Premium Beauty News - You are the Chairman of the BeautyFULL Club’s Commission on Sustainable Development. Could you tell us, in a few words, what has been the core of your activity during the last months?
Gérald Martines - We are developing a knowledge database that will be accessible by the BeautyFULL Club members, in order to help them with regards to sustainable development, which is a difficult issue, and with the aim to support a progressive involvement of their respective companies in this field.
Premium Beauty News - This club gathers the manufacturers of health and beauty products and the supply-side under the same roof. It’s original but what is the advantage?
Gérald Martines - The BeautyFULL Club’s ambition is to involve the entire industry, at a global level, in a collective initiative addressing common issues, such as: innovation, sustainable development, or intellectual property rights. These issues are far beyond the competency of isolated operators and require a collaborative involvement of all concerned parties. The Club intends to transcend the particular interests of each business sector, to the benefice of the common interest of the whole industry.
Premium Beauty News - An information meeting addressing sustainable development is scheduled in September. What are the next steps?
Gérald Martines - Beyond the knowledge database, which will be on-line soon, we are working at a better understanding of the legal and regulatory framework of sustainable development. We want to provide our members with the knowledge and the tools that will be helpful to them, for instance for realising a carbon report or a life cycle assessment. Sustainable development is a very complex issue, in particular because there is no “standard” accepted at the global level, so far. On the contrary, the market of beauty products is really global.
Premium Beauty News - Eventually, what is at stake for the beauty industry?
Gérald Martines - The stake is to adopt a proactive and sustainable way of doing our business. The environmental, economical and social challenges the entire society must address become particularly acute when the luxury or the beauty industries are concerned. The notoriety of our brands and the object of our activity - human health and beauty - give our industry the possibility to become an opinion leader. As a consequence, our responsibility is to opt for exemplary business schemes and to encourage the entire society to follow us. This exemplarity is required for entire manufacturing process, including the logistics and the use of resources.
