SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability: An essential element
Evonik’ s Ecohance Soft BOL is based on multiple natural waste streams
Companies in personal care have no choice but to meet sustainability demands. We report from In-Cosmetics 2026
Sustainability has been a standard claim in the personal care field for many years. Senior executives at In- Cosmetics 2026 in Paris in April, the largest cosmetic ingredients show in the world, were unanimous in agreeing that it is no longer anyone’ s USP, it is everyone’ s ticket to play. New ingredients without sustainability credentials have no chance, as many observed, but that alone is not enough.
“ When we look at our materials and how we’ re innovating, we’ re going all the way to the end consumer and thinking about their needs,” said Jennifer Marques, global strategic marketing director for personal care at Dow.“ Sustainability is a huge factor in that but it has to be without any compromise on performance.”
“ We make products that meet customers needs for multifunctionality, performance and sensorial feel – and of course sustainability,” said Elke Patteet, VP of Personal Care at Nouryon.“ Sustainability is always part of that: it’ s not a‘ nice-to-have’, it’ s intrinsic to what we do.
“ Eastman supplies amines and intermediates to major surfactants companies and has done so for many years,” said Dr Marty Boykin, director of care solutions and SFE technology at Eastman.
“ Now we are starting to look at specialty ingredients and the main focus of our development has been sustainable alternatives – but combining it with performance. Sustainability is a must-have for the future but consumers aren’ t willing to trade off sustainability for performance.”
What the word sustainability actually means in the context of personal care, however, is a different matter altogether. A survey Eastman did last year offers some insights into formulators’ priorities, which are not always aligned with what their suppliers are doing( see box story).
Sustainability on show
The Sustainability Zone, a perennial feature at In-Cosmetics that showcases what the industry considers to be the products and programmes with the strongest credentials in the field, offers some more insights.
Most of the 35 showcases referred to specific products, almost all of which naturally were derived from
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