Why 'Natural' Ingredients are Not Always Environmentally Friendly

The "all-natural" trend was born from concerns that the new generation of beauty lovers have for the environment. The cosmetics industry aims to honor beauty but contributes to global waste from plastic bottles and chemicals in production. Studies show that this is not safe for health. Therefore, Gen-Z shoppers have started to gravitate to products derived from nature to slow down the negative effects of the industry.

No one can deny the effectiveness or safety of products made with natural ingredients. However, if you only look at the sticker for assurance, your path to becoming a responsible consumer is far from finished. The cosmetics industry has always prioritized luxury. Everything you see and use has been cleverly "beautified" so that the story is always as inspiring as possible.

Unfortunately, the behind-the-scenes story of these meaningful beauty messages does not always have a happy ending. Beauty with natural ingredients is not bad, but the exploitation of those materials still has many shortcomings, and can even harm its original noble purpose.

First, the Earth's resources are finite, and exploiting them without accompanying conservation and development measures only exacerbates the existing exhaustion. Not only that, the cultivation and collection of rare plants can increase the risk of disrupting fragile ecosystems, not to mention creating a safety risk for those who harvest them. This is the case with prickly pear in Arizona or Morocco, vanilla in Madagascar, and frankincense in Somalia. Although these plants have high commercial and beauty value, they always have potential threats to the environment as well as dangers to the harvesters if they are not carefully and sustainably harvested.

This is why some brands have chosen to use biotechnology to create compounds that "mimic" these natural ingredients. In some cases, they are a safe and sustainable solution for both the user and the environment. Therefore, it's important to take a better look at ingredients that are synthesized in the laboratory. Not everything "artificial" is necessarily bad. On the contrary, organic chemistry has been able to develop compounds that not only have identical molecules in nature but even provide them with a stable environment for their full use.

Instead, be a smart consumer by reading and understanding the labels of the products you use and supporting brands that are transparent in their production. This will allow you to make more conscious choices with your purchases.