Forum calls for greater leadership for sustainable beauty industry

Sustainability non-profit, Forum for the Future, has invited members of the beauty and personal care industry to become part of a new leadership group that will steer the sector toward producing better and more sustainable products for consumers.

This follows a year of intensive work by the Forum, supported by major retailers Target and Walmart, in an industry-wide Beauty and Personal Care Products Sustainability project.

Bringing together stakeholders across the entire value chain – from ingredient manufacturers and scientists to consumer brands and retailers – it aimed to diagnose the challenges and opportunities in the beauty and personal care industry and decide on measures to deliver more sustainable products on shelves.

Shawn Townzen, vp, Personal Care for Walmart said: “Walmart is pleased to support this initiative that brings together members of the beauty and personal care industry to lead the sector toward permanent and positive change. We appreciate Forum’s innovative work to change the system and invite suppliers and other retailers to join in this collaborative effort to put products on shelves that are both affordable and sustainable.”

Forum for the Future has also published a new think piece report, Driving the Big Shift to Sustainability, which shares insights from the process of bringing diverse stakeholders together to achieve widespread change.

The think piece outlines the steps taken throughout the in-depth system diagnosis process and the gaps and opportunities uncovered. These include the need to improve access to information across the supply chain, the lack of shared criteria to evaluate the sustainability of products, and the need to stimulate more innovation in key areas such as the development of new preservatives.

Click here to get involved.