Mintel: Organic, Eco-Friendly Beauty Products Make a Splash

Beauty Soap "Ethical" beauty products—meaning those that are fair trade, haven't been tested on animals and have environment-friendly attributes—are flooding the market, according to a new study by Mintel. Last year alone, more than 2,800 such products were launched in the U.S.Mintel's Global New Products Database Cosmetic Research found that, in addition to nearly 3,000 ethical cosmetic and beauty products introduced in 2007, more than 1,800 have debuted on store shelves in the first five months of this year."We've been seeing the 'green' movement everywhere," said Taya Tomasello, Mintel's senior beauty analyst. "It's now moving over to beauty and personal care. [Consumers] were asking for it and manufacturers are responding."The most common claim made by marketers of beauty products in the U.S. is that they're cruelty-free. About 1,600 products were introduced with such a claim last year, per Mintel, London.Mintel also found that 35% of American women are influenced by natural ingredients and 12% are influenced by recycled packaging when making a purchasing decision.Products typically carry a combination of claims, such as both organic and natural, or cruelty-free and environment-friendly, said Tomasello. Since the beginning of this year, 200 products were released claiming to have eco-friendly packaging."There also has been a really big boom in organic products between 2006 and 2007," Tomasello said, noting a 200% growth in just beauty and personal care categories (including cosmetics, skincare, haircare, soap, bath and shower products). In that time period, 2,000 products were introduced with the organic claim and about 800 products with the natural claim.Tomasello expects the trend to continue. She said, "So far in 2008, we're already seeing the number of products surpassing last year's."