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MARINE INGREDIENTS
Ocean bloom: A sustainable opportunity
Dr Barbara Olioso - The Green Chemist Consultancy
A recent consumers study by the University of Hull on the topic of fashion shopping habits has revealed they are strongly influenced by globally important issues like sustainability and ethics, leaving celebrity or influencers endorsements only effective on 4% of the people interviewed1
. I believe that this is
because, as the demand for renewable resources increases, many wonder how to face the challenge of meeting this demand without causing additional deforestation or loss of biodiversity. Palm kernel oil is a very efficient source of
renewable commodities and there are some great initiatives to make palm plantations more sustainable. Even the new COSMOS standard, which will be released this year, will require a higher number of palm oil and palm kernel oil derivatives to be of certified sustainable palm oil origin (CSPO). Despite these initiatives and the increasing
number of cosmetic ingredients that are mass balance CSPO, there is still concern among consumers about climate change and the destruction of rain forests, driving ‘palm-oil free’ claims in the marketplace. A new solution to address this environmental concern within the cosmetic industry could come from the oceans rather than a plantation. In fact, the majority of the Earth’s surface (71%) happens to be covered by water, with 68.5% of that total being oceans2 There are already quite a few ingredients
.
tapping into the oceans’ bounty, such as rheology modifiers and actives derived from a wide variety of seaweeds that are sourced in a sustainable way. However, there is some very interesting innovation that could expand
Figure 1: SeaBalance 2000
the formulator’s pallet with new functional seaweed derivatives aligning with consumers’ values, giving elegant textures and unique environmental claims with a powerful impact. In this article I will share the story behind this innovation coming from the oceans.
Problem to opportunity Back in 1492, Christopher Columbus and his crew, while sailing on the Santa Maria in the Sargasso Sea, bumped into a gigantic mass of floating brown sargassum seaweed. This floating ‘forest’ is still there today in the tropical Atlantic area providing a wild habitat for many
marine species, despite being far away from the coast. It is believed to get its nutrients to support its growth from nutrient-rich coastal waters via the Gulf Stream. Because of the increased intensity of farming and the use of fertilisers in South America and their subsequent release into the oceans3
,
the sargassum floating forest has grown exponentially in the last decade or so. The excess growth, once dead, ends up on beaches and shores. This causes quite an impact for sea turtles as they cannot nest there any longer and the atmosphere as it decomposes releasing methane and hydrogen sulfide. Even if not as infamous as carbon dioxide, methane still contributes to global warming in a significant way, as discussed at the COP26 in Glasgow last November4
. This is because
methane has a higher capacity for solar absorption, making it a greenhouse gas (GHG) 28 times stronger than CO2
. Hydrogen sulfide
has a characteristic smell of rotten eggs, spoiling the atmosphere at holiday resorts in Mexico and nearby countries, such as Costa Rica. On top of these emissions, sargassum can also absorb arsenic, meaning that once it decomposes on the shore, arsenic can accumulate over time5 In order to tackle this challenge and find
. Sargassum forms large ‘forests’ of matter in the Sargasso Sea PERSONAL CARE April 2022
a way to change this biomass turning into harmful gases and spoiling the shores habitat, Carbonwave, a public benefit corporation, has come up with the idea of transforming it
www.personalcaremagazine.com
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