Once upon a time...

When and why green cosmetics appeared?

Actually, cosmetics have followed the same way than agriculture, but with a gap of about thirty years. People just understood the limits of chemistry and discovered its potential risks for health (ex: paraben): a more conscious way of consumption was born and started growing, with new concerns such as authenticity, faith, precaution but also a respect for earth.

From a legal point of view, no law differentiates "natural" cosmetics from "synthetic" ones: this is why so many different labels can be found on the market. Basically, the word "natural" or "green" is used for ingredients and components needing little chemical transformation for their realization. These ingredients are easily recyclable and biodegradable.

 In Europe, this blank led to the creation of various labels :

- With private specifications ("Nature et progrès", BDIH), or recognized by the State (COSMEBIO);

- With the integration of organic criteria (COSMEBIO guarantees the percentage of organic ingredients) or without this requirement (BDIH).

As we can see, all labels don't have the same level of tolerance : we will just note that the COSMEBIO label is the most rigorous one on a global scale.

Green cosmetics: just a trend? 

We could think that "natural", "organic", "green" cosmetics are just a trend organized by companies to improve their brand image. Actually it appears to be more than just a trend: people tend to be more and more conscious of the environment and their health, as well as of  fairness issues (ex: "fair trade" products). 

We cannot deny the positive impact that such involvements can have for a brand image, and if some companies launched green products because of their values, some certainly did it only attract more customers: but at the end, both the company and the customers take advantage of it! 

So...

So what can we expect for natural cosmetics? Well, we can expect it to keep on growing, keep on improving its products, and keep on making people naturally beautiful! 

Future is going to see the nature coming back to town!

Camille