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13 - 16 February 2024 // Nürnberg, Germany
VIVANESS Newsroom
The new green is blue
Ensuring that our blue planet remains liveable for future generations is an imperative, not just for the cosmetics industry. Everyone is talking about sustainability. There will be no more “business as usual”, so industry players agree that progress and growth need to be redefined. If all that happens is some isolated improvements, that is mere greenwashing and is not credible.
From the very outset, the pioneers of natural cosmetics have focused on doing business differently, sparing resources and not making short-term profits at the expense of nature. Companies with sustainability in their DNA now have the advantage. And these companies have more credibility when it comes to sustainability. It is important for all companies in the beauty industry to not just conduct “cosmetic” measures, but to implement sustainability credibly and seriously, externally and within their companies. In this context, the transparency and reproducibility of the measures are important steps. Recently, a top manager from the cosmetics industry made clear that it is about protecting the planet and making a profit, and I agree with that. Without economic success the world will not be saved. The only question that remains is how profit is defined. The end does not justify all means. In future, companies will increasingly be judged on how they share their commercial success and on what their corporate purpose is. How serious are their endeavours to deal with the current challenges, and how are their profits being used accordingly? Does the company have binding sustainability targets? And are they also being implemented rigorously? If this fails to work, I do not see green or blue, but black.
Elfriede Dambacher, owner of the Naturkosmetik Konzepte consultancy, is an international cosmetics industry expert and author. www.naturkosmetik-konzepte.de
Note: As Hall 3C is currently being used as emergency accommodation for refugees from Ukraine, visitors to the summer edition of VIVANESS 2022 will find it in Halls 8 and 9, for this year only.