The most fashionable color in makeup this spring is green, but that shouldn't limit you to wearing it on your eyelids.
The makeup and beauty industry is seeing growth in "green beauty," or environmentally friendly beauty products that are not only good for your skin, but good for the earth too.
In addition to consumer demand, what's driving much of of green beauty growth are new-product areas, one of the biggest being mineral-based foundations. The trend of crushed mineral, powder-like foundations started with the rapidly growing niche company Bare Escentuals. That brand, once sold only on home shopping television networks, has seen competitors, such as Urban Decay, Laura Mercier and others rush to the market with similar products.
Beyond minerals, natural-ingredient positioned toiletries, which became popular in the 1970s and the re-emerged in the 1990s with the relaunch of Clairol Herbal Essences, have seen a resurgence, especially in skin care, and color cosmetics.
Some even link the trend to not just clear, healthy skin but actually green marketing and environmental issues. "Green beauty is reflecting changing world beliefs," says Karen Grant, senior beauty analyst at the NPD Group. "The recent popularity of mineral makeup illustrates that natural ingredients are resonating with consumers and have broad appeal. We see natural ingredients as being part of a lifestyle rather than just a trend ... this is just the tip of the iceberg."
Cosmetic companies that put a little green into not only their products, but their production and corporate philosophy, are creating the ultimate environmentally friendly product by transforming their brick and mortar stores into a green haven.
Origins Natural Resources, a division of Estee Lauder, has a new fleet of stores that will feature low-emission paints, low-energy lighting, more live plants in the store for purification, poured concrete sinks and wood veneer from managed forests.
Between department stores and retail stores, about three dozen more of the new concept shops are planned this year, adding to the 65 already open. Older stores are in the process of updating paints and lighting.
A unique example of an ultimate environmentally friendly beauty product is Cargo's PlantLove lipstick. It is contained in a tube made not of plastic but of a corn-based polymer called PLA. One ear of corn will make 12 lipstick cases, says the company, and each case biodegrades in as little as 47 days if composted.
The lipsticks themselves also use an environmentally friendly recipe: meadow-foam seed oil, jojoba and shea butter and no mineral oils or petroleums. The outer packaging of the lipstick box is embedded with seeds, so if you plant the paper, you can grow wildflowers.
Additionally, $2 from the sale of every lipstick goes to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The company says its mission is not only to give back to the Earth, but also the future of children.
Other companies, such as Aveda and The Body Shop, have a good reputation for their environmentally friendly practices, offering the option to refill lotions and cosmetics in store, or get a discount for bringing a container back in to recycle.
More resources:
Great green beauty products from MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18182093/
The Naked Truth http://www.thenakedtruthproject.org/index.php
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