PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
There are about 3 trillion trees left on earth, or roughly 400 trees per person. Seems like a lot, but what if we told you that since the advent of human civilisation, half of all trees have been cut down, or that 15 billion trees are lost each year?
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has voted unanimously to update U.S. organic standards to exclude ingredients derived from next-generation genetic engineering and gene editing.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Following a five-year search for more sustainable and healthy hair care solutions, this month Cris Dios, cosmetologist and co-founder of Laces and Hair, recently launched Brazil’s first range of 100 percent natural hair colour solutions. As well as nourishing hair fibres without fading them, they are an excellent solution for people who suffer allergic reactions to products containing chemicals.
PRESS RELEASE -
Report released on top sustainability issues and challenges in the cosmetics and personal care industry
Valuable insight on environmental and sustainability priorities that looks at how beauty companies are deploying initiatives to drive change in a resource-constrained world
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
As a teenager growing up in England in the 1990s, so-called lads’ mags were all the rage. Back then, these kinds of magazines ruled the newsstands, promulgating a kind of macho boyhood that was rough and rowdy. They set a cultural expectation for young English men that rolled well into the 2000s. And then, one by one, those magazines went out of business as readers moved online and their media preferences changed.
Other things in British men’s lives have changed, too.
PRESS RELEASE -
The COSMOS standard (COSMetic Organic Standard) is one of the most important international standards for natural cosmetics. Until now, the standards of the national cosmetics associations in Europe also applied – above all BDIH (Germany) and Ecocert (France). When they are replaced by the uniform COSMOS standard starting in January 2017, BASF will be ready for the change: more than a 100 of the ingredients developed by BASF for cosmetic and body care products have already been registered with COSMOS. About half of the products also have a certificate of the international natural and organic cosmetics association NATRUE – including the ultra-light emollient Cetiol® Ultimate and the emulsifier Emulgade® Sucro Plus.
PRESS RELEASE -
BRUSSELS (8 SEPTEMBER, 2016): Radisson Blu, the iconic hotel brand driven by innovation and design, is delighted to announce its new partnership with the Soap for Hope™ program, which recycles used hotel soaps to create fresh bars for distribution in local communities with limited access to hygiene and sanitation.
The Soap for Hope™ program works in partnership with Sealed Air, the leader in food safety and security, facility hygiene and product protection. Soap for Hope™ was pioneered by Sealed Air to save lives by giving free soap to communities with limited access to soap, to create local entrepreneurs and to help hotels reduce waste through recycling.
PRESS RELEASE -
Joint press release
August 18, 2016
Supporting a sustainable palm oil industry
Henkel, BASF and Solidaridad support around 5,500 smallholders in Indonesia
When renewable raw materials such as palm oil and palm kernel oil are used, the main focus is on economic, environmental and social impacts along the entire supply chain
SUPPLY CHAIN -
In recent years, palm oil has arguably become one of the world’s most ubiquitous and contentious raw materials in the consumer goods industry. When conventionally produced palm oil and palm kernel oil are used, there are significant economic, environmental and social impacts along the entire supply chain – from field to shelf. Small farms produce roughly 40 percent of the world’s palm and palm kernel oil; an important question for the oil-producing countries is how to increase the yields from the land already under cultivation.
PRESS RELEASE -
International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) and Unilever have announced a new partnership with leading non-governmental associations (NGOs) to enhance the livelihoods of smallholder vetiver farmers in Haiti.
Goals set for Vetiver Together, as the project is known, include sustainably improving food security, increasing yields and diversifying income, as well as working to support women’s empowerment and environmental conservation. The project is supported by the Enhancing Livelihoods Fund – a partnership between Unilever, Oxfam Great Britain and the Ford Foundation, and will be implemented by Heifer International.
PRESS RELEASE -
The U by Kotex brand and
DoSomething.org kick off Power to the Period, the first-ever, national period products donation drive and second installment of the U by Kotex Period Projects – a groundbreaking series of projects, each inspired by a woman who shares the brand’s passion for creating real change.
PRESS RELEASE -
BASF announced today the launch of its Colors & Effects brand, bundling BASF’s global pigments business. The new brand encompasses BASF’s distinct colorants and effect pigments portfolio, and serves customers across five key industries, including coatings, plastics, printing, cosmetics, and agriculture.
“To continue to grow and develop their business, our customers need a diverse selection of pigments and global expertise,” said Alexander Haunschild, Senior Vice President, Global Pigments Business. “In this competitive marketplace, we created a brand focused entirely on pigments to provide our customers with products and solutions from one single source.”
PRESS RELEASE -
Sealed Air Corporation has launched the initiative 'Soap for Hope™', in association with Doctors for You, an NGO in Mumbai. Sealed Air aims to recycle used hotel soaps into fresh soap for distribution to local communities. In Mumbai, the joint workshop held by Sealed Air and Doctors For You provided a step-by-step demonstration of the soap-recycling process.
The soap that will be distributed to slum dwellers and lower middle class families aims to promote hand-washing as an effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and respiratory diseases in developing countries.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The ocean’s value has been estimated as high as $24 trillion, yet despite its inherent connections to the health and well-being of wildlife, humans, and the global economy, it continues to be overexploited and polluted. Scientists have estimated that a minimum of 5.25 trillion plastic particles are in the oceans, and some studies suggest that these contaminants can make their way all the way up the food chain.
PRESS RELEASE -
Multi-billion dollar personal care products firm Kimberly-Clark is hoping to change the approach and impact of private sector initiatives in the sanitation space. Instead of building toilets, it has taken up refurbishing and rebuilding work on existing not-in-use toilets.
The initiative, in partnership with not-for-profit Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India, was launched on 28 April at a primary school in the Chandanhola area of Delhi.
Called ‘Toilets Change Lives’, the initiative is part of the company’s global sanitation drive. In India, it covers 100 schools across five states—Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Over 125 cosmetics and personal care products from 14 brands have earned the Environmental Working Group (EWG)’s new verification. The EWG VERIFIED™ program aims to help customers quickly and easily identify products that meet strict ingredient standards and are “produced with the best manufacturing practices.”
The program was announced in October and has quickly grown to include cosmetics such as foundations, blushes, eye shadows, eye liners, lipsticks and lip glosses; skin care products including cleansers and moisturizers; shampoos, soaps and deodorants; and more.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
To mark its 40th anniversary, The Body Shop has unveiled a pioneering global CSR strategy that will underpin all aspects of company operation. The new commitment will reaffirm the global cosmetics brand’s positioning as a leader in ethical business and will define its next stage of development.
The commitment, entitled Enrich Not Exploit™ - which will support The Body Shop in its aim to be the world’s most ethical and sustainable global business - is an extensive program of global activity and measurable 2020 targets that touches all areas of the business.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A report released Thursday by national women’s health non-profit Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) exposes the failings of the fragrance industry’s self-regulated safety program.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Environmental health non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) has launched its new verification program to help consumers quickly and easily identify consumer goods that do not contain toxic ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED: For Your Health™ mark will appear on personal care products and cosmetics that meet criteria set by EWG scientists.
COLLABORATION -
A remote village in Kenya could have access to 15 million gallons of clean water by the end of the year — funded by Unilever shampoo, deodorant and body wash sales at Walgreens.