15 minute read
Beauty is a Beast Curbing the Cruel History of the Cosmetic Industry
he beauty industry: once a vivisection-pitted horror of a minefield for ethical and eco- conscious consumers; now, a vibrant marketplace offering almost too much choice. From cruelty-free vegan cosmetics to plastic-free and zero waste products – the sector has had a veritable makeover.
However, is it for the sake of the animals and the planet (all those chemicals!), or in order to stay current in a world which no longer brooks the (vegan) wool being pulled over its line of sight? Let’s take “no rinse” shampoos and conditioners, specifically – what with Plastic-Free Beauty Day coming up on the 17th June – Garnier’s 2021-released No Rinse Conditioner, which comes in a cardboardintegrated tube. Although it claims to save some “100 litres of water per tube” and offer a 92% smaller carbon footprint than “wash-out” products (with 63% of those products’ carbon footprint solely water use) – and although Garnier is progressing from being almost as bad as its sister company L’Oréal in the plastic pollution stakes (L’Oréal using 140,000 tonnes of plastic in 2018 alone) – is there anything really new and especially “green” about the “no rinse” concept? In short, no. It is joining in with other industry “greenwashing” (a term in this case which is, you know, ironic). Why? Because the company is still selling the less sustainable “wash-out” products, most of which are made from between 60% to 85% water to begin with. Makes water wastage in almond milk production seem almost tame, doesn’t it?
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Garnier might have pledged “carbon neutrality and the creation of an effective water recycling loop system by 2030”, but like countries’ promises for Net Zero, proof of the truthfulness of the matter only time will tell. Furthermore, “No rinse” products normally use stearamidopropyl dimethylamine for a soft, no-water-needed and little build-up result, instead of washout products’ quaternary ammonium compounds (e.g. behentrimonium chloride), which are antistatic, antibacterial, and need water to wash them out after use. Neither sound particularly “natural”, do they? Well, there are those who are starting to argue that, instead of going to Nature and using up the planet’s natural resources, disrupting the lives of wild animals and other kingdoms of species – they’re arguing that synthetic innovation is actually a more sustainable option. Sounds quite similar to the reasoning behind cellular agriculture, doesn’t it?
Indeed, innovation-wise but branching out into the VMS sector or “ingestible beauty”, Personal Care Insights recently wrote on the new biomimetic vegan collagen that’s been laboratory-developed and due for release this year. VeCollal is said to offer an “identical to human type 1 collagen” amino acid profile that effectively stimulates collagen production naturally in the body. Human collagen consisting of a triple helix structure, mimicking that structure is a precise exercise. This latest innovation was inspired by research showing that ingestion of collagen peptides from animal sources promotes collagen production in our bodies, but lacks certain amino acids like L-tryptophan. The company’s principles being “supported by over 50 reference […] and clinical studies”, VeCollal hopes its “beauty-from-within” powder (created by fermentation processing of its plant sources) will be well-received in the current environmentally and ethically aware climate. Legless, self-regenerating bugs in outer space aside – “clean beauty” can’t actually be legally defined as yet. According to cosmetic scientist and formulator Perry Romanowski, it is clever marketing, clamouring for the attention of the morally activated part of consumers’ brains. This isn’t for want of trying, though: in 2019, the Natural Cosmetics Act was introduced to the House of Representatives in the US, aiming to ensure the label “natural” or “naturally derived” could only be used by products with 70% or more natural ingredients; the bill has still not been passed and it didn’t cover terms such as “green” or “clean”. Additionally, such a bill would remove any hope of small start-up brands vying for contention with the major players. Although start-ups tend to begin with eco-friendly packaging and ingredients, given the type of market they’re now launching in, big name brands have the financial muscle to seem like they are going further, better, when in fact they’re playing catch-up.
Certainly, the cosmetics industry has been cleaning up its act in recent years, with “clean beauty” the order of the globally warmed day. Humans are never going to become immortal; ageing is ever going to be a battle to be fought (or accepted, depending on your point of view). And beauty products help us believe we’re winning that battle. Interestingly, The Times reported back in December that scientists at Liverpool University were due to send lab-grown human muscle cells into space in order to better understand the ageing process. Launched on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS (International Space Station), the MicroAge Mission aims to explore the reason behind muscle wasting as we age, looking comparatively at why astronauts lost muscle strength after prolonged weightlessness. The study, funded by the UK Space Agency, follows on from that of Nottingham and Exeter researchers, who sent worms into space in 2020 for the same purpose.
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Essentially, “clean beauty” means “non-toxic” (oh, goody). That often means a “clean beauty” product won’t use petroleum sources, parabens, or sodium lauryl sulphate. However, toxicity is a subjective matter, as sensitivity varies from person to person: what consumer A can thickly lavish on their skin post shower will bring consumer B out in hives. When it comes to “green”, that can normally be translated as “plant-based”, but Harper Bazaar’s “Ultimate Guide to Clean Beauty” set out that it “should mean that the product does no harm to the environment”, such as “reef-safe” sun creams (soon to be a relevant topic of discussion in usually chilly old Britain).
Otherwise, “sustainable” should adhere strictly to the preservation of an “ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources”. There’s even the SBC (Sustainable Beauty Coalition) in existence today. But, as we’re living in the present of potential global doom, there’s ever the wonder as to whether any of this makes any difference. After all, L'Oréal pledged to “only use refillable, rechargeable, recyclable, or compostable packaging by 2025”: now well into 2022, a substantial number of products are still using virgin plastic. Certification, however, can provide assurance – and reassurance – for consumers. B-Corp certification can be found on The Body Shop products, for example: one of the most difficult sustainability certifications to obtain, B-Corp requires that brands it certifies “meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability”. There you have it: rigorous wording, indeed.
Equally tough to attain is The Vegan Society Trademark. Products must be 100% free from any animal products and brands must provide “evidence of the ingredients used, how they are manufactured, where they are manufactured, and how they are tested”. Although a UK-founded charity in the early twentieth-century – our nation tends to get forwardthinking on these ethical matters; we’d refer you to the Suffragette movement – Britain might soon cease to be a world leader on animal testing laws. Concern over animal testing began with Queen Victoria: her majesty was horrified by “practices that involved injecting, operating on, and force-feeding animals in the name of scientific [medical] progress”. Started in 1974, Faith In Nature has been producing effective natural products for hair, skin and home for over 48 years - making natural products and eco values accessible for an ever growing fanbase. And this month, we’re making it even easier for you to stock Faith In Nature products, with 20% off 400ml hand wash and soap* and 20% off all 5L and 20L refill bottles. Just like nature, Faith In Nature’s hand washes are both powerful and gentle, while their handmade soaps are 100% plastic free smell amazing. The big 20L and 5L refill bottles look great in any refill stand - doing their bit for the look of your store and for the planet with their plastic reducing credentials. We have Faith In Nature and we hope you do too! *Offer does not include any gift sets or banded packs
Yet nought was done about it for almost a century, and animal testing for cosmetic purposes didn’t come into practice until after the Queen’s death (in the States, the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act mandating it after the horrific Lash Lure mascara blinding case). In fact, it wasn’t until 1998 that the EU duly banned animal testing for cosmetic purposes; now, however, that ban is under threat.
Of course, animal testing has continued beyond our shores in certain other countries (though Mexico recently became the first country in the Americas to ban it entirely), and it is a practice that predated even Queen Victoria’s time – but the Ancient Greeks did it on medical grounds. According to the Humane Society International, approximately half a million animals still die annually for the purposes of cosmetic testing, species including mice and rats, rabbits and guinea pigs. But this doesn’t have to continue. There are now alternatives, permitted by advancements in science, from growing human cells in a lab for
The ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) implemented regulation REACH (the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) requires some animal testing to be undertaken for certain substances in the manufacturing process, including cosmetic ingredients. Since Brexit, Britain has been considering its own version of REACH.
testing on to computational biology (where existing data is used to model the reactions of new drugs and chemicals). The US’s EPA (Environment Protection Agency) has announced its intention to phase out animal testing entirely by 2035 because of these advancements, as stated by the EPA’s former Administrator, Andrew Wheeler.
So, in an age when a teen vegan activist such as Greta Thunberg is photographed by conservationist Alexandrov Klum so as to adorn the cover of Vogue Scandinavia, discussing sustainability and environmentalism during her interview for the fashion magazine (deploring that industry’s key role in “accelerating climate change”) – it is clear that change is very much on the horizon. Question is, have the cosmetic giants received the memo?
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Skincare from the Garden
When you stop to consider the amount of time it takes to fully read ingredients lists on the labels of skincare and cosmetics products (let alone understand everything that’s printed on them) – the notion of growing one’s own skincare seems a pretty idyllic option, doesn’t it? Well, if done right – and accepting that, by its very “natural” nature, it is preservative-free and therefore needs to be used up more speedily – your skin will probably express its gratitude with a glowing resemblance of dewy youthfulness. Fresh from the garden takes on a whole new meaning.
Indeed, “skincare gardening” is a trending activity. By growing herbs, harvesting them, mixing them with oils and other ingredients, you end up with nourishment for the largest organ of the body, achieved by your own personal graft and craft. It’s no wonder skincare gardening provides
Calendula
– soothes damaged skin and acts as an anti-inflammatory.
Peppermint
– uplifting, cooling, and beautifully scented to boot.
Lavender
– for calm and reduction of stress and anxiety.
Jasmine
– for peace and a sense of tranquillity. a mental health boost as well (though gardening in general – reconnecting with Nature – offers that, too). Of course, one also saves a few pennies and pounds…
In 2015, a study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology noted that plant keeping inside the home promotes a reduction in “both psychological and physiological stress”, while researchers at Bristol University have found outdoor gardening, coming into contact with bacteria in the soil, results in an effect on the brain similar to taking antidepressants. Nice.
You’ll need airtight containers for storing the finished product, but what you’ll be using before that point will be pots, gloves, shovels, shears (sharp scissors will suffice in most instances, though), as well as potting soil and compost fertiliser. Then, you need to decide what to grow…
Rosemary
– for relaxation, but antibacterial restoration, too.
Eucalyptus
– for respiratory health and a clear mind.
Lemon Balm
– an alternative to lavender for calm and a brain-booster, too.
Chamomile
– reduces blemishes and redness and smells sweet.
Peace and the Gardening Art
One hobby that really took root during the pandemic was gardening and Grow Your Own. It could very well have been as a result of fears over supply chain issues and worry as to whether we’d ever be set free from our domestic shackles again, and yet the trend has continued even in these post-new normal days. No bad thing at all, really. Yet, there could be a deeper undercurrent to our greenfingered leaning pastime.
Olivia Laing’s recent Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency questioned art and activism in relation to humans’ never-ending search for the meaning of existence, in all its guises. Part of that discussion mused over whether gardening can be seen as an art and, if so, whether it is – like other art often is – a form of resistance. Though we might have been cast from Paradise, that does not mean we cannot craft a new oasis for the society of today. And that society became one separate from the rapidity of social media for a considerable while – despite the boon that digital technologies were during the lockdowns, enabling us to stay in touch with loved ones. Rather, life adapted to a slower rhythm; we began to nurture plantlike patience and keenly look for signs of growth (signs of hope, one supposes now). Similarly, we became acquainted with life and death on a more intimate, floral level, mortality not something that can be resisted; a fact utterly impossible to ignore at that time. Thus, the art of living could be seen to be – and still can – in order to imbue days of existence with beauty, and with peace.
Time has sped up once more, of course, despite the hibernal season and lingering concern over Covid variants. Yet, we mustn’t forget the artistry of gardening nurtured while we waited out the viral storm. After all, the planet itself taken as a whole is the human race’s remnant Eden. Every effort to safeguard its verdancy and environmental health counts, even on the backyard scale; even if all you’re promoting are insects instead of plants. To this end, be sure to pay heed to it being National Children’s Gardening week from May 28th to June 5th and then National Gardening Week (you know, for us adults) from June 5th to 11th.
- David Jarman
- Octavia Hill
Indeed, we might not directly be able to speed to the aid of polar bears, but in our gardens and on allotments and in urban parks, rather than coiffing plant-life and giving it a false and manicured style, that wild look is what our surroundings need more of. Certainly, local councils have seen the potential of roadside verges, returning them to wildflowering for bugs and bees. Closer to home, however, get your garden all a-buzz with old herbal favourites such as marjoram and mint, thyme and chives, for a scented wonderland with ease, and power pollination’s purposes (they can even be used culinarily, too).
Of course, sometimes there can be too many insects (especially as we go further into spring from out the quiet-but-purposeful chill of winter). To that end, you might want to look at planting to feed butterfly caterpillars, installing into the soil such plants as trefoil and lady’s smock. Additionally, leave off mowing the lawn for a while. Instead, let the flowers-referred-to-asweeds prosper for a brief spell: buttercups and daisies, dandelions and clover, all these promote insect life and look more natural, also. And when you finally do come to mow, given that added height of cuttings and (though it goes without saying) your not using any pesticides whatsoever, add the detritus to the compost heap and rest assured that springtails and tardigrades, millipedes and woodlice will relish it (rather than perish from it).
What humans relish, though, is being in Nature; we possess an innate ecopsychology. Multiple scientific studies support this, with one showing that only 15 minutes out of doors in a countryside setting improves concentration and overall sense of wellbeing. Even being able to simply see trees stands us in better mental health stead than someone who can only view a building or two in the city – however architecturally awe-inspiring they might be. Nonetheless, a visual of a perfect lawn, no wildflowers in sight, and the taint of mankind’s taming is less beneficial than the freedom of a field in full cornflower bloom and birds singing as they loop overhead (we’re not looking ahead to the height of summer, at all…).
Biodiversity is not merely a concept for future farming. That freedom also includes being in that landscape, appropriating myriad microbes for a stronger immune system and overall microbiome, skin- and gut-wise. To reiterate, we are part of the planet on which we live and, with a little care and attention, the environment in which we can so much more easily not just survive, but positively thrive. That is the resistant art of “gardening” today.
