The worldwide demand for sustainable cosmetics is rising, with the pure and natural magnificence market projected to succeed in $54.5 billion by 2027, rising at a CAGR of 9.76% from 2022 to 2027, in keeping with market analysis agency Statista. On the similar time, sustainability certifications are gaining traction—practically 50% of magnificence shoppers now search for third-party verified claims like natural, vegan, or climate-neutral earlier than making a purchase order, as reported by The NPD Group.
In opposition to this backdrop, the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit – North America Version returns to New York Metropolis on June 5-6, 2025, bringing collectively producers, suppliers, and business leaders to discover inexperienced supplies, sustainability schemes, and rising traits like AI and biotechnology.
Organized by Ecovia Intelligence, the occasion will look at how these improvements are shaping the way forward for cosmetics whereas tackling key challenges reminiscent of ingredient sourcing, round packaging, and greenwashing.
To achieve deeper insights, CosmeticsDesign spoke with Amarjit Sahota, founding father of Ecovia Intelligence, about what to anticipate from this yr’s summit and the way the business can speed up its shift towards sustainability.
CDU: What impressed this yr’s theme and focus for the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit?
Amarjit Sahota (AS): This yr, we’re specializing in inexperienced supplies, sustainability schemes, and future traits. Inexperienced elements proceed to play an essential position in advancing sustainability within the cosmetics business.
We’ll have a look at how new applied sciences like biotechnology and AI are creating sustainable elements.
We determined to cowl sustainability schemes since our analysis reveals a rising variety of third-party sustainability requirements and labels for beauty & private care merchandise. Other than pure and natural (essentially the most established), we’re seeing extra merchandise with climate-neutral, vegan, and associated labels like EWG Verified and Made Secure.
Within the Future Developments session, we are going to focus on the traits which are poised to additional sustainability within the cosmetics business. Other than AI (which is predicted to have a significant affect on beauty formulations and advertising and marketing), we’re overlaying cultured elements (made utilizing mobile agriculture), and new strategies to supply plant-based elements: regenerative agriculture and vertical farming.
We’re additionally overlaying new packaging supplies for cosmetics & private care merchandise.
CDU: How has the summit developed over time in addressing sustainability challenges within the cosmetics business?
AS: The agenda of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit has developed significantly for the reason that first version in 2009. Within the first few editions, inexperienced supplies referred to plant-based/pure uncooked supplies versus artificial chemical substances.
During the last 10 years, there was appreciable funding in inexperienced uncooked supplies. Now, inexperienced supplies confer with elements which have a better sustainability profile than typical elements.
This could possibly be when it comes to feedstock (agricultural-based or bio-based feedstock), synthesis (processing strategies), upcycling (valorization of waste supplies), and/or new applied sciences like stem cell expertise, precision fermentation, and so on.
There are additionally higher discussions on impacts, whether or not it’s carbon footprint / web zero, useful resource use, moral sourcing & biodiversity, social sustainability, in addition to packaging impacts. Advertising and marketing points are additionally extra distinguished, particularly since manufacturers are advertising and marketing their merchandise on numerous inexperienced options, e.g., energetic elements, free-from claims, labels, packaging, refillable, and so on.
CDU: The agenda mentions AI and biotechnology as rising applied sciences. How do you see these shaping the way forward for sustainable cosmetics?
AS: AI is having a significant affect on the cosmetics business. Manufacturers are taking a look at AI to assist them choose elements and re-formulate their merchandise.
AI can be used for market analysis for NPD (growing new merchandise), advertising and marketing, and communications. Corporations like Haut.AI are growing software program like SkinGPT, while analysis businesses are utilizing AI to research knowledge and information manufacturers with advertising and marketing selections.
Biotechnology is predicted to play an essential position in growing pure uncooked supplies for beauty formulations. The transfer to inexperienced uncooked supplies has raised questions on land use: As the worldwide inhabitants continues to rise and is predicted to succeed in 9 billion by 2037, there are issues that land can be used to develop crops for cosmetics and never for meals.
The rising use of plant-based uncooked supplies mustn’t result in meals insecurity. Biotechnology, reminiscent of plant cell expertise, allows energetic elements to be grown in refineries with agricultural land. Precision fermentation and fermentation strategies allow elements like collagen to be created from plant sources within the lab.
New applied sciences, subsequently, will play an essential position in creating sustainable elements for the cosmetics business.
CDU: How do you assume this yr’s summit will affect business stakeholders’ methods for integrating sustainability?
AS: We need to spotlight the foremost traits and alternatives with inexperienced supplies and sustainability schemes for stakeholders. Inexperienced supplies play an essential position in decreasing the environmental affect of beauty & private care merchandise.
Sustainability schemes are essential as they assist manufacturers and ingredient corporations transfer in the direction of inexperienced(er) merchandise. They’re additionally crucial in advertising and marketing; by adopting third-party sustainability schemes like Natrue, RSPO, and Local weather Neautral, manufacturers can legitimize their inexperienced advertising and marketing claims.
CDU: What position does collaboration play in overcoming challenges like greenwashing and implementing round programs?
AS: Collaboration does play an essential position. Within the earlier editions of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, we have now highlighted the significance of collaboration by giving a platform to the EcoBeautyScore Consortium and Pact Collective.
Each initiatives have concerned manufacturers working collectively for a typical purpose e.g. the intention of the Pact Collective to handle the difficulty of magnificence and wellness packaging waste by uniting manufacturers to take collective duty for packaging waste by way of progressive assortment packages and academic assets.
CDU: What are your ideas on the potential for holistic sustainability schemes to handle the rising fragmentation within the business?
AS: Sadly, we have now not seen any schemes that cowl the assorted elements of sustainability within the magnificence business. One of many causes is that sustainability has many threads, encompassing environmental facets like carbon footprint, water use, power, waste administration, biodiversity, packaging impacts, to social facets like moral sourcing and CSR.
There are additionally financial facets and moral facets that cowl animal-testing, veganism, and human well being. It’s, subsequently, turning into frequent for sustainability schemes that concentrate on particular facets, e.g., RSPO for sustainable sourcing of palm oil, carbon footprint labels, natural certification, vegan labels, truthful commerce, and so on.
CDU: Wanting forward, what new sustainability traits do you anticipate will emerge within the subsequent few years?
AS: We see there to be extra sustainability requirements and labeling schemes, in addition to charters and roundtables. A pattern is that these schemes are being developed for single elements, e.g., sustainable palm oil, sugar, coconut oil, mica, guar, and so on.
There may also be extra of a rising palette of inexperienced elements. Already, we’re seeing firms which have silicones and polymers transferring to bio-based feedstock.
On the client stage, anticipate to see new product codecs. In recent times, refillables have made a comeback for skincare merchandise. There are new product codecs like waterless shampoos and moisturizer bars, in addition to new refillable deodorants, and so on.
CDU: Because the founding father of Ecovia Intelligence, what drives your ardour for sustainability in cosmetics, and the way do you see your position in shaping the business’s future?
AS: Since Ecovia Intelligence was fashioned in 2001, the mission has been to encourage sustainable improvement within the meals, beauty & associated industries by way of our enterprise providers.
We’ve got been internet hosting the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit since 2009; for 17 years, the summit goals to encourage constructive change within the magnificence business by highlighting sustainability developments and figuring out enterprise alternatives and networks. Because the founding father of Ecovia Intelligence, my position is to assist facilitate this constructive change.
For extra particulars or to register for the upcoming Summit, please go to the group’s web site.
