Beauty & Wellness Briefing: The sustainability roadblocks impacting top brands today

In 1970, more than 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest the industry’s growing environmental impact, including oil spills, air pollution and landfill waste. A whopping 10% of the U.S. population participated, paving the way for April 22 to be recognized as Earth Day.

More than five decades later, Earth Day presents a unique opportunity for brands to celebrate their sustainability wins. However, with shifting consumer values and growing awareness of the industry’s more nuanced eco challenges, it also presents a unique challenge to reach increasingly discerning consumers. 

According to a 2024 survey from Mintel market research company, 77% of U.S. adults agree that it’s the responsibility of brands and retailers to be more environmentally friendly, while 67% believe large-scale initiatives from brands are needed to protect the environment. Meanwhile, a 2023 study found that 73% of consumers familiar with the term “clean beauty” think that eco-friendly claims have become a marketing gimmick for brands. 

In short, consumers’ expectations have grown while becoming increasingly skeptical of flimsy eco claims, known as “greenwashing.”

Last year, Glossy surveyed 12 top beauty and wellness brands to learn about their current sustainability struggles. They included longtime leaders like Tata Harper Skincare and Rahua, as well as buzzy new brands like Ogee, Attitude Oceanly and Ethique.  The survey found that pumps and packaging, educating consumers, regulatory compliance, and supply chain transparency were top concerns plaguing brands. 

But things look a little different this year. Once again, Glossy surveyed more than a dozen brands, including several check-ins from last year, and found shifts in the topics keeping brand leaders up at night today. 

Consumer education

Successfully conveying a brand’s eco wins and industry-wide challenges is still top of mind for many brand leaders Glossy spoke to this year. 

“We need more education around what real sustainability is and more alignment across retailers and partners who are willing to support that kind of work, even if it moves a little slower and is not as simple as a badge,” said Farah Azmi, CEO at Rahua Beauty, which was launched in 2008 and currently sells DTC and through Bluemercury, Detox Market, Macy’s, Amazon and more retailers. 

Rahua’s business model includes fair trade sourcing, which is tough to explain to consumers in just a few seconds online. “We source select ingredients directly with the Amazonian community and work with them directly to preserve their lands. It’s a unique model that’s a completely different rhythm than the one most of the industry runs on, and one that takes time to accomplish and time to educate,” Azmi told Glossy. “When the industry is moving fast and constantly chasing what’s new, it’s hard to hold that line, even when you know it’s the right one.”

Tata Harper, founder of her namesake company, agrees that educating consumers is the brand’s largest challenge, so she’s implemented a variety of certifications to help convey the message to shoppers, including Ecocert. “[Ecocert] evaluates the raw materials used in our formulas to ensure ingredients are derived from renewable resources, manufactured by environmentally friendly processes, free from GMOs and synthetics,” Harper told Glossy. This helps to build trust among consumers. 

Eco-minded packaging availability and cost 

“There are multiple roadblocks when creating sustainable packaging,” said Charlie Bowes-Lyon, co-founder of Wild, a U.K.-based refillable personal care company acquired by Unilever earlier this month. “There are lots of great plastic-free alternatives out there, but because most of them aren’t widely used yet, they can’t be recycled as our recycling plants are not set up for them. This means they still have to be thrown away in the general rubbish bin when technically the material is very much recyclable.” Bowes-Lyon told Glossy that bamboo starch and a new, compostable material called Vivomer are his top picks to replace plastic. 

Cost is also an issue, said Bowes-Lyon. “The price of sustainable materials far exceeds that of plastic, meaning consumers have to pay a premium if they want to shop sustainably,” he said. “The hope is that, as sustainable products become more widespread, this will change.”

“The reality is, truly sustainable packaging options that are recyclable, refillable or biodegradable just aren’t easily accessible, especially at scale,” said Shirley Pinkson-Mañas, co-founder of E.l.f. Beauty-owned Well People and head of education for E.l.f. Beauty. “They often come with high minimum order quantities, long lead times and higher costs, which can be tough for a brand like ours to absorb without compromising our core mission of price accessibility.” One bright spot is FSC-certified paper, which Well People uses for its secondary packaging. “By supporting FSC-certified products, consumers are directly contributing to responsible forest management and sustainable sourcing,” said Pinkson-Mañas. 

Sample packaging is another sore spot, said Tata Harper’s Harper, noting that sampling sachets and mini bottles are “not consistently sustainable.” Samples are also rarely recycled since U.S. recyclers cannot normally accept packaging smaller than 2 inches, according to Pact Collective executive director Carly Snider. 

New extended producer responsibility regulation 

“One of the biggest challenges is inconsistent regulation across states and countries,” said Eric Pressly, founder of Epres hair care, which sells DTC and through Amazon. 

For example, states like California, Oregon and Colorado have implemented Extended Producer Responsibility laws that add packaging requirements for sale in those states. “The [ERP] regulations forcing post-consumer recycled plastics as a percentage of the plastic use is a great idea for the future, though it is greatly challenging for the newer independent brands, as the larger multinational consumer companies, which includes beverages, are buying all this material up, making it less available for smaller companies.” 

Inconsistent recycling infrastructure 

As addressed in last week’s episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, recycling infrastructure is a top pain point for beauty and wellness brands. 

“Infrastructure for recycling and composting beauty packaging just isn’t consistent globally,” said Well People’s Pinkson-Mañas. “That makes it harder not just for us, but for our community, to dispose of products responsibly, even when we’re all trying to do the right thing.” 

“Even when we create highly sustainable packaging, utilize post-consumer materials and ensure clear labeling, the absence of effective systems for sorting, processing and recycling, especially given the variability across states, dramatically curtails our potential impact,” said Greg Starkman, co-founder and CEO of Innersense, an organic hair-care brand that sells at Ulta Beauty, Amazon and DTC. “It can feel discouraging and disheartening to recognize that, despite our best efforts, we remain dependent on a flawed system. This sentiment resonates within our community, as well; individuals are eager to recycle and make environmentally responsible choices, yet they frequently lack access and clear pathways to engage in these practices effectively.”

Gerry Chesser, CEO of Every Man Jack, a men’s grooming product company that sells through Walmart, Target and Amazon, agrees: “Regional differences in recycling infrastructure mean that what’s considered recyclable in one area may end up in landfill in another,” he said. “If it’s complex and inconsistent for us as a brand, it’s understandably even more confusing for the average consumer.”

Cost of sourcing eco-friendly raw materials 

“Making our operations more sustainable and developing genuinely ‘green’ products often comes with a much higher price tag,” said Irene Forte, founder of Irene Forte Skincare, a B Corp-certified business that sells at Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and FRWD. “Unfortunately, while many consumers say they care about sustainability, they are often not willing to pay a premium for it. This means we absorb the additional costs, which reduces our margins and creates financial pressure, especially for a growing business.”

This struggle is also seen in mass brands. “One of the most persistent challenges we face is sourcing premium, plant-based ingredients at scale,” said Every Man Jack’s Chesser. “These alternatives often come at a significantly higher cost, and as a brand committed to accessibility, we’re constantly working to ensure we make the right choices to give our consumer a great value for a premium product.”

Lindsay Dahl, chief impact officer of Ritual Supplements, told Glossy that transparency would increase industry-wide if more brands held suppliers to account. “Ritual publicly shares the supplier name and final place of manufacturing for 100% of our ingredients, a rare level of disclosure in the supplement industry,” she said. “The big problem is that most ingredient suppliers aren’t used to being asked these questions about sourcing, safety, human rights and efficacy. … As more brands ask these challenging questions, suppliers will become increasingly willing to provide this information upfront.”

Executive moves: 

• Lauren Brindley is set to take on the role of Ulta Beauty’s new chief merchandising and digital officer on June 3. She succeeds longtime Ulta Beauty exec Monica Arnaudo, who announced her 2025 retirement in November. Brindley will lead Ulta Beauty’s merchandising, e-commerce, wellness, assortment and marketplace strategies. Brindley previously held the global CEO role for U.K.-based beauty brand Revolution Beauty. Her CV also includes vp roles at Walgreens and Boots where she spent a combined 14 years. 

• Ron Gee has stepped down from his role as the Americas CEO of Japanese beauty conglomerate Shiseido, which owns Drunk Elephant and Nars. Shiseido has struggled with sales, including a double-digit drop for Drunk Elephant. Longtime exec Alberto Noe will serve as interim CEO.
  
• Dana Medema is the new North America president of Revlon. She succeeds Geralyn Breig, who joined the company in 2023 to help transition the firm out of bankruptcy. Medema’s CV includes svp at Philips and vp and gm at Colgate-Palmolive. 

News to know:

• Despite economic turbulence and looming global tariffs, L’Oréal unveiled positive sales results on Thursday for its first quarter of 2025. This includes a 3.5% like-for-like sales growth, reaching $13.3 billion in sales, and growth across all categories. Leaders include the firm’s Luxe category, which includes fragrance and prestige makeup. “[The U.S. was] more challenging than anticipated, while China was slightly better than expected,” said CEO Nicolas Hieronimus in a statement. 

• LVMH has been in the headlines after losing its position as Europe’s largest luxury company to Hermès, which sells high-end makeup, fragrances and leather goods, including the Birkin and Kelly bags. Judged by market capitalization, LVMH slid into second place after disappointing earnings last week. LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Sephora and Tiffany & Co, saw its sales slip 3%. Despite this, a bright spot for the company includes Sephora, which continued to grow in the first quarter across brick-and-mortar.
  
• OG clean beauty brand Juice Beauty, which recently underwent a rebrand, is set to liquidate its assets. The company reportedly plans to “distribute the net liquidation of proceeds to creditors,” per reporting in WWD.
  
• Marketing to mature women continues to be a winning strategy for the beauty industry, with two new noteworthy ambassadors making headlines last week. French actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, best known for her role as Sylvie Grateau in “Emily in Paris,” is the latest face of L’Oréal Paris in France. Also announced last week, Salma Hayek Pinault is the new face of Merz Aesthetics’ Ultherapy Prime treatment, which is performed in medical offices. Leroy-Beaulieu is 61 and Hayek is 58. 

Stat of the week:

Retail media advertising has been the subject of a fair amount of industry buzz, but there are signs that the marketing channel could be heading toward maturation. According to Glossy+ Research’s 2025 CMO Strategies series, 27% of marketers said retail media is one of two marketing channels that took the highest portion of their company’s budget as of the first quarter of 2025, down 4% from the first quarter of 2024. 

In the headlines:

More brands turn to ‘tariff sales’ to drive demand before prices increase. Celebrity makeup artist Vincent Oquendo is launching a beauty talk show. Retailers press pause on new locations as Trump’s tariffs, the economy create uncertainty. A look at the potential of Gen X and baby boomer influencers. Inside the high-stakes world of celebrity beauty brand ambassadors. How much it really costs to market a big product launch.

Listen in: 

Launched in 2021, Pact Collective has quickly become the beauty industry’s leading recycler with 3,300 collection bins in retailers like Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Nordstrom. Executive director Carly Snider joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss the industry’s nuanced recycling challenges and the power of pre-competitive collaboration. 

Need a Glossy recap? 

How the ‘de minimis’ rollback will upend TikTok Shop’s product assortment, increase opportunity for prestige brands. Inside Yves Saint Laurent’s new fragrance strategy. Hermès‘s price hike sets stage for American tourist boom in Europe. How kid-rearing tips are helping Willa Bennett reignite Cosmopolitan and Seventeen. ‘Let’s get absurd’: Why some brands are leaning into tariff price increases.