The Circular Economy in Beauty Tech
A simple example of how the circular economy works with the user, retailers and products - it is a virtuous circle
We currently have a ‘take, make, waste’ economy. When we are done with an item, we simply throw it out. This is called the ‘linear economy’ and it is doing damage every day to our planet. Every hour to our world. But there are solutions. And due to the extent of the global economy, and the population size and the selection available to people, the more waste we create, there is no choice any longer – everyone must contribute to using greener, more sustainable options. If it was left to households, most everyone would want to participate in sustainability by separating their rubbish. Local governments and councils provide households with bins for glass, plastic, paper and even food waste. However, for businesses of all sizes, there is much more effort and cost that goes into being sustainable, and it isn’t as easy as just having a few bins.
At this point, the consumer has a decision point: When shopping, do they choose the cheapest product, or a more expensive one, knowing a large portion of the expense may be because the fruit is local and not flown in, or the packaging of the face cream is recyclable?
The circular economy has at its core principle the theory of designing waste out of the product, removing it from the economy. Done correctly, this can take 80% of waste out of the system at the design and production stage, where the majority of waste is designed into the product. By viewing waste as a flaw in the design process, we can begin to all look at options that will engineer as much waste out of the process, and thereby create the circular economy.
Transparency is starting to become more important to consumers, but more importantly, to companies. Brands that are more transparent about how and with what our products are made are becoming more and more required by consumers. Companies are the ones that need to make the change and educate the market so that people learn more and can begin to ask questions and make educated decisions. And Governments will have to help the transition no doubt, with policies that can be easily objectivised.
Decisions that are positive for Beauty Brands, and for the world, and rewarding companies that engineer out the waste from their production cycle by selecting to transact and build relationships with them, not only because of their product, but because of their ever- smaller global footprint.
None of this will come easy, nevertheless. It requires a deep re-orientation of the whole supply chain process and value chain in Beauty. Some key takeaways to start with are:
Ingraining the circular principles must be a holistic strategy affecting packaging conceptualization and design in depth
Building up whole new economic business models propelled by those “cycles” and going much beyond selling mere products.
Capitalize on what it really means from qualitative authentic and ethical relationship with the consumer.
Introduce a critical “measure everything” culture, and thinking about how the packaging, the brand and the customer can work together with the same aspirational objectives. This starts with New Product Development (NPD) and product creation right through to the recycling or re-use phase
This is not about good and bad materials, it is about how we re-purpose them in a new life-extended process, each one with the right contribution and used in its optimal useful life that benefits sustainability
Plastic, glass, new bio-based and/or compostable materials are the new pallet to build a new concept, supported by optimal convenient mechanical integrations that ease usability, modern digital identification, communications, artificial intelligence, and sentiment inspiration technologies. A purpose driven connected beauty.
Designed correctly, product packaging can be used multiple times with refills being delivered as the product packaging communicates back to the brand and they then know when to send new product refills in recyclable materials
Each Beauty brand identity will require a different solution in terms of recharge-replace and re-fill into the system. The balance in glossy, usability, sustainability and total customer experience will require brand/company driven strategic decisions.
It will also require thinking differently by going beyond company walls; if we want to minimise some of the key pain points arising in the last tranches of the “circle” creation, some data might have to be shared with business partners. But there will be tangible and intangible benefits in the journey for the brands achieving it.
Szentia is a highly innovative start up that intends to change to the core the beauty and related sectors with the first innovative tech solution that allows brands to build communities that rapidly evolve into the circular economy and sustainability. If you want to learn more about our view on the circular economy and how to introduce it into your business, especially in beauty-tech (beauty, skincare, perfume, wellness), please feel free to get in touch with us.