While research might be suggesting that the term clean beauty has been overused and diluted to the point that consumers are confused and fatigued by the term, clean beauty is far from finished. Clean beauty is here to stay and it’s a growing movement, supported by real data that clearly demonstrates the need, and demand, for more than just a good-for-me but a good-for-we overhaul of the industry encompassing ethical and sustainable sourcing, scientific innovation, cosmetic ingredient regulation and environmentally responsible practices to safeguard both our health and the health of the planet. 

Clean beauty is here to stay and it’s a growing movement, supported by real data. 

The beauty and personal care market is expected to grow annually by 5% to 7% over the next four years. The clean beauty market meanwhile is expected to grow annually by 13%. According to the 2022 Instagram Trend Report, 1 in 3 young people are interested in learning more about and buying clean makeup and skincare and demand is only expected to grow. The problem therefore is not the concept of clean, it’s a matter of semantics: What does clean actually mean? 

The clean beauty market is expected to grow annually by 13% over the next four years. 

Clean beauty as an umbrella term doesn’t hold much weight in today’s booming beauty market. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, “clean” should describe beauty and personal care products that are made with the safest possible ingredients and have the lowest possible environmental impacts that the market can offer today. But as sustainable innovation and biotech breakthroughs continue apace even this definition seems outdated. Today’s consumers expect clean beauty to move beyond its origins to embrace social equity, ethical practices, clean chemistry and green manufacturing. 

Clean beauty 2.0 needs to embrace social equity, ethical practices, clean chemistry and green manufacturing. 

But back to basics for a moment. Beauty and personal care products should never contain ingredients that are harmful whether they be irritants or allergens, potential endocrine disruptors or carcinogens. Beauty and personal care products should never deplete the planet and use natural ingredients that are unsustainable. And beauty and personal care products should never contain toxic chemicals harmful to wildlife and the environment. 

While oversight and regulation of ingredients continues to grow, the 2020 British Beauty Council’s report suggests that the beauty industry also has an essential role to play in fighting climate change and the industry is listening. Single-use items are on the wane with many retailers dropping these items that contribute to waste in the beauty industry. About 70% of the beauty industry's waste comes from packaging, leading to a rising demand for recyclable, reusable and degradable options. Biotechnology meanwhile is replicating molecules found in nature using fermentation, to replace animal or plant derived ingredients with sustainable, high efficacy alternatives. 

Clean beauty is not a fad, it’s the future.  

As the term clean beauty evolves from feelings and subjectivity to facts and objectivity, we aim to be the eyes, ears, voice and go-to resource for all things clean, sustainable, renewable and science driven covering the news, trends and innovations that are reshaping the beauty industry for the better. We believe that far from being a fad, in the future all beauty will be clean beauty.  

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