In a world that is increasingly sensitive to the environmental issue, a trend has developed in the cosmetics sector that embraces the philosophy of clean beauty and lifestyle.
It is a “broad-spectrum” concept that involves not only the search for natural and organic products (beauty and food), but also a sustainable lifestyle, attentive to the environment and the reduction of waste.
The concept of “less is more” can therefore be expressed in different ways, in a cosmetic that involves the entire supply chain, from the selection of raw materials, to their processing, to the choice of the packaging materials.
For the clean beauty sector the choice of the ingredients play a decisive role: the cosmetics are free from SLES, silicones, mineral oils, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (phthalates, PEGs, phenols and toxic metals), synthetic dyes, and everything that is considered useless (and in certain case harmful) for the beauty of the skin and for the overall health.
A clean beauty brand chose sustainable and biodegradable ingredients, plant based and bio-fermented extracts, raw materials that favour local companies/farms and pay attention to the production processes that respect the environment.
Are the clean beauty products chemical-free? Of course not!! Everything is a chemical – water is a chemical – therefore, chemical-free products don’t exist.
In the formulation together with natural extracts we find some syntetic ingredients, that are naturally derived, such as hyaluronic acid, which was originally taken from animals, and now it has been molecularly replicated within a lab.
This clean trend unfortunately opened the doors for brands to make hollow claims for marketing purposes, the so-called “greenwashing”. This happens when brands make an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.
This is why it is crucial to be able to identify whereas a brand is trustworthy. Check for third-party certifications, but remember that not every brand has access to these certifications, and many charge a significant fee to become certified. This makes it difficult for small businesses to obtain. Therefore if a company is not certified it doesn’t mean their clean claim is not true. These companies are transparent when it comes to ingredient list and eco-friendly, ethical choices.
Research and understand the ingredients that are included in the formulation and make informative decision when buying your beauty product. Like you should do for food (are you reading the labels?!) and the materials you wear.
Learn what your skin likes or dislikes: for instance if you have oily skin stay away from ingredients that clog your pores and cause breakouts (petroleum jelly, silicone, heavy oils – coconut) and alcohol-based products, and go for Niacinamide, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Salicylic Acid.
At Unica Green we go through a strict process when selecting the brands and their products, looking at their formulation, sustainability and environmentally friendly choices.
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