The very next North American edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, taking place in New York City on 16-18th May 2013 at InterContinental New York Barclay hotel, will focus on ways to reduce the environmental impact of cosmetic and personal care products by using green ingredients and changing consumer behaviour.
“A number of life-cycle analysis studies show the highest environmental impact of cosmetic products is from raw materials, consumers (consumption phase) and post-use (disposal). With most cosmetic and ingredient firms focusing on raw materials and production processes, the consumption phase is often ignored. For the first time, the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit will discuss methods of encouraging responsible consumption of cosmetic and personal care products,” says specialised market research firm Organic Monitor, the event’s organiser.
Green ingredients in cosmetic formulations will be another focus. A number of speakers will discuss the growing use of plant and marine raw materials. Mibelle Biochemistry and IRB (Croda) will look at the use of stem cell technology to cultivate cosmetic ingredients from plant sources. Heliae will explore the potential of marine algae as a sustainable source of cosmetic ingredients. Horst Rechelbacher - founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients - will state the difficulties in formulating with organic food ingredients.
Discussions will also cover the social dimension of sustainable cosmetic products. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, for instance, will state how its fair trade sourcing projects have improved the lives of marginalized producers in Palestine and Sri Lanka.
For the third consecutive year, the summit will host a CEO roundtable comprising this year managers of Weleda, Caudalie, Intelligent Nutrients, Hugo Naturals and Apivita.
Eventually, an interactive workshop on green formulations will cap the 3-day program.
For more information: www.sustainablecosmeticssummit.com
