Green Beauty is a holistic approach encompassing packaging, products, manufacturing, and sourcing to lead the way towards sustainable beauty that’s accessible to all without compromising the quality of our beauty products.

Consumers are becoming more conscious of the need to protect the environment and save natural resources for future generations. They’re paying attention to the environmental impact of the brands they buy.

In fact, a recent survey by the global beauty brand Garnier found that 81 percent of respondents want to lead more sustainable lifestyles in 2021. Forty-four percent
of those surveyed said that COVID-19 made them take environmental issues more seriously.

This enhanced awareness is coming at the same time as technological advances that make increased sustainability possible, says Aurélie Weinling, Garnier’s International Scientific and Sustainability Director. “Consumers are looking for sustainability if it doesn’t compromise the price or the efficiency and quality of the product,” she says. “It’s now possible to have a sustainable product that’s still efficient and still affordable. There’s now a good alignment between consumer expectations and what’s available in terms of technology.”

Reducing products’ environmental footprint

Garnier wants to lead the way in the beauty industry, creating products that respect the environment and natural resources. Over the past few years, the company has reduced the environmental footprint of its products and increased its natural-origin and renewable, plant-based ingredients.

For example, SkinActive was its first skincare line formulated with 96 percent naturally-derived ingredients and Garnier BIO is a range of certified organic skincare products that contain 95 percent natural ingredients and up to 20 percent organic ingredients. Fructis vegan formulas packaging is 100 percent recycled and its cardboards are 100 percent recyclable. Their newest innovation, Green Labs, which is powered by 59% renewable energy and tracks biodegradability, renewability, and water footprint of their vegan formula. This is where the brand merges nature and science to create efficient solutions for glowing, healthy-looking skin regardless of skin type or tone. The company has also lowered carbon dioxide emissions and water consumption at its industrial sites.

Garnier also helps communities around the world through socially responsible sourcing programs, giving people typically excluded from the job market access to work and a sustainable income. It also employs fair trade practices across its supply chain.

We’re committed to undertaking every step of this journey and meeting consumer expectations for positive change.

Now, the company’s taking its commitment to the next level with Green Beauty. This holistic, end-to-end approach to sustainability influences every aspect of the business, reducing or eliminating environmental impact in packaging, products, formulas, manufacturing, and solidarity sourcing.

Brands have a role to play

Weinling says that the COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call that we all need to protect our planet and stop exceeding its limits, and that brands have a role to play. “We have the opportunity to make a real impact, helping to create access to sustainable beauty for all,” she says. “We’re committed to undertaking every step of this journey and meeting consumer expectations for positive change.”

Garnier’s Green Beauty strategies don’t ignore a product’s end of life, either. In 2019, Garnier’s new shampoos and hair care formulas reached an average of 91 percent biodegradability and the company’s working to improve that. Garnier has also committed to sustainably source all of its plant-based and renewable ingredients by 2022. This means knowing the origins of the plants and the country in which they were produced and verifying decent and safe labour conditions, equal opportunities, and zero discrimination.

By 2025, 100 percent of Garnier’s new products will have an improved environmental profile. By that same year, Garnier has committed to stop using virgin plastic entirely, which will save 37,000 tonnes of virgin plastic per year. Virgin plastic is newly-manufactured plastic that has never been used in a product or processed before. Instead, the company will use 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastics or bio-sourced plastic that’s 100 percent recyclable, compostable, refillable, or reusable.

Carboneutral pledge

Garnier has also pledged that by 2025, all of its industrial sites will be carboneutral. Its Canadian production facility, located in Québec, which manufactures 200 products, became carboneutral in 2017. This made it the company’s first facility in the Americas to make the complete transition. As part of its efforts to shift to renewable energy, the Quebec plant uses recycled organic waste from 25 towns and agrifood businesses in the region, which will lead it each year avoid emitting more than 2,100 tonnes of GHGs into the atmosphere. This carboneutrality project was inititiated by a partnership with the Québec Goverment, Énergir and the City of Saint-Hyacinthe.

“No one can do it alone. That was a partnership between Garnier, the local government, and the city,” says Weinling. “I think it’s absolutely key when speaking about sustainability that everyone plays a role — the government, industry, and consumers. We all have to work together to make it happen.”

Transparency is also a key part of Garnier’s sustainability strategy. “It’s a journey. We’re not perfect, but we’re improving step by step,” says Weinling. “We have a strong commitment by 2025, but where do we stand today?” This is why the company released its sustainability report last year, showing its progress so far. The company will continue to report on how it’s performing in each area, including ingredient sourcing, production, and packaging.

Employees excited to play a role

“Our employees know we need to commit to sustainability and to provide it in our products now,” says Weinling. “This provides a sense of purpose in our daily work. It’s something that really drives us. It’s super exciting for our employees to play a role in this sustainable journey.”

“It used to be very expensive. It’s becoming more affordable and we’re at the phase where we can do it without increasing our price,” she says. “This is key when you’re a global company that aims to provide affordable products. Sustainable beauty should be accessible for all.”

What Is Garnier’s Green Beauty?

It’s a complete end-to-end approach to sustainability. The aim is to transform every stage of Garnier’s supply chain, reducing or eradicating environmental impact in these key areas.

Plastic & Packaging

By 2025

Garnier will aim to use Zero Virgin Plastic in packaging, saving 37,000 tonnes of plastic every year. By 2025, all packaging will also be either reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Product & Formula

By 2022

All plant-based and renewable ingredients will be sustainability sourced.
By 2025, 100% of Garnier’s new products will have an improved environmental profile.

Factories & Manufacturing

100% carbon neutral industrial sites by 2025, through the use of renewable energy.
The CO2 emission of industrial sites have already been reduced by 72%.34% of our industrial sites are carbon neutral. 66% of our energy is renewable.

Solidarity Sourcing

By 2025

Garnier will have empowered 800 communities worldwide as part of our solidarity sourcing program.

Garnier has always been committed to a world against animal testing since 1989. The brand is now officially approved by Cruelty Free International under the Leaping Bunny Programme.

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The post Thanks to Garnier, Accessible, Sustainable Beauty Is Here appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Melanoma is a dangerous disease that affects thousands of Canadians annually, but preventing it is simple.

Summer is around the corner, and you know what that means. Warm, sunny weather. Camping trips and park days. Shorts and flip flops. A suntan. Wait, scratch that.

Tanning is tempting, but it’s simply not a good idea. “No tan is a safe tan. Any darkening of the skin indicates UV damage,” says Natalie Richardson, a melanoma survivor and Managing Director of Save Your Skin Foundation, a national non-profit that raises awareness for various skin cancers through education, advocacy, and awareness initiatives.

Each year, over 80,000 Canadians are diagnosed with skin cancer — more than the number diagnosed with breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers combined. Over 7,200 are diagnosed with melanoma — the most dangerous form of skin cancer — and over 1,200 die. Many skin cancers can metastasize, spreading to vital organs. “A skin cancer diagnosis of any kind can change your life forever,” explains Richardson.

The best summer accessory? Sun safety.

The good news: skin cancer is 90% preventable. Protection is vital. Richardson recommends staying out of the sun during peak hours (between 10a.m. and 4p.m.), staying covered up using UV clothing or tight-knit clothing, and wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a broad-spectrum 30+ SPF sunscreen. “Your skin is your largest organ. You should protect it at all costs,” says Richardson.

Loving the skin you’re in stems from taking care of yourself and your health. As Richardson says, “Feeling good is from the inside out.”

The post Tanning Is Tempting — But It’s Just Not Smart appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Mediaplanet: Why is it important to foster diversity and inclusion in engineering?

Lauren Howe: As our world becomes increasingly integrated with technology, it’s essential that talent and decision-makers are made up of a well-rounded group of individuals who bring different experiences and perspectives to the table. Having a diverse team is better for business and helps provide solutions that can serve a wider audience’s needs. In order to get there, there must be support systems in place to reduce barriers to entry and provide ongoing support for success.

Alongside the engineering design process, I was taught the importance of user-centered design. In order to design something that has a high adoption rate, you should understand who you’re designing for, and their needs, wants, and restrictions. If engineers are designing a new product and initially making assumptions about an end user, would it not be best to have a diverse group of people with different experiences, cultures, genders, and perspectives to engineering products to help diversify thought? 

For example, there’s an increasing gender gap in AI. According to the World Economic Forum, only 22% of the world’s AI professionals are female. This is important to observe because AI is built off algorithms determined by the humans who create it. Without diversity, there may be an inherent bias in the data used to build the algorithms that hinders equality in certain areas. There have been a few reported cases of this already with governments trying to take action to prevent it. It’s important to realize this early on in order to be proactive on what skills we should consider learning.

What advice do you have for girls and women who feel that STEM subjects are too difficult?

It’s important to stay motivated. STEM subjects are far from being easy and it’s completely normal to think that you may not be good at them. However, no one is good at a new skill or subject right off the bat. Choose to learn because it interests you, rather than focusing on the pursuit of a high grade. I dropped physics in grade 11 because I was incredibly focused on selecting the subjects that would give the highest average in order to get into the right post-secondary programs. In hindsight, this was silly.

It’s easy to drop something because of a grade that’s supposed to represent how good you are at that subject. That single score is far from being an accurate assessment of your abilities. Everyone learns differently, and perhaps you would succeed at the same subject in a slightly different environment. This ranges from what may happen in your personal life to different teaching styles. Some individuals succeed when focusing on theoretical work and academic studies while others thrive in environments that are more hands-on, applying theoretical principles. Personally, I’m more of the latter and am happy to have learned the theoretical foundations in order to feel more confident when applying them.

There were countless moments where I considered changing degrees because I felt I wasn’t capable or intelligent enough compared to my peers. Everyone has their own talents and every tough experience eventually passes, just like many other moments in life.  

What’s the most rewarding thing about pursuing STEM?

While it’s a cliché, I think one of the most rewarding things about having pursued an engineering degree is the problem-solving mindset I developed and the structured thinking skills. This can be said for STEM as a whole. This built confidence when tackling new challenges that, frankly, I may know nothing about. Rather than looking at a problem and feeling roadblocked, I dive into researching and applying a solution. For example, I wasn’t the strongest programmer in university. At my first job out of school, I thought a specific process in my role could be automated to make for a more efficient use of time and spent two weeks learning a new language to do just that.

Another rewarding aspect of STEM is the ability to be creative. I think this is a common misconception for STEM-related fields — that they’re not creative — but to find new innovative solutions requires a certain degree of creativity, which can be quite fun! 

Why do you think it’s important to empower women around the world to reach their potential?

Empowering women to reach their potential not only helps individuals, it creates positive impacts in businesses and communities. To me, empowerment involves speaking up and creating support systems. In both scenarios, it’s critical to understand, and more importantly ask, what skills and opportunities women need to help them grow and the best method of implementation. There’s no simple, one-size-fits-all solution.

The post Lauren Howe: From Engineering to Miss Universe — And Back appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Mediaplanet: What advice do you have for young people struggling with self-confidence?

Iskra Lawrence: I would just let them know that they aren’t alone. I think when you feel a lack of confidence it’s important to try and focus on all the amazing things about yourself. Are you creative? Are you a good friend? If you have trouble coming up with things, ask the people around you. It could be something you didn’t even notice about yourself that someone else recognizes and appreciates.

What does self-care mean to you?

Self-care to me means taking a step back and making time to appreciate myself. I know that these days, especially with how connected we all are with social media and work, we can forget to check in with ourselves. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, a part of my self-care is knowing when to ask for help. 

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