Assessing what our cosmetic future holds - Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in Paris - Cell Technology

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit  to Discuss Green Ingredients, Marketing & Consumer Behaviour*

MC2Tech & MC2Beauty Inc. - Oct 8, 2014

LONDON -- The European edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit will cover developments in green ingredients, marketing and customer behaviour. Attracting the heads of major global companies that impact the cosmetic and cosmetceutical industry, the summit will be hosted in Paris on 24-26th November 2014. 

For the first time in Europe, the summit will discuss ways to encourage sustainable purchases and responsible consumption of cosmetics & personal care products. This union will directly influence the beauty and personal care markets here in North America and then eventually South America.

Marketing and customer behavior will be featured in the context of green cosmetics and environmental impacts. Although the natural & organic cosmetics market has shown high growth, the market share remains low. Many of our cosmetic and cosmeceutical trends come from Asia and Europe where the technology and research starts. Natural & organic products comprise just 3% of European cosmetic sales because of concentration of demand; a small consumer base is responsible for most purchases. 

The summit will also ask what can be done to encourage responsible consumption?

Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, co-founder of McDonough Braungart Design, professor at the University of Applied Science (Suderburg, Germany) and co-author of book 'Cradle to Cradle', will give the opening keynote. As cosmetic firms announce bold sustainability plans, Braungart will advise how we can wisely produce a well rounded product that meets the needs of manufacturing and consumer mandates. According to Braungart, cosmetic & personal care firms need to innovate with product design if they are to use resources more efficiently. He encourages companies to consider the Cradle-To-Cradle Design Approach to create ‘closed loop systems’ for cosmetic ingredients and finished products.

MC2Tech and MC2Beauty utilize a cradle-to-cradle philosophy when developing and manufacturing products.

Other big players to attend and contribute to the positive role of fair trade, sustainable economics and green finance are Alexandra Palt, CSR & Sustainability Director of L’Oreal, will give details of its Shared Beauty For All sustainability plan.

Devising a sustainability plan; how does the cosmetics giant plan to reach 1 billion new consumers by 2020 whilst reducing its environmental footprint by 60%?

The summit will give an update on the growing palette of green materials, placing emphasis on new technologies, how plant cell technology is generating novel actives for cosmetic applications and other experts will give details of new technologies for sustainable processing, the potential of bio-inspired molecules, the need for sustainable palm oil alternatives, and creating novel green materials.

The 6th European edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit will be hosted in Paris on 24-26th November. The 2nd Sustainable Beauty Awards will be co-hosted alongside the summit, on 24th November.  Look out for future updates from the summit.

About the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit

Organized by Organic Monitor, the aim of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit is to encourage sustainability in the beauty industry by bringing together key stake-holders and debate major sustainability issues in a high-level forum. The 6th European edition will be hosted at the Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées hotel on 24-27th November.

About the Sustainable Beauty Awards

The aim of the Sustainable Beauty Awards is to give recognition to cosmetic and related firms who are pushing the boundaries of sustainability in the beauty industry. The awards reception will take place on 24th November at the Paris Marriott Champs-Elysées. Entries for the five award categories are open until 15th October.  Learn how the industry and brands are pushing the limits of our technology and consumer offerings.

*Source: Organic Monitor

Vegetable Glycerin - A New Take

I recently had someone comment to me about vegetable glycerin and that is was an undesirable ingredient for them in their skin care products.  I am always open to opinion and questions and listen to consumer concerns and market demands. In my business, chemicals are my friends and I wanted to stand up for one the underestimated crude compounds used in just about everything from foods, to cosmetics and medical treatments.  Vegetable glycerine is a favourite compound to cosmetic chemists and as it adds smooth texture, lubrication, and attracts moisture as a humectant.  I love vegetable glycerin because of it's wide range of helpful uses.  It does not possess genotoxic potential and is highly favoured by all boards, FDA, USP, EP. It is locally harvested, supports local agro and economy and offers broad spectrum applications in foods, medical treatments and the cosmetic industry.

Vegetable Glycerin is the result of a sophisticated extraction method called hydrolysis where plant oils like soy, coconut and palm are used as the source and the final product is a standard 99% -pure glycerine product.    

Glycerin is used by people with sensitive and easily irritated skin because it is hypo-allergenic, non carcinogenic, non toxic, and it prevents skin dryness with it's moisturizing humectant (drawing and attracting moisture into the skin and hair) properties.  Beta-oxidation is the naturally occurring catabolic process by which glycerin is normally and safely metabolized by our bodies whether by ingestion (eating) or transdermal (skin) application.

So, even if Vegetable Glycerin is not an exotic ingredient that you see on sexy billboards, it is a very effective and valuable compound in the cosmetic chemical world.  It is a perfect vehicle to attain the benefits of many exotic and complex ingredients in products that you may read about on the cover of magazines and see in big celebrity endorsed commercials.  Forms of distilled vegetable fats can be found in all cosmetics and should not be under estimated for their valuable addition to the effects of great products that are safe for the entire family.

FIND Vegetable Glycerin in toothpaste, cough syrup, personal care and lubricating products, mouthwash, vitamins, medical and allergen immunotherapies and many more!

DID YOU KNOW... Taken orally, vegetable glycerin (mixed with fruit juice) is a very effective and rapid medical treatment widely used for cases of severely elevated eye pressure that aids in temporarily decreasing the intraocular pressure which can be painful and permanently damaging.  Hmmmm.....