Major cosmetics companies have announced they will come together to develop an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products.
It means we may eventually be able to glance at a product like a lipstick and see a ranking score that gives information about the environmental impact of its lifecycle, from creation to packaging disposal and how that compares to another similar lipstick from another brand.
Unilever, Henkel, L’Oréal, LVMH and Natura & Co said in a joint statement the new assessment and scoring system will aim to meet the increasing demand for transparency about the environmental impact of cosmetics, including their formula, packaging and usage.
It would provide consumers with easy-to-understand information about each product, allowing comparison and assisting with making more sustainable consumption choices.
The group is inviting other cosmetics companies regardless of their size or resources to join the consortium and contribute to developing the best possible system
The goal the statement says is for the resulting scoring system to enable consumers to compare cosmetics products within the same category. It will quickly show the environmental impact of products, taking into account their whole product life cycle.
The group has proposed working with sustainability consultancy Quantis to ensure a robust and scientific approach, using the European Union’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) as a guide. The group will aim to measure a product’s environmental impact, creating a common database related to product ingredients and raw materials, as well as packaging, and launching a tool that enables brands to calculate their own environmental impacts.
The methodology, database, tool and scoring system will be verified by independent parties.
