There has been a substantial change in the last couple of years, have you noticed? Just a few years ago, if you were an excited eco conscious consumer in search of eco cosmetics, you would have to order them online or find a specialized eco store that sells such products, however even this was a rarity. Nowadays, the natural products choices are enormous! AND you can purchase them in regular drugstores. A sizable part of the product variety is now filled with natural products and we couldn’t be happier. 

So what is going on? How did the market for green cosmetics grow so drastically? and what does it mean for us and the planet?

The cosmetics and personal care market has been valued at €80 billion in 2021. As you can see from the figure, there has been a steady growth since 2015 [1].

What’s interesting is the growth in the natural cosmetics market. This market is defined as “products made from natural ingredients, containing minimal levels of synthetic substances”. In 2019, the value of the European natural cosmetics market was €3.9 billion, growth from €2.96 billion in 2015. This accounts for a market share of 5% of the European cosmetics market. Evidently, the market of natural cosmetics is growing faster than the overall cosmetics market. Projections till 2025 show steady growth, which is inviting even more cosmetic brands to join the green movement [2].

Are you one of the people who already jumped on the natural cosmetics wagon or are you hesitant? There are several factors that are influencing us towards or against buying green. Let’s have a look at the most common ones and maybe you will find yourself in some of these.

Here are some of the reasons why people are buying natural cosmetics:

• People are increasingly concerned about synthetic chemicals in cosmetics. They consider conserving both their own health and the environment an important factor. Increasingly more people experience allergies or skin reactions to certain cosmetic ingredients which also leads them to switch to healthier alternatives.
• We became more aware and care more about societal issues such as fairtrade, animal testing and different natural and organic certifications and are deliberately looking for these. These topics are also becoming more prevalent in the media.
• Health and environmental awareness is a trend in many industries [3], [4].

And here some of the most common reasons why people are hesitant:

• Customers are questioning the effectiveness of natural products. They will not use natural cosmetics, if it is not as effective as their chemical counterpart.
• Price is another important factor. Many consumers believe that buying natural or organic is more expensive.
• Last but not least, there is the commitment to old established brands. Some consumers think that more established bigger brands have more money to develop their product. People still see green cosmetics as something new [3], [4].

I propose to have a closer look at these three hesitations:

It is understandable that people are questioning the effectiveness of natural cosmetics. In some cases, it might seem like the chemical products work better because they appear to have a faster effect in the short term. In the craze of improving our skin immediately, we are forgetting the long term effects. It is much more advantageous for your health to not put so many chemicals on your skin and in the long run, your skin and your health will both thank you for all the provided natural goodness! I strongly suggest reading our articles about the worst chemicals in cosmetics and you will see exactly what I mean.

When it comes to price, it is true that some natural or organic cosmetics are expensive, but so are their non-natural counterparts! You can find chemical creams ranging from €2 to a couple of hundreds and the same goes for natural. In recent years it has become very affordable as more and more brands joined the green movement. I dare say that you can find natural cosmetics which will cost you equally as much as the regular one.

To change your mind about established brands, it might come as a surprise to you but there are some natural brands like Weleda, that have been with us already for more than a century! Weleda celebrated its 100 years in 2021 and is only 12 years younger than L’oreal. Moreover, it really is not an important factor to consider the time of the brand on the market.

It’s great how easy and hassle free it is to find natural products as they are now available for any average customer. The more demand there is for natural ingredients, the more brands will put in extra effort to make sure that our requirements for healthy and clean goods are met. It is important to note, however, that some brands, with the rise of demand for more eco products, try to design their products in a way to trick our minds. This is called greenwashing and you can read more about it in our next article.

So let us all urge for what our skin and body wants (and needs!) and make the beauty market more green and eco friendly while making sure the producers are staying true to what they produce! To help you find cosmetics that will not harm your health – check out the Greenscan app.