Since the start of the pandemic, more ecologically and socially responsible brands have emerged. Dr Gladys Teo, head of R&D at Est.lab, says: “Covid-19 has affected the way consumers purchase. They are more aware of their health and environmental issues, and are subconsciously showing their support for these causes by choosing clean, eco-friendly and sustainable products.”
Armed with more information, mindful consumers are demanding eco-friendly products. In response, companies are developing clean products that are free from harmful ingredients such as fragrances, parabens, alcohols and sulphates (SLS and SLES). They are also creating products using biotech ingredients that are sustainably produced, with lesser impact on the earth’s resources.
Take Chanel’s latest essential No. 1 de Chanel range for example. The range contains 97 per cent ingredients of natural origin, and its main ingredient, the red camellia is efficiently used in every part of the product, even the lids of its jars. The brand also reduced its packaging by volume, and removed its cellophane coverings and printed instructions.
Newly launched in Singapore at Freia Aesthetics, Italian-based Pietro Simone Skincare runs in the same vein, with strict laboratory tests performed on skincare that is made without silicones, phthalates, parabens or synthetic fragrances. The brand is constantly reformulating its existing products to meet these requirements when novel solutions are discovered.
Founder Pietro Simone explains: “Clean beauty is a process of respecting the product formulation. It is an awareness of active ingredients and the process of removing chemicals which are not necessary at all.”
Brands like Bioeffect have gone further, bioengineering products with effective ingredients harvested from barley to recreate epidermal growth factors (EGF), a collagen-boosting protein that naturally occurs in human skin.