How Big Can This Natural Beauty Thing Get?
When I was in Texas last month for SXSW Eco, I did all kinds of fun things: I ate tacos, visited our friends at W3LL People, met up with writer friends, stayed up way too late then woke early to attend some really interesting (and dismaying) discussions about our burning planet…
Being the natural beauty dork I am, though, another highlight was my impromptu visit to Whole Foods’ 80,000 square foot flagship near downtown Austin. This is not just a love letter to Whole Foods, though. Hear me out…
Anyone who’s read the book or the blog will know we love Whole Body, sure. We admire their tough organic standards, and how widely available they’ve made safe, high-quality beauty choices. We like their team, and their scale. But because Whole Bodys differ from region to region, and store to store, you sort of never know what you’re going to find when you visit one. Here in New York, the WB section at Columbus Circle, for instance, is gorgeously laid out, and there’s a nice selection of makeup to play with. At Union Square, my go-to because I tend to work out and play in the lower quadrants of the city, the makeup is crammed in hallway. I still love it, don’t get me wrong, but the shopping experience matters. And if we want to bring organic beauty out of the hippie fringes, nice-looking stores—like Evolue in Los Angeles, and the Apothecary at ABC Home here in New York—are a must.
Of course, small shops devoted to natural beauty are few and far between—and understandably. They’re expensive and the demand for organic beauty products in this kind of setting needs to catch up with the supply. We know that anyone who switches to natural beauty sees their life and their skin and their hair transform. It happened to us, and our friends, our moms and our boyfriends. And we get letters from people all the time telling us as much. Of course, spreading the message is hard—and changing people’s buying habits even harder.
There’s still so much the average American shampoo-buyer doesn’t know about her products—and it’s going to be hard for her to learn if her only options are the confusing, greenwashed aisles of pharmacies.
That’s why we think everyone should read our book, or books like it. And it’s also why we want to see natural beauty scaled way, way up.
When we were writing the book, we had fantasies about curating Sephora’s naturals section: How great would it be, we thought, if you could go in to any Sephora and know with confidence that the products with a green leaf on it (or whatever) had actually been vetted by people informed and passionate about ingredient safety—and effectiveness?
Of course we like the little guys best. We want to support small retailers, several of which are online, and are our favorites—there’s Spirit Beauty Lounge, Nubonau, Nature of Beauty and others. We will continue to support them first and foremost, but if this natural beauty thing is going to get really big, exposure is key. Call me pie-in-the-sky, but we want to see safe, effective and appealing options made available, at reasonable prices, to women and men all over the country, too.
Which bring me to Austin. What blew my mind, and I texted Alexandra as much when I was there, is that I finally saw in person the potential for this whole natural beauty thing—at scale. Here is a giant store (really, it’s almost obscenely big) with a zillion kinds of kale chips and organic quinoa and chickens who lived better lives than we do, and front and center—not as an afterthought, and not shoved in a corner—was a gigantic section, beautifully laid out, well lit with samples galore, teeming with natural and organic beauty products we can feel good about.
I’m not saying Whole Foods is the answer, though it’s certainly part of it. It showed me what was possible.
Now we’d like to hear from you. What do you think natural beauty movement needs in order to grow? More stores? More education? And if the latter, how do you propose we all go about it?
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Yes to more stores and more education. I think getting fashion and beauty magazines on board would help immensely. Although this would be difficult because most of their advertising is through non-green companies. On occasion, these magazines will have a green section, but then they keep promoting non-green companies the next issue, or even in the same issue.
Also, the easier it is to buy green products, and the less expensive they are, the more people will buy.
Education is the key, as far as I’m concerned. The rest is sure to follow. People can’t demand better ingredients in their health and beauty products if they have no idea what they’re putting on their body in the first place. I think dedicated people like you guys are making a huge difference on that front, and hopefully I am too (on a much smaller scale, obviously). I’m really hoping that eventually, informed consumers will become the majority rather than the minority.
Also, it’s interesting that you mentioned Sephora’s natural seal in this post…because I actually have a post on my blog dedicated to that very thing today!
http://turbyandjohn.com/2011/10/27/nearly-natural-sephoras-natural-seal/
I live in Austin, and I love the downtown Whole Foods too. I’m glad you got to check it out! They actually revamped the Whole Body section earlier this year. The best part is that they improved the lighting, and it has a much more organized feel than it used to.
As far as the natural beauty movement goes, I think it won’t go mainstream until there are more affordable options. I love the morning routine posts you guys have been doing, and I really enjoyed reading Tammy Fender’s morning routine. But when I went to her website to check out her products, I was blown away by the prices. Not many people can afford to spend that much. I recently got some samples of Acure Organics from Whole Foods that I’m looking forward to trying. I think it’s more affordable, and I don’t have to pay for shipping to get it.
I think it’s more education. And not education imposed by others…it’s self-education. Stores with products vetted by so-called “experts” are not the answer. Everyone, which includes the FDA and the industry and even clean product freaks like us, have their own standards. I’ve gone into Whole Foods and asked a staff member for a suggestion and been dissatisfied with her choice (not because of the effect of the product, but because I didn’t feel the product was clean enough for me). People need to know what their own standards are and how to identify products that mesh with them. And we also need options, wherever we choose to buy them.
Knowledge and cost are certainly important for skin & haircare products – for me the biggest challenge is makeup. Either the products are more complicated (powder eyeliner?) or I want to see the color without worrying about monitor distortion. Even better – try it like Sephora.
In Chicago, Whole Foods only offers one makeup line & it seems very greasy.
cost : either the prices must go down, or the common perception of the value of beauty/skin care products must go up.
I agree on education but we all can help by talking to our friends and the people we meet. We can email the magazines and the cosmetic industry that we want green products. If we don’t voice our opinion then they won’t change.
I agree that price can be a concern but you girls also post such amazing alternatives to save money that it allows one to splurge on a nice item. I have found that the Aubrey Organics shampoo is a nice alternative to the more expensive ones. I tend to rotate products so it is possible to have a clean but not too expensive lifestyle.
I think as consumers we too caught up in having the latest or every product out there but the morning routine posts prove that not everyone is using tons of products or only expensive.
I guess we just have to keep a dialogue going. Change takes time but we are finally outlawing plastic bags in California so things do come in time.
I think a big thing is knowledge. I am just staring on this natural beauty product kick and I have no idea which companies are actually truly natural (and which ship to Canada). It makes it difficult to buy natural if you have difficulty establishing which are truly natural and finding those brands somewhere you can buy.
Help is loved!
We need better regulation of how terms like “natural” can be used on products and consequences for companies that defy regulations or put the correct terms on their packages but misleading info on their websites or in ads. Basically, make it harder to greenwash.
Ultimately, as with almost every human issue, I think education is key. We need more books and online resources, radio, tv, etc., featuring some of the experts in the field (like our lovely S and A, of course) giving consistent and correct information. I try to do my part by incorporating information into the relevant discussions in the biology courses I teach (like when we talk about the skin as an organ system), and having more personalized discussions with groups of my students. Lots of people are interested, and I try to direct them to resources as well as share my experiences. I encourage people to do their own research, and my students are mainly entering the health care field and will be able to share what they learn with many others.
I think the education would happen if there were more free standing stores. People get excited when new stores appear. I think that the store could have special offers for refer posting on facebook or twitter. The education would follow. Maybe the store could even offer percentages off the first purchase for taking one of their classes ( an educational class about ingredients etc..). Then word will get out and the demand for better products with safe ingredients will follow. This is all my opinion.
I would LOVE to be able to waltz into a store and get a clean makeup sample on demand. Rumor is we *may* be getting a Whole Foods here (North Florida) & I would die of excitement if that happened. Publix is going over well here (which was a bit shocking) sooooo we are on the slow but right path.
I think a lot of people are so hung up on CONSUMING that they can’t perceive true value anymore. And who can blame them, when everything is “value sized” etc. ?
I am always really excited to be a part of this clean beauty movement especially as it is still catching on. & I love any opportunity to talk to friends about clean products. Sharing is caring!
I agree that education is key. Those of us who have read the book and read the blog need to spread the word. Those of us who have seen our hair and skin improve need to tell people (when the subject comes up; don’t be THAT girl). Then let people decide for themselves, because nothing we haven’t taken in and made our own truly becomes a part of us anyway.
This is my first post…about something I actually feel confident about! As a poor college student who grew up in a tightwad household, I simply cannot afford to go totally clean. I do all the stuff that is definitely cheaper than my old routines, like not washing my hair, and when I get lucky I can splurge on maybe a bottle of nail polish. But even if I had the funds to afford argan oil (I so wish I could afford it!) it would take a lot of justification to purchase it. I can’t escape my tightwad mindset. It doesn’t matter how much I’ve learned, how many statistics have scared me, or how much better my skin will look, price will always be a deal-breaker. As long as there is a cheaper option, I will consider it. Education has always been in the forefront of what I want to do with my life and my career, but it’s only recently when I have started to become self-sufficient that I realized how much cost influences how our culture functions and how it evolves. It sucks, but the only way we can make a real impact on our health and the environment is to make a cultural shift or an economic one. Which is hard, but that’s why I’m in college. So, that’s my two cents.
Also, I love free standing stores! One just opened up in my hometown and if I still lived there you can bet your bajeesus I would work there.
As long as consumers get mixed messages – like natural means organic or organic means natural, and the benchmark pointed to is Whole Foods (We admire their tough organic standards) when they practically had to be taken to court before they would even draft standards for organic…it’s no surprise consumers are confuse.
The organic industry is confused! One leading trade association says cosmetics don’t have to follow the USDA NOP…it’s totally voluntary.
Yet the FDA is pretty clear: “Cosmetic products labeled with organic claims must comply with both USDA regulations for the organic claim and FDA regulations for labeling and safety requirements for cosmetics.”
So if the label makes organic claims then they MUST comply with the USDA regulations for the organic claim…and this means the companies that are not certified by a USDA approved 3rd party certifier, and/or their ingredients are not, then they are breaking the law(s).
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformation/ucm203078.htm
Yet every day on Facebook and websites and blogs…cosmetics sold “as” organic or with claims of organic ingredients, get featured as “good brands” to buy.
When even the experts lower the bar, push brands sold as “natural” without ever defining what they mean by natural…it’s in danger of being no more meaningful as any other marketing phrase.
Natural matters…it’s not just marketing.
So…glad you enjoyed your shopping trip…what USDA Certified Organic, certified natural (pick a criteria…any criteria…SOME criteria) can you recommend?
Sue
Founder, Natural Ingredient Resource Center
I feel so strongly about this, and I sincerely apologize for the loooong rambling rant that is about to unfold!
I feel like more people than we realize are interested in going greener in their beauty routines (as well as in their everyday lives). The green movement is definitely gaining momentum. The success of greenwashed products is staggering, and there are more and more of them popping up. More and more people want to go green! The fact that CoverGirl recently came out with their NatureLuxe line is a testament to this growing movement–here is a powerhouse of a brand, responding to the consumer demand for green products. The problem is that their products aren’t really green! Do we solve this problem with stricter labeling regulations? Or more education? Sadly we cannot count on better regulations anytime soon. Even the world of organic foods is, to the general public, somewhat misleading/unclear in its labeling. Food that says “organic” need only be 95% organic, for example (http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004446). Education, then, seems to be the more viable route towards a growth in popularity of green beauty. The word needs to be spread, absolutely, but people must also know that green beauty is much more accessible than we think! Before I went green I contemplated it a lot, but was under some weird impression that it was out of my league, out of my reach. When I started reading this blog, I hadn’t gone green yet. Reading the posts and the responses, and learning about the plethora of greener options that I never knew existed, helped melt away my weird notion that green beauty was inaccessible, and transform that notion into a realization that green beauty is actually MORE accessible than I had ever thought possible. People like Siobhan and Alexandra are few and far between, in that they bridge the gap between the world of unaffordable luxuries and desires (i.e., green beauty) and the world of the everyday consumer (i.e., you and me, our friends, families, neighbors, etc.). And I thank you for that, ladies! Truly, though, I think that the way to broaden green beauty’s popularity is not just to increase education and spread the good word, but to also MAKE people realize that green beauty is accessible to all! And that it can be luxurious and affordable at the same time. I know that there are many very expensive green products out there, but there are plenty of affordable alternatives. For example, I am saving sooo much money just by switching from waxing to making my own sugaring stuff! And it works better! People need to know that they don’t need to be movie stars or wealthy elite to go green, and they need to know that going green works way better.
On another note, I believe there must be more luxury powerhouses catching on to this natural beauty movement, and pushing it. Look at how popular 3-free nail polish has become–OPI, Chanel, and Nars, to name a few! And now, it’s catching on. (Sure, there may still be formaldehyde by-products in some, but it’s at least a start.) When a luxury powerhouse decides that something is on-trend or haute couture, the affordable trickle-down begins. From the mysterious world of luxury, it soon-after starts to appear in department stores, and then begins to pop up everywhere. I live in Fairfield County, CT (I am by no means wealthy, I have to work 2 jobs just to afford living!) and there is not ONE green spa/salon in the county. At all. It would be SO popular, and catch on like CRAZY; I know there is a greater demand amongst the rich for this green luxury, but there isn’t much supply, at least here in my neck of the woods. Yes, we are close to NYC, the world of if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-find-it, but not many people want to trek all the way to the city for a simple spa/salon visit. I know for a fact that if one GOOD and truly green spa opened, and did their stuff right, more would follow.
Anyways, I’ll get off my soapbox now. :)
I believe that this Natural beauty thing will get as big as we allow it to get with more information and certainly a new education. When my own sister was diagnosed with Lupus at age 28 and was so ill we thought we might lose her I began a campaign to research alternative treatments to what Doctors and specialists were offering her to no positive change in her health. When I discovered the many contributing factors to her extreme chemical sensitivities were in her beauty and cosmetic products I knew I had to come up with alternatives to the name brands we grew up with. Treating my sister’s sensitive skin with at first olive and coconut oils (these days argan works wonders for her) seemed completely crazy to the specialists. They thought I was a kook, but when I pointed out on one accompanied visit that what I was making for my sister was pure enough to eat and couldn’t harm her any worse than the Prednisone and other awful drugs she was on someone took note and encouraged me to go further! My sister has been in remission for more than 5 years now and last year she ran her first, 5K Girls On The Run Race with her own daughter, which years ago we never thought possible! I cried and cheered my brains out because Lupus is scary and there are no specific guidelines to follow when someone is ill. Sometimes out of desperation something inspirational can manifest.
While it was an entire lifestyle change and a big committment to conscious healthy living, becoming educated in what we smear on our faces and bodies certainly helped both of us go green. (Sis used to do those crazy Brazilian treatments, which for someone with an immune disorder was about the most self inflicting poisonous thing one can do.) I have discovered a true love of organic beauty and launched my own skincare line which I am excited to share with people everyday. Nothing makes me happier than to help educate people to alternatives to the conventional, as well as nothing makes me angrier than the greenwashing going on that confuses folks more about natural beauty. Hopefully, we’ll all be able to help one another out by spreading the word and reading inspirational books like, No More Dirty Looks.
And if Marina, the broke college student who is trying to go green, but finds it all so very expensive contacts me at info@labellafigurabeauty.com I will send her a 1 oz. bottle of our argan oil-Moroccan Face Gold, completely free. I certainly can support a smart young woman and goodness knows I grew up in a family where money was tight too!
So excited for all this generated interest in natural beauty. Great job everyone!
Victoria
La Bella Figura
more effective campaigns in my opinion and actually connecting with shoppers rather than just ad campaigns
I believe legislation is key as it is way too lax allowing products to display words such as “organic” “natural” “clean” “green” etc etc..when in fact the product is far from it. Maybe EWG should be agency in charge of giving the seal of approval to all the cosmetic/beauty industry.. Create an ISO-XXXX for the beauty industry…A desirable seal of recognition…One that any industry confident enough on the quality of their products and its ingredients would want to have.
NMDL is superb providing continuous education and I’d like to believe that each one of us is trying to spread the newfound knowledge around.
And although we may not be able to measure the extent of the interest in the* Natural Beauty Movement * it is certainly increasing tremendously as other chains are noticing it and they all want a piece of the market that Whole Foods has for itself..A previous post mentioned Publix in Fl and I just heard that Giant Eagle is remodeling its grocery store in Cranberry Twp. PA where it will have an entire section dedicated to natural beauty products..How wonderful is that?
Thank you girls for the awesome work!
Of course I agree with everyone here that thinks education is the most vital component of spreading the word–about deceptive labeling, about the true risks of using conventional beauty products, etc. But I will confess that I am a bit flummoxed about the methods of education that we need to use. I feel so lucky to have found the books and the blogs that I have, but I sought those out because I was desperate to find ways to control my acne. I had an urgent, deep need. So, for women who don’t have a skin issue like this, what’s the motivation?
I have struggled for years about how to educate those women closest to me. Obviously, I end up talking with them about skincare, but I find myself hesitant to proselytize. Sometimes I have daydreams about starting an Avon lady-style campaign for the natural beauty industry (does this exist already?)–actually going into women’s homes and demonstrating natural products. Not in an effort to sell products, but in order to educate on a more personal level. My mother has been on the cusp of taking the plunge and ordering some natural products, but she is understandably conflicted because of the cost and because it’s different from how she’s behaved her whole life. For her, this is a big change. And I think it would be easier for her if I actually visited her and let her try out some of the things that I use. In other words, I think some hand-holding is in order.
Education is a MUST! and when it comes to us, we do a lot by spreading the word by just sharing facts: when you give facts, you get amazement, your get your friends’ jaws to drop, you make an impact.
Hey, why don’t we just gift the book to all of our buddies this Holiday? it’s a secret-santa must!
BTW—Any thoughts on ever having it in spanish? I’d love to buy 5 copies to give to my very special peeps in Venezuela!
Education is certainly key here as so many commentators have said. Can I suggest a few lines of enquiry for your self education? First off, what is the evidence for the health benefits of eating organic food? Secondly, what would be the effect of everyone on the planet switching to organic food for the bulk of their food needs? (In case you don’t see immediately what I am getting at there, if we need to use about 30% more land to produce the same quantity of food how much wilderness will we have to switch to food production.) Thirdly, just how much difference does it make to have a supermarket chain that mirrors the conventional ones in every respect except that it stocks organic products?
these have been the natural beauty roadblocks for me:
1. insufficient selection in local stores. i have yet to find a shampoo, for example, that does not irritate my sensitive scalp, rinses cleanly from my thick hair, AND provides sufficient moisture. this product probably exists, but they don’t seem to have it in the roanoke valley. i’d order something online, but it seems wasteful to have a bottle of shampoo shipped to me unless i know it’s The One.
2. greater expense of natural products. if i knew exactly which products to buy, i wouldn’t mind paying more. but i do have a fairly limited budget for beauty products, and i can’t afford to take too many gambles on natural products when i know exactly which synthetic ones work. plus, i don’t like the waste created when i use a natural product 2 or 3 times and then have a horrible reaction.
i have been able to “green” many areas of my life successfully, but beauty seems to be the last holdout. since i’ve had such bad luck with many natural products, my focus has been more on using as few products as possible and doing research on companies so that i’m buying from the most reputable sources possible.