FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS
generally (59%) see a link between the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘natural’, they are not interchangeable terms for personal care products (Figure 4). While ‘natural’ tends to reflect the type of ingredients used in a product, ‘sustainable’ is understood to mean products that are made with eco-friendly (and often, but not always, natural) ingredients that are sourced and packaged in a way that does not harm the environment. ■ The survey also indicated that certifications and proof of origin can help reassure consumers that the ingredients or products they are using are safe for their health and the environment. Related, the desire for science- certified ingredients, although not high, is more prominent in China, followed by Brazil (Figure 5).
Types of ingredients and their functions A key ingredient in many everyday products including personal care products is the surfactant, a generic term describing its function (SURFace ACTive AgeNT). The functionality of a surfactant stems from its hydrophilic/ hydrophobic (‘Water loving/Water hating’) two- in-one chemical structure giving it surface and interfacial activity (Figure 6). This allows it to function in a variety of roles,
for example as an emulsifier (in creams, lotions and sun care products) and as foaming and cleansing agents (in shampoo and bodywash). It can also serve to solubilize water - insoluble hydrophobic ingredients such as essential oils and perfumes. A surfactant is usually made by derivatizing
a long, hydrocarbon chain molecule with a hydrophilic functional group. Common examples are where (A) a long chain alcohol is ethoxylated (to give an alcohol ethoxylate) or sulfated (to give an alcohol sulfate or alcohol ethoxy sulfate), and (B) a linear Alpha Olefin is sulfonated to an Alpha Olefin Sulfonate.
Why bio-based mass balance ingredients? Several companies, including Shell Chemicals, now offer bio-based surfactants and other ingredients that are manufactured using the mass balance approach. A biomass feedstock, such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil, or ethanol from corn, is introduced at the beginning of chemical processing and before the cracker. This feedstock can be co-fed with fossil-feedstocks
39 TABLE 1A: CONSUMER PREFERENCES (‘MUST HAVE’ AND ‘NICE TO HAVE’) FOR DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTES.
Summary (I): Performance quality stands out as a ‘must have’ feature for all markets, followed by nice smell
Great Britain
1. Performance Quality 2. Smells nice
3. Designed to tackle my hair/skin type 4. Natural Ingredients 5. Cheapest / most affordable price
6. Well-known brand / It’s a brand I am loyal to
USA
1. Performance Quality 2. Smells nice
3. Designed to tackle my hair/skin type
4. Well-known brand / It’s a brand I am loyal to
5. Natural Ingredients 6. Nice textures / feels nice Germany
1. Performance Quality 2. Smells nice
3. Natural Ingredients 4. Cheapest / most affordable price 5. Nice textures / feels nice
6. Well-known brand / It’s a brand I am loyal to
Must have Nice to have TABLE 1B: CONSUMER PREFERENCES (‘MUST HAVE’ AND ‘NICE TO HAVE’) FOR DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTES
Summary (II): Natural ingredients and products designed to tackle specific hair / skin type issues are also appreciated
Brazil
1. Performance Quality 2. Smells nice
3. Designed to tackle my hair/skin type
4. Well-known brand / It’s a brand I am loyal to
5. Cheapest / most affordable price 6. Nice textures / feels nice
France
1. Performance Quality 2. Smells nice
3. Natural Ingredients 4. Designed to tackle my hair/skin type 5. Nice textures / feels nice
6. Well-known brand / It’s a brand I am loyal to
China
1. Natural Ingredients 2. Performance Quality
3. Science certified ingredients of formula 4. Eco-friendly, sustainable ingredients 5. Designed to tackle my hair / skin type
6. Well-known brand / It’s a brand I am loyal to
Must have
(naphtha or ethane) into the cracker to make ethylene and other building-block chemicals. The manufactured chemical (e.g. a
long chain olefin, alcohol or a derivative thereof) is built up from this ethylene and is compositionally and functionally identical to the fully petrochemical-based chemical. It can thus be substituted into existing formulations as a drop-in replacement to provide a product that is bio-based and with a lower product carbon footprint (PCF). The key point is that its properties and
performance (e.g. foaming, emulsification, cleansing, biodegradability, etc.) are identical to the petrochemical alternative. Note that
16-29 ■ 30-44 ■ 45 Plus ■ Total ■
I think brands should try to make their personal care products care products more sustainable, even if they cannot make them 100% sustainable and their eco journey is incomplete | % who agree or agree strongly
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Britain Great
The USA
China France Brazil Germany
Figure 3: Consumer views on how brands of products should become more sustainable
www.personalcaremagazine.com
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
What do you associate with sustainable personal care products? Nice to have
this last point addresses the key requirement coming out of the consumer study involving six countries summarised (Table 1A and 1B), namely that performance needs to be maintained. Table 2 shows the advantages of a bio-based
mainstream surfactant made by the mass balance approach (second column) compared to existing mainstream and niche bio-based surfactants. The first column shows petrochemical, mainstream surfactants as a reference. The mass balance approach combines
several of the advantages of current mainstream surfactants (performance and scale) together with those that are niche bio-based (lower PCF). Ingredients that are bio-based and based
59%
56%
Natural
Eco- friendly
Healthy
Quality
Sustainable packaging
Ethical More expensive
Trendy
Figure 4: Consumer association (average over six countries) of the term ‘sustainability’ with other attributes
March 2024 PERSONAL CARE
%
%
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