Podcast 254: Are beauty brands really as green as they say they are?

When was the last time you read a beauty brand’s sustainability report? If your answer is “never,” you’re not alone. Sustainability reports are often buried on company websites, obscured by glossy marketing materials that feel more like a promotional brochure than a genuine disclosure of progress.

But what if you could look behind the curtain and examine what these brands are really doing for the planet?

In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations, host Lorraine Dallmeier, Chartered Environmentalist, Biologist, and CEO of Formula Botanica, dives deep into the truth behind beauty brand sustainability claims.

Following on from last week’s interview with Laura Rudoe of Evolve Beauty, who shared insights about publishing sustainability reports as an indie beauty brand, Lorraine now turns her focus to the industry giants.

Are the big players truly making strides in sustainability, or are they hiding behind vague promises and selective data? Find out in this episode!

“Sustainability reports could be powerful tools for change – but only if they’re transparent, data-driven, and honest about the realities of their impacts from raw materials to customer use.” — Lorraine Dallmeier

Key takeaways:

• What’s missing from sustainability reports: Many reports from large beauty brands focus heavily on glossy visuals and marketing claims while failing to provide hard data. Key elements like Scope 3 emissions and supply chain details are often missing, leaving consumers in the dark about the true environmental impact.
• The challenge of Scope 3 emissions: Scope 3 emissions, which account for the majority of a brand’s carbon footprint, include emissions from raw materials, transportation, and product disposal. These are difficult to measure but crucial for understanding a brand’s overall impact.
• Lack of accountability: Lorraine highlights examples of big brands making bold claims, such as achieving carbon neutrality, while their actions fail to align with these goals. This leaves significant gaps in accountability.
• The power of transparency: Brands that openly discuss their struggles and progress inspire more trust than those that airbrush challenges out of their narrative. Lorraine encourages all brands to be transparent so meaningful change can take place.
• Call-to-action: Lorraine urges listeners to critically examine sustainability reports, ask tough questions, and demand better from beauty brands to push for transparency and accountability.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Formula Botanica Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please share, subscribe and review this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Youtube so that more people can enjoy the show. Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Leave us a comment

comments

Lorraine Dallmeier

Lorraine Dallmeier is a Biologist, Chartered Environmentalist and the CEO of Formula Botanica, the award-winning online organic cosmetic science school. Read more about Lorraine and the Formula Botanica Team.