The collective awareness of the world’s population regarding the well-being of the environment and the waste perpetrated by humans affects all sectors. In this context, cosmetics is obviously not exempt. In recent years, there has been increasing talk about Circular Beauty, or the conversion of food waste into cosmetic ingredients. With this in mind, even foods that are not aesthetically pleasing to the consumer can avoid being discarded and enter the cosmetic supply chain as a source of alternative and sustainable ingredients, with food waste reduction and virtuous corporate innovation.
Circular Beauty: what recycling means and what it is in cosmetics
Cosmetic companies that embrace a philosophy of sustainability across the production chain cannot but take into account this innovative approach, one that is designed to reduce waste in the industry and make it a promoter of virtuosity on the global stage. It starts from the consideration that cosmetic products are widely used around the world (it is estimated that on average, each person uses 7 to 13 cosmetics per day), therefore recycling choices can have a significant impact on waste reduction and environmental well-being.
Ingredients used in Circular Beauty
Some companies aim directly to contact local suppliers and recycle food products that are discarded for edible consumption but can still be valuable in cosmetic properties. For example, essential oils can be obtained from dried fruit, while masks and scrubs can be obtained from cocoa and coffee residues. From the olive waste it is possible to obtain useful ingredients for the lipophilic component of cosmetics and with antioxidant properties. Fruit that is not aesthetically pleasing can still retain the properties of its components, thus high content in vitamins, minerals and other trace elements: it can enter the cosmetic industry as a natural ingredient in Circular Beauty and be liked by consumers, but also with low environmental impact.
Even grapes discarded during wine production can become a valuable and sustainable cosmetic ingredient, as well as damaged carrots. Furthermore, there are known cases of snail slime production from snails supported in their feeding with chicory and other vegetables from waste from neighboring farms, such as salad leaves unattractive to the customer but still full of functional nutrients for the snail itself.
Circular Beauty as the challenge of an eco-friendly future
It can be seen, hence, that collaboration between different companies, often with the same territoriality, becomes a crucial point to support Circular Beauty and reduce the environmental impact of the different industries.
Since the choice of packaging has a huge impact on the sustainability of a cosmetic’s production, cosmetic companies should not only devote themselves to the selection of recycled ingredients, but the orientation is towards the reduction of plastic packaging, favoring environmentally friendly and recyclable cardboard, glass or wood packs.
For cosmetic companies, the choice to embrace the philosophy of Circular Beauty is no longer a simple commercial and marketing issue, but has become a real drive towards a world with rediscovered awareness to environmental themes, respect for the territory and reduction of waste.
In this way, even the cosmetics sector can make its contribution to an economy that must necessarily question the changes needed to respect the environment in which people live, and reduce the exploitation of resources and the abnormal production of waste.
The future of cosmetics is here, the combination of circular economy and sustainable beauty is being worked on and must be implemented.