Green, But Not Golden: Why Beauty's Sustainability Moment Still Isn't Secure

Forbes

22-04-2025

For all its shimmer and shine, the beauty industry still hasn't managed to polish its conscience. Earth Day arrives once more with a familiar mix of ambition and ambiguity. And while the language of sustainability is now fluent across beauty marketing—from refills to recyclables to 'clean'—the industry is yet to move from movement to maturity.
The market is talking a greener game. But the execution? Still patchy. Still performative. Still, too often, surface-deep.
Let's be clear: the appetite is there. Today's consumers are engaged, informed and deeply motivated by values. They are asking the right questions, even when the answers remain elusive.
And yet, green beauty still accounts for a modest slice of the overall market. Why?
Because there are still barriers—of price, of education, of optics. Packaging that lacks shelf appeal in a hyper-aesthetic social media age. Products that don't quite live up to their own promise. And, all too often, brands that assume intent alone will close the deal.
Many consumers want to do the right thing—but they're tired of feeling tricked by murky labels, or penalised at the checkout for choosing better. We don't need more awareness campaigns. We need more action, and a little less artifice.
Before the term 'sustainable' was commercially viable—let alone fashionable—there was Anita Roddick, founding The Body Shop on a platform of ethics, activism and enterprise. Her belief that business should be a force for good wasn't marketing—it was muscle.
I was fortunate to see her work up close in the early days of my career. She had an uncanny blend of commercial clarity and deep conviction. She built systems, not slogans. And decades on, her influence endures.
Neal's Yard Remedies, founded in 1981 in a modest Covent Garden corner, continues to stand as one of the original green champions. Before algorithms told us to care, they were bottling plant-based remedies, sourcing organic ingredients, and operating with a quiet confidence that still holds today. Their aesthetic may be apothecary, but their supply chain is one of the most forward-thinking in the sector.
Some newer brands are not reinventing the green beauty wheel—they're just rolling it forward, with poise and purpose.
Take Living Libations—a brand born not in a lab, but in a forest. Founded by Nadine Artemis, its roots lie in botanical intimacy and ingredient reverence. Their cult favourite Best Skin Ever isn't trend-chasing—it's a return to ritual. With formulations that read like poetry and sourcing practices that would impress any sustainability auditor, this is a brand built on quiet brilliance, not buzzwords.
Then there's Pott Candles—a brand offering a solution so simple it's genius. Hand-thrown ceramic pots, endlessly refillable with natural wax blends. Beautiful, tactile, low-waste—and more emotionally resonant than another glass jar destined for landfill. Their packaging doesn't shout; it invites.
And platforms like Naturisimo have stepped into the gap where trust and curation meet. They do the vetting, so consumers don't have to. Their edit is not only clean—it's considered. Similarly, My Night Show adds a theatrical layer to sustainability: indulgent but intentional, with storytelling that appeals to the emotionally intelligent shopper.
The good news? Consumers are ready. The younger generation in particular—steeped in climate anxiety and digital literacy—are embracing refillables, questioning provenance, and rewarding transparency.
Brands who layer elegance with ethics are cutting through. Those who create covetable aesthetics and back them with data, integrity and genuine circularity are building loyalty—not just likes.
But we're still seeing stumbling blocks:
To move from movement to mainstream, green beauty has to become more than seasonal sentiment. It must embed itself into every layer of business—from design to distribution.
That means rethinking how beauty is made, marketed, and measured. Design must lead, with sustainable products that earn their place on the shelf and feel at home in a curated, social-first world. Pricing has to shift too—ethical shouldn't mean elite. Sustainability needs to feel normal, not niche.
We need clear, simplified labelling that cuts through confusion and empowers consumers at point of sale. No more smoke and mirrors—just data, integrity, and accessible language. And retailers must take more responsibility—not simply chasing conversions but curating with conscience, and elevating brands that combine efficacy with ethics.
For consumers, it's about returning to the basics: choosing fewer products, choosing with purpose, and finding satisfaction in simplicity. Real sustainability isn't about sacrifice—it's about smarter decisions, made repeatable.
Sustainable beauty must be more than a feeling. It must be a structure—a set of behaviours, practices and decisions embedded deep within the brand, not dressed up for Earth Day. We don't need more products. We need better ones. Designed to last, designed to refill, designed to do their job without demanding the planet pays the price.
Because true beauty has always been about more than what we see—it's about what we stand for.