With consumers increasingly demanding transparency in their cosmetics products, a new consortium spearheaded by players including L’Oréal and LVMH aims to develop a “brand-agnostic” environmental assessment and scoring system. Consumers will be able to compare cosmetics products within the same category.
L’Oréal, LVMH, Natura &Co, Unilever and Henkel are the founding members of a consortium that aims to co-develop an environmental assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products. The organization will work with sustainability consultancy Quantis on what is billed as an industry-wide, voluntary initiative.
The “brand-agnostic” approach will use a common, science-based methodology to provide “clear, transparent and comparable environmental impact information” to consumers about products across their life cycle, including formula, packaging and usage.
“Building a scientific assessment tool requires a cross-industry pooling of knowledge and expertise, particularly concerning the environmental impact data; this is what the consortium founding members are embarking on," Philippe Osset, life cycle assessment expert said in a statement.
The system is based on a single method for measuring environmental impacts throughout a product’s lifecycle, a shared tool allowing brands to calculate the impact of individual products, and a harmonized scoring system so consumers can easily compare products. A common database will index environmental impacts of standard raw materials and ingredients used in cosmetics formulas and packaging, as well as during product usage.
The five companies will pool their know-how, consult with external experts, and invite other cosmetics companies to join the consortium.
