All 'Green' To Me

What "green issues” we have! This goes not just for Cosmetics & Toiletries but the industry and world in general. In fact, my mother-in-law and I were just considering how trash pick-up services in our area have evolved (exciting, I know)—i.e., how a few years ago, the city provided apple crate-sized recycle bins, which have expanded quickly into deep, 95-gallon cans on wheels. In fact, she and I fully expect regular trash pick-ups, and even regular trash can sizes, to shrink in opposite proportion to what’s now recyclable. This is a sign of discovery and progress.

However, our industry’s green issues are more complicated than separating paper from plastic. They are subject to personal views—which may leave room for misinterpretation and greenwashing, as well as creating space for real eco-friendly efforts and creativity. For example, during a visit to Kemin in Des Moines, Iowa, I learned that plants can be bred to accumulate certain desirable molecules via photosynthesis, using just sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

Another view encourages fair trade, which, among others, Greentech, based in Saint-Beauzire, France, has embraced. Partnering with the company AgroIndustrias Amazonicas to produce organic-certified extracts, the company was recognized by the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Business for supporting local villages in the Amazon.

Countless examples such as these are provided by manufacturers and suppliers alike, giving cosmetic and personal care consumers greener options. This issue is dedicated to them all, and touches on alternative preservation; natural and nature-derived ingredients; eco-friendly surfactants and emulsifiers; and green standards and sustainability, respectively.

There certainly are varying degrees of “green,” and one person may hold a lower carbon footprint in higher esteem than its Terra firma origin. Regardless of the tint, as new shades emerge, the industry will grow along.

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