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Beauty industry buzzwords come with contradictions. If you prefer to invest in products that are safe for both your body and the Earth, you’re likely already aware of this conundrum. Descriptors like “natural” and “sustainable”—along with “clean,” “green,” and others—strive to communicate a company’s commitment to prioritizing your health and that of the planet. But finding products that are both natural and sustainable is a difficult feat—as is defining the labels themselves.
“There are still lots of myths in the industry that endure despite us having access to more information,” says Ana Green, Education Manager at Formula Botanica, an online institute for organic beauty product formulation. She and CEO Lorraine Dallmeier dive into this gray area on the brand’s podcast, Green Beauty Conversations. “I think there’s a lot of confusion about both natural and sustainable beauty and what those things are.”
Green notes that because a focus on natural beauty arose before discourse around sustainability, there is a common perception that natural beauty products are always sustainable. Spoiler alert: This is not always the case.
What Do Natural and Sustainable Mean in the Beauty Industry?
“Since the rise of clean beauty, there have been many definitions of natural and sustainable,” says Jenefer Palmer, founder of the skin and body care company OSEA. “The truth is, there is not one consensus definition of either within the cosmetics industry.”
Although natural and sustainable are seemingly linked concepts, they’re not synonymous. “Natural” tends to describe products that rely predominantly on materials derived from nature (think plants and minerals) rather than synthetic (aka chemically synthesized and human-made) ingredients. Products labeled “sustainable” claim to put the planet first and feature formulations that cause the least possible detriment to the environment.
Neither of the terms are regulated, making misuse and misunderstanding inevitable. Kaley Beins, senior scientist in toxicology at the Environmental Working Group, explains that the lack of legal enforceability around the claims means that companies can define them however they choose. “Additionally, neither of these terms address human health and safety. Just because an ingredient is naturally derived or manufactured in a sustainable way doesn’t necessarily mean it is safe,” she says.
Allison Audrey Weldon, founder of hair and skin care brand Sangre de Fruta, explains that transparency around sourcing is an essential first step. “Simply knowing where exactly the ingredient comes from and how it’s made helps with accountability. However, it does bring up more questions about sustainability.”
“The complexity of sustainability as a topic makes the perception of both natural and sustainable difficult,” says Green. She explains that brands and consumers tend to focus on select areas that are meaning to them rather than “the bigger picture of sourcing, long-term sustainability, and ensuring the preservation of natural resources.”
A Conscious and Complex Conversation
Some natural ingredients are less sustainable than their synthetic counterparts due to factors such as overharvesting and extraction, transportation across thousands of miles, and pollution borne of the necessary processing. However, when you take the entire life cycle of the ingredient into account, some natural options become the sustainable choice.
Weldon shares an example of the numerous contradictions within the space. She uses locally grown and distilled lavender in many products, believing it to be more sustainable than many synthetics for both fragrance and skin health. “Not only does it support a local farm and industry, but it doesn’t travel far, is healthy for humans, and it’s biodegradable,” she says. In this case, the natural ingredient doubles as a sustainable one.
Then there’s rose otto oil, a popular ingredient in both fragrance and skin care spaces. “Rose otto comes from Bulgaria and requires masses of rose petals to create one drop,” says Weldon. This environmental impact could make a synthetic the more sustainable option.
But it’s not a zero-sum equation. “When that rose otto oil is washed off in the shower and goes into the ocean, its biodegradable nature may redeem the ingredient in comparison to the manufacturing and life cycle of a synthetic alternative.”
The Why of Mindful Beauty
Many beauty brands that favor naturally derived ingredients do so for their purported efficacy. “Whether it’s anti-inflammatories, anti-bacterial agents, vitamins and/or minerals, or essential fatty acids, having the actives come from a natural source is a pure effective way to correct, protect, and prevent the issues people are dealing with,” says Serina Godin, chief product officer of skincare brand True Botanicals.
In an era plagued by increased weather events and dwindling resources, the rationale for prioritizing sustainability by protecting the planet and preserving the natural world is self-evident. “We love and respect the plant kingdom and want to give more than we take,” says CEO of Herbivore Botanicals Britany LeBlanc. “As over-harvesting limits supply or impacts natural environments, we are seeking other ways to leverage upcycled ingredients and sustainable sourcing.”
Creating products that are mindful in a holistic sense—good for you and the planet—is an undertaking that isn’t always possible in our current consumer landscape. Yet.
So, What’s Next?
Although manufacturing and purchasing less is the most sustainable route available in terms of skincare and cosmetics, there are more brands than ever before working to better align the industry’s at times disparate goals.
“We believe that natural and sustainable must go hand-in-hand,” says Godin, citing initiatives like regenerative farming and wild harvesting as examples of ongoing efforts. For its part, hair care company Davines (a branch of the Davines Group) has partnered with the Rodale Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to regenerative organic agriculture, in an effort to innovate and cultivate processes that enhance soil health and regeneration.
For Sonia Ziveri, chief sustainability officer for The Davines Group, collaboration is the key to creating real change. “I believe that enduring, positive change can only happen when an increasing number of public and private entities, as well as individual citizens, come together to work toward a common goal.”
So whether you’re shopping for a new skin care routine or evaluating your current collection, when you encounter either descriptor, question it. And then research it. You’ll either debunk a claim, discover a brand that’s doing the work, or (more likely) some hybrid of the two. You’ll come away informed and ready to make a decision. After all, what is a mindful consumer if not a realist?
