefining its sustainability goals for their daughter company The Body Shop. The head of R&D says they will heavily invest in regenerative business innovation over the next few years, including advanced use of biotech and carbon capture, as the head of innovation, and sustainability.

Something to keep an eye on as Natura & Co is a large group including Natura, The Body Shop, Aesop, and Avon. Natura & Co wanted to be net-zero in the next decade, foster collective efforts towards zero deforestation by 2025, and become circular with 95% or more of its ingredients natural or renewable and formulas biodegradable.

As well as they will be investigating regenerative solutions across its entire supply chain, their main challenge currently is to translate regenerative ingredients into their formulations. But the actions they are going to undertake is to ensure resources were non-chemical and toxic, as well as circular. As already mentioned, they aim to do so by considering greenhouse capture and biotechnologies that used carbon capture, investing in conservation and restoration of natural areas, and protecting and promoting biodiversity.