Top 5 most-read stories September 2021: Big beauty consortium, psoriasis innovation and EU animal testing vote

A round-up of CosmeticsDesign-Europe’s most-read news from September 2021 shows interest in world beauty leaders creating a consortium to co-develop an environmental impact and scoring system, a new probiotic powder targeting psoriasis via the gut-skin axis and MEPs voting to actively phase-out animal testing.

Big brand lead on environmental action​

The beauty industry had long been focused on its environmental impact, but efforts would now be ramped up following the joining forces of Henkel, L’Oréal, LVMH, Natura &Co and Unilever to form an industry consortium.

The goal was to draw in cosmetic companies from around the world to design and implement a voluntary ‘brand-agnostic’ environmental impact assessment and scoring system. The aim was to provide consumers clear, transparent and comparable information that considered a beauty product’s entire lifecycle.

Beauty innovation: Gut-skin axis and natural sugar power​

New product development and innovation continued across beauty and personal care in September, with SkinBioTherapeutics unveiling its latest probiotic powder that targeted psoriasis via the gut-skin axis. The AxisBiotix sachets were pegged to launch commercially in Q4 of this year and the company CEO said consumer research had proven very promising thus far. The long-term goal of the company was to develop a suite of products targeting a range of skin conditions, beyond just psoriasis.

L’Oréal also unveiled its latest hair care research work in an international patent filing outlining a new formulation made using a blend of natural sugars and plant fibres. The formula, designed for curly hair, provided industry with a natural and light-weight alternative to film-forming polymers and silicone products, the beauty major said.

EU animal testing vote and big 2023 beauty trends​

Focus on animal testing continued, with MEPs adopting a resolution vote calling on the European Commission to actively phase-out animal testing across the region. The vote had been widely welcomed by animal welfare groups, with Humane Society International stating it was an important vote for the cosmetics industry because it added weight to the ongoing fight to protect the sector’s existing ban.

Moving towards an industry that was more ethical and sustainable was also one of WGSN’s ‘big ideas’ for beauty in 2023. The company’s director of beauty outlined five key ideas set to shape industry over the next two years at WGSN’s online Beauty Live event, stating  progress, frugality, wellbeing, tech and community would be the trends shaping the future.

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