#5 Reasons Why Indian Cosmetic Industry Needs to Go Green Most of the cosmetic products that we require today - shampoos, shower gel, soaps, body lotion, face cream - come loaded with unnatural chemicals

The beauty and glamour world is expanding with the simultaneous expansion of technology and research facilities. But, everything has a price. Beauty shouldn't evolve in expense of harming our fellow beings and nature in general. And hence, it is high time for the cosmetic industry to go green and to take the turn towards formulations that are skin friendly, cruelty free and to use packaging that are environment friendly.

Let us all know a thing or two (actually, five) as to why we need both skin and environment-friendly cosmetics.

Harsh Ingredients

The cost-saving and margin improvement policies of cosmetic industries passively relied on the trend that has changed the way cosmetics were manufactured. As a result, Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulphates (SLS), mineral oils and silicones have literally invaded the products that families and children are using on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, most of the cosmetic products that we require today– shampoos, shower gel, soaps, body lotion, face cream – come loaded with these unnatural chemicals. They are added to products to make them kill bacteria and prolong shelf life along with creating a kind of foam that we expect cleaning products to have. However, it is time that this we burst this bubble because it comes at a deadly cost. Long-term users of products, which contain parabens and SLS, report skin damage and long-term health risks that begin with mild skin and eye irritation.

For instance, Mineral oil has become the most common substitute to natural vegetable and seed oil. However, after all these years of damage that cannot be repaired, our industry needs to focus on retaining the original qualities extracted from the flora around us. It's quite simple, really, because we work with the natural world around us, our skin friendly products naturally work.

Adverse Environmental Impacts

It has recently come to our notice that more and more brands are making an effort to develop some environmentally friendly products. A cosmetic brand can work on this aspect in three main ways:

• To put a foot forward

The easiest way to minimize our Carbon Footprint is to simply locally source all our raw materials to reduce shipment and environmental hazards caused by import.

• To look at the whole package

Advance brands pay utmost attention to their packing material so that the entire product is recyclable. Environment friendly products are packed in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or HDPE (high density polyethylene) bottles or tubes that are the easiest materials to recycle after use, however the same is recyclable only if the labels are printed on recyclable material so that no part of the product we consume will result in waste.

We also embrace the LESS IS MORE philosophy when it comes to going green. We don't use anything we don't need, and we believe in quality without greed.

• To naturally set new standards

For instance, it is easy to formulate today some foaming ingredients that are readily biodegradable at a minimum of 75% of the carbon-based substances are non-persistent in the environment.
Within just 28 days, all those ingredients can naturally break down to become part of the green world around us.

Tests on Animals

There cannot be enough emphasis on the need to produce only animal cruelty-free and vegetarian cosmetics by the industry. I have always believed passionately that animals should not be used for cosmetic testing. A cosmetic has absolutely no need to be tested on animals if it is made consciously. Similarly, the industry needs to oblige ingredients suppliers to not conduct any test on animals for cosmetic purposes. After all, beauty shouldn't come at the expense of our fellow beings.

Less Expensive

You would think that organic and eco-friendly products cost way more. But, if you think about it, these ingredients come right from our backyards and kitchens. They are locally and widely available. For instance, synthetic hair used for brushes is more esily available than animal hair, which is, again, harmful in more ways than one. This way, you get high-quality products at a lesser and more affordable pirces.

Use Environment Friendly Products To Help The Environment

Perhaps the most important of all reasons is that as a person, a citizen of the country and of the world in general, I personally strive to contribute to a better world. If we all do our share, then the compilation of all our individual efforts will create a considerable change. I have always worked in this direction and have endeavored to direct my entrepreneurial ventures to the same struggle.
Courtesy the wide-scale awareness campaigns, consumers are becoming more and more aware about these dangers of harsh chemicals and increasingly educated when it comes to reading the ingredient list.

We can but hope that this discerning behavior on the part of the customers will be instrumental in bringing the cosmetic industry to the realization of the havoc being wreaked by the use of such chemicals. It is all about setting standards and sticking to it. The economical aspect can always be worked in the future.