MARINE INGREDIENTS 65
have a positive impact on the ecology and communities in the areas they source their ingredients. It is their intention to enable red seaweed producers and their communities to achieve better incomes and living standards in a way that will accelerate progress towards a sustainable and transparent global red seaweed supply chain by focusing Cargill’s investments and efforts across four areas: empower seaweed producers; improve production and harvesting practices; support communities; create partnerships with suppliers and industry organisations. The result would be a thriving red seaweed sector for generations to come.
At in-cosmetics Asia, we spoke with Stéphane Lacoutiere, global marketing director, Cargill Beauty, who revealed to us the full scope of the Red Seaweed Promise: “The Red Seaweed Promise is a specific programme we have at Cargill, which supports the fact we have a sustainable sourcing for our carrageenan texturisers. What is important to understand is that red seaweed means smallholders. So behind, for instance, 10 tonnes of pure carrageenan there will be up to 100 seaweed producers. Like most supply chains, it is complex and multifaceted, with a lot of challenges to overcome at the smallholder level and also regarding transparency and traceability. “So we have developed this red seaweed
programme, addressing the key challenges for farmers of red seaweed, which are very different challenges to those of other farmers. We are talking about remoteness, poverty, tropical regions – so we are working very hard with our local suppliers to ensure we have the right KPIs to support these specific challenges. And because there was no standard available, we had to create one to allow us to measure the progress we make on a yearly basis. “The one key target of the Seaweed
Promise is to improve the lives of the seaweed producers and their communities. And by doing this we also secure a long-term supply
chain in terms of quality, availability and also price for our customers. “So, the main goals are: empowering seaweed producers; training them, coaching them, bringing them the right tools to improve yield and quality of the seaweed; we support the communities for example by providing access to clean water or education for the children. We are also doing a lot to improve production and harvesting practices. An example of this is the introduction of drying tables for the seaweed producers, which is a great improvement to the previous method of drying the seaweed on the ground. Also, previously when harvesting the seaweed, people were in the water. Now Cargill have provided boats to ease the harvesting and the transportation of the seaweed. These are actions that really support the local communities and creating strong partnerships with our suppliers.”
Sustainable marine actives Seaweed is just one of many sources of marine-derived ingredients in the personal care industry. Increasingly, active ingredient manufacturers are looking to the sea for inspiration, thanks to the enormous range of chemical compounds formed in this nutrient- rich environment. French natural ingredient company,
Natura-Tec, is part of the APG Group, which has in place its B.E.S.T. Strategy Protocol (‘Beautiful Earth Sustainable Technology’), ensuring that the company’s mission to focus on development of renewable, eco-friendly and ethical manufacturing products and technologies, aimed at offering innovation and best value for sustainable industrial, social and economic growth, is accomplished. Natura-Tec’s focus on renewable natural
ingredients, vegetable alternatives to synthetic materials and marine derivatives can also contribute to environmental protection and the ingredients are obtained via sustainable technologies. The group’s Microalgae Biotechnology centre employs
a waste and CO2 recycling process
combined with a self-sufficient energy policy for the manufacture of renewable biomass, and this was instrumental in the development of actives such as Natura- Tec’s Marine CellShield AP. This ingredient was produced using Natura-Tec’s patented closed circuit low carbon footprint photobioreactor technology which ensures consistent quality and purity combined with environmental compliance and minimal carbon footprint. Natura-Tec Marine CellShield AP offers a global protection concept and efficacy to help formulators develop cosmetics that can help combat the adverse effects of environmental stress and skin exposure to the elements. The APG Group has also acquired capital shares in Microphyt SA, a marine biotechnology company located in Montpellier, France. This will help develop further synergies regarding microalgae research and manufacturing technology thanks to its advanced projects in novel food and nutritional applications.
Conclusion
It is clear that the industry is taking the sustainability of the marine environment very seriously, but there are words of caution from some companies regarding the issue of ‘greenwashing’. As discussed, the problem of microplastics has been taken on board by consumers, which although positive, does leave them exposed to insincere and misleading use of ‘eco’ terminology. Stephen Cotton, commercial director at Ronald Britton, the manufacturers of plastic- free glitter, Bioglitter Pure said: “Greenwashing is a frustrating and major issue for us. We know of a number of glitter products and glitter sellers targeting the festivals market who are making misleading and dishonest claims about the eco credentials of their products, when in fact the raw material in some cases is simply plastic glitter.”
Bleached coral on the reef. April 2020
Sophie Awdry from Eco Glitter Fun backed up the sentiment: “Being a complex subject there is a good deal of greenwashing occurring. There are a lot of companies claiming their glitter is biodegradable, but biodegradable is just a word and doesn’t actually mean anything, unless qualified in terms of how much biodegrades, over how long, and in what conditions. If it takes 100 years to biodegrade, if just one small part of the product biodegrades or it needs composting conditions, then it’s not eco- friendly in terms the natural environment.” As with many aspects of naturalness and sustainability in consumer products, there is still a way to go in terms of creating a consensus on what specific terms mean in order to generate clarity in the minds of the people who buy the products.
PC PERSONAL CARE EUROPE
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