When Margaret and I first set up Essential Care (the original name for Odylique), organic was still a niche area of beauty.

Even though the research was always favourable for organic skincare formulations, many considered it the preserve of hippies, and believed it was less effective.

Fortunately, over the last decade, organic skincare started to receive the accolades and attention it deserves and brands like Odylique are now moving mainstream. Consumers are savvy and want solutions that work with their skin, as opposed to ‘clever marketing messages’.

The organic and natural beauty market is soaring and set to globally hit sales of £17 billion by 2024. (The global wellness market in contrast, topped a staggering £3.2 trillion last year.)

In a report published by GreenPrint’s 2021 Business of Sustainability Index, 64% of Gen X consumers would spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable brand, and 75% of millennials would choose green.

This means though, that organic and natural skincare is now big business. With big business comes big budgets and big promises, not all of which are delivered.

Enter Greenwashing:

Greenwashing is the organic and natural equivalent of whitewashing. Whitewashing is the practice from big companies of hiding or minimising unpalatable practices in their organisations.

It’s not new; the phrase was initially coined by Environmentalist Jay Westerveld back in the 80s, before the advent of Google when it was much harder to fact check.

Greenwashing is the practice of pretending your product is organic, natural, or ethical, when in fact, it’s not. It can happen accidentally, but that isn’t an excuse. I believe that if you promise to be sustainable, ethical, and ‘green’ to a customer, you should be certain you deliver on that promise.

Brands that engage in this practice spend far more money on ‘pretending’ to be green, than they ever do trying to be sustainable.

Devastatingly for those of us who prize ethics, because of greenwashing, many customers now mistrust sustainability and organic claims, and trust for the incredible companies working hard to meet ethical standards

And that’s why I’ve written this article. I want every single customer buying ‘natural’ to know exactly how green their skincare and beauty choices really are…

Examples of Greenwashing

Shampoos that claim to be natural, whose primary detergent is sodium laureth sulphate (environmentally harmful) are a great example.

Using unsustainable packaging or giving no thought to recycling of the product, is another.

The sustainability agency lists cases, like McDonalds unrecyclable straws for example.

How does Greenwashing Impact Beauty and Skincare?

A key problem is that ‘organic’ is an unregulated term in anything other than the food industry. A beauty product only has to have 1 percent organic ingredients to not have its hand-slapped by the Advertising Standards Agency for calling a product organic. (And even then it is only a hand slap.) Every single other ingredient in the product can be artificial.

Natural is even more unregulated. You can literally call anything natural – pop a few plants on the design and you’re good. And yet we know from research that people looking for natural want products that don’t harm them, or the planet in any way.

The responsibility is then on the consumer to work out the truth; and in the era of fake news that’s where trust falls.

How Do Brands Greenwash?

• They might make sustainability claims that cannot be backed up
• They may use lots of clever design but have no certifications for their green status
• They may claim to be green but have ingredients like sulphates, phthalates, silicones, and parabens
• They may not share the percentage of product that is organic or natural
• They may use marketing language like ‘natural plant extracts’. Whilst this isn’t necessarily a lie, most truly natural brands don’t need to state it
• They may avoid being specific about the provenance of their ingredients
• They may not have transparent sustainability standards listed on their website; it's all very well saying that by x date you want to be carbon neutral, but if you’re not doing anything about it now, it’s not worth anything
• They may make a big song and dance about donations to ethical schemes, whilst sharing no information about packaging, or recycling themselves
• They may be very low cost – truly organic and natural production costs more than mass production. Super cheap products will always raise suspicion.

How to Be Sure a Brand is Truly Green

Firstly, you must decide what you consider green. We work with the Soil Association and COSMOS, in many cases being the first brand to be certified. The Soil Association update the list annually, search here for product options.

Alternatively, COSMOS Natural is a certification for products that maybe can't receive organic status but are still planet friendly. Some ingredients like salt can’t be organic, because it isn’t farmed, but it's still ethically sourced or natural.

Other organisations you may want to consider looking for evidence of:

The Leaping Bunny

The Leaping Bunny Logo is the only internationally recognized symbol guaranteeing consumers that no new animal tests were used in the development of any product displaying it. The Logo can be seen on packaging, advertising, and websites for cosmetics and household products around the world.

Fairtrade

The FAIRTRADE Mark is a registered certification label for products sourced from producers in lower income countries. It means buyers pay a fair price and the processes for sourcing the ingredients are fair.

PETA

PETA's 'Global Beauty Without Bunnies' Program is the ultimate resource for conscientious shoppers, making the quest for humane products as easy as (vegan) pie.

The Ethical Shopping Association

Since 2001 The Ethical Company Organisation has aimed to provide information which promotes positive environmental, human rights and animal welfare practices. The point is to make it easy for consumers to choose to buy from companies that take care to treat animals, people and the planet in the best way possible.

Know your ingredients

The Soil Association has a list of ingredients to avoid. This article by organic skincare retailer Suvarna also reviews apps that help consumers make informed choices about how green their products are.

Green Marketing - Marketing that isn’t Greenwashing

Green marketing is when a genuinely sustainable brand highlights its true and accurate attempts to be environmentally positive in its communications.

This might include:

Explaining its use of considerate packaging

Offering recycling options on packaging

Having clear and transparent plans for improving sustainability

Working on carbon emissions in a practical and demonstrable way (and not just offsetting)

Paying a fair wage to all suppliers

Having sustainable manufacturing processes

Being honest about its manufacturing cycle

In Conclusion - Backing Up Claims

Green, clean and natural is a vast topic - there is so much to consider for brands and consumers alike. At Odylique we certainly do what we can to cover all bases of sustainability. And above all, for me, I believe has to be able to back up what it claims. Whether it's organic, cruelty-free, or otherwise, don't say it without the proof, certification or accreditation.

All Odylique products are Soil Association certified, PETA , Naturewatch and Ethical Company Organisation accredited.

You can read about our sustainability practices here and if you have any questions, please get in touch.