For many, the notion of a natural product equates to a sustainable one. But this is not always the case. This is a bit of a grey area and there isn’t a black and white answer on whether natural products are more sustainable than synthetic ones. The world is changing, and customer demand means that many companies are looking to produce sustainable products. However, in the cosmetics industry, there is always a new trending ingredient. Often, this is a natural ingredient that is only sourced in one certain part of the world or cannot be easily grown or sourced outside of its native country. Sometimes this ingredient cannot be considered sustainable for various reasons, such as harvesting it causes considerable damage to the environment and disturbs biodiversity. Take palm oil, for example, many companies are looking to move away from this due to extensive damage to the environment and endangers species such as orangutans.
Is there an alternative?
Well, some ingredients certainly can be harvested in a sustainable way. For example, certain herbs and plants can grow very quickly and sustainably. But what about those that can’t? There is such a thing as ‘natural identical’ ingredients. These ingredients are synthetically manufactured by humans to be molecularly identical to those found within nature. Such ingredients are more sustainable, cheaper, and contain fewer contaminants. But this begs the question – can they meet the natural ingredient criteria?
This question is hard to answer as 'natural' appears to mean different things to different people. But in many cases, synthetic 'natural identicals' are undeniably the best way forward. Take vanilla, for example, one of the most popular scents and flavours in the world, to feed global consumption of vanilla-based products the growth and harvest of natural vanilla would be environmentally catastrophic. So artificial vanillin is used in most products in place of this. Most of these synthetic chemicals are renewable and use much less land and resources.
What is our take?
Our lab takes sustainability seriously. In terms of ingredients, we make sure that all the ingredients we use are sustainable where possible. This is verified by our in-house chemist. We also actively avoid ingredients that are proven to have detrimental effects on the environment, such as palm oil. We will never greenwash our manufacturing process and will provide you with full transparency so that you can decide if synthetic natural identical chemicals are right for you, and make sure that your product is sustainable if that is what you require.
It's critical for consumers and companies to make ethical and sustainable choices in order to avoid catastrophic environmental damage. That's why when working with us we can guarantee eco-friendly and sustainable production for your product. Sometimes the best option for the most sustainable product is one that is created and improved upon by scientists, and not ones that come directly from the earth.
