PARIS – L’Oréal Paris, Neutrogina, Nivea Q10 and Eucerin – from L’Oréal, Kenvue and Beiersdorf – are among brands starting to carry an EcoBeautyScore on their products in some European markets, in the wake of greenwashing and mounting consumer demands for transparency.
The EcoBeautyScore Association, a non-profit company that collaborates with more than 70 cosmetics and personal care groups, developed the label over three years. It claims its labeling offers brands and retailers a clear, transparent and consistent way to measure and communicate how their beauty products impact the environment.
The score is based on the European Union’s Product Environmental Footprint methodology, and rates products with grades ranging from A to E. The rating takes into account impacts on land, water and air during a product’s entire lifecycle – including ingredient-sourcing and packaging materials to usage and disposal.
Four product categories – shampoo, conditioner, body wash and face-care products – initially carry the label.
According to EcoBeautyScore Association, consumers – who increasingly want to shop more sustainably – are expected to spend more than $150 billion on beauty and personal care products in Europe this year. “However, half of European consumers are skeptical of brands’ sustainability claims, suspecting they don’t accurately reflect the real environmental impact of products,” the association said in a statement.
“EcoBeautyScore gives the beauty industry the transparency tool it has long been missing,” Jean-Baptiste Massignon, managing director of the EcoBeautyScore Association, said in the statement. “For the first time, brands can communicate their environmental impact in a way that is science-based, consistent and easy for consumers to understand. Through a simple-to-use scoring platform, companies have access to a wealth of data about the environmental hotspots of their products, making it accessible for brands of all sizes, no matter their sustainability expertise.
“It’s encouraging to see pioneering companies begin publishing their scores; it marks an important milestone of collective openness and accountability across the sector,” he continued. “We know this won’t happen overnight, but this is how progress starts: with a shared framework, honest data and a commitment to informing better choices for the planet.”
The EcoBeautyScore labeling will, after Europe, expand gradually worldwide and span the full range of beauty products.
In early February 2022, it was announced that beauty companies were forming a united front, called the EcoBeatuyScore Consortium, with 36 personal care companies, plus professional associations from four continents taking part. They included L’Oréal, Amorepacific, The Estée Lauder Cos., LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Beiersdorf, Cosmetic Valley, Cosnova, Coty Inc., FEBEA, Henkel, Johnson & Johnson, Natura & Co., Oriflame, Sisley and Unilever.