美容產業的最大問題：美了自己，丑了環境
LINDSEY TRAMUTA
2021-12-27
盡管時尚產業的陰暗面已經在全世界范圍內引起了熱議，但它并不是如今唯一因對環境有害而面臨嚴格審查的產業。重度依賴塑料、制作標準不透明的美容產業，就是全球污染的另一大“禍首”。
自從1950年塑料產量飆升以來，全球只有9%的塑料得到了回收。每年生產用于美容產業的塑料包裝超過1200億個，不僅絕大多數的個人護理和美容產品最終都被扔進了垃圾填埋場，而且那些微塑料——直徑小于5毫米的塑料碎片——在海洋（準確來說，高達1400萬噸）、飲用水和食物中幾乎無處不在。
聯合利華和歐萊雅等全球性個人護理企業集團認為，有必要徹底更換產品包裝以解決這一問題，并簽署了“美國塑料公約”。這是一項致力于將政府機構、非政府組織和各品牌納入艾倫·麥克阿瑟基金會創建的全球塑料公約網絡之中的環保倡議項目。根據項目目標，截至2025年，歐萊雅集團將努力確保其塑料包裝100%可重復使用、可回收或可堆肥，并承諾將采取行動有效回收或堆肥50%的塑料包裝。
問題在于：國際消除持久性有機污染物網絡（IPEN）本月公開的兩項最新研究結果表明，只關注塑料垃圾不夠，還要關注其背后更廣泛的后果。據研究，塑料含“有毒化學添加劑和污染物，對人類和環境構成多重健康威脅。在健康方面，可能會引發癌癥、改變荷爾蒙活動（即內分泌紊亂）。內分泌紊亂則會導致生殖、生長或認知障礙。”最關鍵的是，因含有化學添加劑，所以塑料并不適合重復利用，這也使得塑料循環經濟的概念徹底淪為空談。
大型企業紛紛開始重新考量已根深蒂固的生產模式，IPEN之類的組織也正致力于敦促化工及塑料制造商停止使用有毒添加劑，在此環境下，規模較小、靈活性較高、堅持可持續發展、遵守道德標準的品牌反而能夠先行一步。
舉個例子：剛成立4年的法國美妝品牌La Bouche Rouge，無論是其配方還是包裝，都不含石化衍生物、硅酮和微塑料。該品牌不使用動物實驗，起初只生產口紅，后來又逐步推出了睫毛膏、眼線、眼影和配飾，均為可替換包裝。包裝材料為回收再利用的金屬和法國著名制革廠Tanneries du Puy再加工的皮革，或是斯特拉·麥卡特尼用回收的纖維材料做的人造皮革制成。
有了第一個孩子后，創始人尼古拉斯·格里耶就萌生出了自創品牌的想法。在準備重返工作崗位的時候，他對自己工作的正確性產生了懷疑。之前的許多年里，他在歐萊雅集團努力工作，努力往上爬，可突然間，這份工作就失去了意義。“雖然對當時的我來說非常顯而易見，但其實不只是可持續性的問題。重點是意義和價值；我覺得那份工作完全不具有意義和價值。”
格里耶明白，這是一個重大的決定。首先，他還是想去真正地感受所謂的“綠色美妝”。他果斷辭去倫敦歐萊雅集團穩定且高薪的工作，加入了法國植物護發先鋒企業Phyto。可沒過多久他就發現，雖然該品牌的配方確實綠色環保，但其生產過程和供應鏈卻并非如此。
幾年前，法國美妝品牌La Bouche Rouge推出了一款口紅，其成分和包裝都不含微塑料。圖片來源：La Bouche Rouge
格里耶同意幫助快時尚服裝品牌Kookai向綠色成衣品牌轉型，對意義的探索仍在繼續。“我覺得那是個有趣的嘗試。但在我參與項目的一年半時間里，它的母公司破產了，所以計劃都夭折在了襁褓之中。”他解釋說，“我希望自己的價值觀能與職業生活同向而行，但這似乎并不是能與社會兼容的模式。”
換句話說，格里耶想要創造一個屬于自己的項目，一個能夠堅決捍衛其道德標準的項目。在建立La Bouche Rouge的過程中，響起了一陣跨越國際的警鈴：中國開始拒絕接收西方的垃圾，十萬火急之下，塑料問題終于引發了公眾的熱議。格里耶十分了解美妝業務，并決定以此為突破口。
格里耶選擇從口紅開始：“我們每年都要扔掉10億支口紅，還有4億個一次性硅膠模具。用模具只是為了在口紅膏體上印上品牌標示，用過一次就會出現磨損。這些都是不能回收的東西。”
口紅的市場發展前景極好，而且它也是一種關注度極高的大眾奢侈品，在社交媒體上尤其明顯。憑借著有力的宣言、獨特的外觀和官網上詳細列出的黑名單成分，La Bouche Rouge一炮而紅，成為了法國首個環保奢侈品品牌。作為明星產品，這款口紅的售價為45美元（皮質外殼單賣，售價80美元），確實比普通口紅貴，但和迪奧、紀梵希等在世界各地化妝品專柜稱王稱霸的高檔品牌相比，還是比較合算的，而且還更環保。格里耶說：“我想打造出更適合21世紀需求的追求風向。”
也就是說，口紅的成分均需采用無污染加工的方式。該品牌建立了專用實驗室，使用精華配方，富含從法國圣敘利阿克人工采集的抗衰老海藻，無動物成分（不含蜂蠟）。格里耶說：“我們用了兩年時間做研發。隨著涂抹時間的延長，常規口紅中含有的各種成分就會對嘴唇造成傷害，所以我想研發出一種‘治愈系’口紅。布列塔尼的海藻具有修復效果，且在含量很高的情況下，也不會導致口紅變形。”不僅如此，個性化刻字和飾樣也是該品牌的獨特優勢。
因為在塑料和無毒成分方面的強硬態度，格里耶順理成章地成為了“藍色之美”運動的有力擁護者。這項新運動呼吁在成分選擇、生產、包裝和分銷過程均使用無毒產品，以減輕對人類健康的危害和對海洋的影響。
捍衛這一立場，就意味著把很多推廣機會攔在了門外。四年前，來自中國SKP的買手找上門來，提出要將La Bouche Rouge引入中國市場。他沒有答應。他回憶說：“他們要求進行動物試驗。而我不會改變品牌形象，也不會違背自己的價值觀。”三年后，買手們再次與他聯系，并取消了試驗要求，La Bouche Rouge及其負責任的法式優雅形象將直接成為SKP的一員。“我的態度好像讓他們很驚訝。”格里耶表示，“應該很少會有人對他們的動物試驗政策說‘不’。”
雖然，解決全球塑料危機可能沒有靈丹妙藥，但格里耶堅持認為，各品牌應該行動起來，為實現這一目標而努力：“不只是和口紅或睫毛膏有關。我們要問問自己，怎樣才能在保證自身發展的情況下，讓消費者的日常生活變得更美好。”
譯者：殷圓圓
盡管時尚產業的陰暗面已經在全世界范圍內引起了熱議，但它并不是如今唯一因對環境有害而面臨嚴格審查的產業。重度依賴塑料、制作標準不透明的美容產業，就是全球污染的另一大“禍首”。
自從1950年塑料產量飆升以來，全球只有9%的塑料得到了回收。每年生產用于美容產業的塑料包裝超過1200億個，不僅絕大多數的個人護理和美容產品最終都被扔進了垃圾填埋場，而且那些微塑料——直徑小于5毫米的塑料碎片——在海洋（準確來說，高達1400萬噸）、飲用水和食物中幾乎無處不在。
聯合利華和歐萊雅等全球性個人護理企業集團認為，有必要徹底更換產品包裝以解決這一問題，并簽署了“美國塑料公約”。這是一項致力于將政府機構、非政府組織和各品牌納入艾倫·麥克阿瑟基金會創建的全球塑料公約網絡之中的環保倡議項目。根據項目目標，截至2025年，歐萊雅集團將努力確保其塑料包裝100%可重復使用、可回收或可堆肥，并承諾將采取行動有效回收或堆肥50%的塑料包裝。
問題在于：國際消除持久性有機污染物網絡（IPEN）本月公開的兩項最新研究結果表明，只關注塑料垃圾不夠，還要關注其背后更廣泛的后果。據研究，塑料含“有毒化學添加劑和污染物，對人類和環境構成多重健康威脅。在健康方面，可能會引發癌癥、改變荷爾蒙活動（即內分泌紊亂）。內分泌紊亂則會導致生殖、生長或認知障礙。”最關鍵的是，因含有化學添加劑，所以塑料并不適合重復利用，這也使得塑料循環經濟的概念徹底淪為空談。
大型企業紛紛開始重新考量已根深蒂固的生產模式，IPEN之類的組織也正致力于敦促化工及塑料制造商停止使用有毒添加劑，在此環境下，規模較小、靈活性較高、堅持可持續發展、遵守道德標準的品牌反而能夠先行一步。
舉個例子：剛成立4年的法國美妝品牌La Bouche Rouge，無論是其配方還是包裝，都不含石化衍生物、硅酮和微塑料。該品牌不使用動物實驗，起初只生產口紅，后來又逐步推出了睫毛膏、眼線、眼影和配飾，均為可替換包裝。包裝材料為回收再利用的金屬和法國著名制革廠Tanneries du Puy再加工的皮革，或是斯特拉·麥卡特尼用回收的纖維材料做的人造皮革制成。
有了第一個孩子后，創始人尼古拉斯·格里耶就萌生出了自創品牌的想法。在準備重返工作崗位的時候，他對自己工作的正確性產生了懷疑。之前的許多年里，他在歐萊雅集團努力工作，努力往上爬，可突然間，這份工作就失去了意義。“雖然對當時的我來說非常顯而易見，但其實不只是可持續性的問題。重點是意義和價值；我覺得那份工作完全不具有意義和價值。”
格里耶明白，這是一個重大的決定。首先，他還是想去真正地感受所謂的“綠色美妝”。他果斷辭去倫敦歐萊雅集團穩定且高薪的工作，加入了法國植物護發先鋒企業Phyto。可沒過多久他就發現，雖然該品牌的配方確實綠色環保，但其生產過程和供應鏈卻并非如此。
格里耶同意幫助快時尚服裝品牌Kookai向綠色成衣品牌轉型，對意義的探索仍在繼續。“我覺得那是個有趣的嘗試。但在我參與項目的一年半時間里，它的母公司破產了，所以計劃都夭折在了襁褓之中。”他解釋說，“我希望自己的價值觀能與職業生活同向而行，但這似乎并不是能與社會兼容的模式。”
換句話說，格里耶想要創造一個屬于自己的項目，一個能夠堅決捍衛其道德標準的項目。在建立La Bouche Rouge的過程中，響起了一陣跨越國際的警鈴：中國開始拒絕接收西方的垃圾，十萬火急之下，塑料問題終于引發了公眾的熱議。格里耶十分了解美妝業務，并決定以此為突破口。
格里耶選擇從口紅開始：“我們每年都要扔掉10億支口紅，還有4億個一次性硅膠模具。用模具只是為了在口紅膏體上印上品牌標示，用過一次就會出現磨損。這些都是不能回收的東西。”
口紅的市場發展前景極好，而且它也是一種關注度極高的大眾奢侈品，在社交媒體上尤其明顯。憑借著有力的宣言、獨特的外觀和官網上詳細列出的黑名單成分，La Bouche Rouge一炮而紅，成為了法國首個環保奢侈品品牌。作為明星產品，這款口紅的售價為45美元（皮質外殼單賣，售價80美元），確實比普通口紅貴，但和迪奧、紀梵希等在世界各地化妝品專柜稱王稱霸的高檔品牌相比，還是比較合算的，而且還更環保。格里耶說：“我想打造出更適合21世紀需求的追求風向。”
也就是說，口紅的成分均需采用無污染加工的方式。該品牌建立了專用實驗室，使用精華配方，富含從法國圣敘利阿克人工采集的抗衰老海藻，無動物成分（不含蜂蠟）。格里耶說：“我們用了兩年時間做研發。隨著涂抹時間的延長，常規口紅中含有的各種成分就會對嘴唇造成傷害，所以我想研發出一種‘治愈系’口紅。布列塔尼的海藻具有修復效果，且在含量很高的情況下，也不會導致口紅變形。”不僅如此，個性化刻字和飾樣也是該品牌的獨特優勢。
因為在塑料和無毒成分方面的強硬態度，格里耶順理成章地成為了“藍色之美”運動的有力擁護者。這項新運動呼吁在成分選擇、生產、包裝和分銷過程均使用無毒產品，以減輕對人類健康的危害和對海洋的影響。
捍衛這一立場，就意味著把很多推廣機會攔在了門外。四年前，來自中國SKP的買手找上門來，提出要將La Bouche Rouge引入中國市場。他沒有答應。他回憶說：“他們要求進行動物試驗。而我不會改變品牌形象，也不會違背自己的價值觀。”三年后，買手們再次與他聯系，并取消了試驗要求，La Bouche Rouge及其負責任的法式優雅形象將直接成為SKP的一員。“我的態度好像讓他們很驚訝。”格里耶表示，“應該很少會有人對他們的動物試驗政策說‘不’。”
雖然，解決全球塑料危機可能沒有靈丹妙藥，但格里耶堅持認為，各品牌應該行動起來，為實現這一目標而努力：“不只是和口紅或睫毛膏有關。我們要問問自己，怎樣才能在保證自身發展的情況下，讓消費者的日常生活變得更美好。”
譯者：殷圓圓
As much as the world talks about the dark side of fashion, it isn’t the only industry facing intense scrutiny over its harmful impact on the environment today. The beauty business, with its heavy reliance on plastics and murky transparency practices, is another global polluter.
Since 1950, the beginning of large-scale plastic production, only 9% of the world’s plastic has been recycled. With an industry that generates more than 120 billion units of packaging every year, not only do most personal care and beauty products end up in landfills, their microplastics—fragments which break down into pieces smaller than five millimeters in diameter—are clogging up our oceans (14 million tons to be precise), our drinking water, and our food supply.
Some global personal care conglomerates such as Unilever and L’Oréal know they need to overhaul their packaging design to be part of the solution and have joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative effort bringing together government agencies, NGOs, and brands within the Ellen MacArthur Foundation global Plastics Pact network. As part of the pact, the L’Oréal Group is working toward a 2025 goal of making all of its plastic packaging 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable and committing to recycling or composting 50% of plastic packaging, among other objectives.
But here’s the rub: Two new studies published this month by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) demonstrate that it’s not enough to focus on the waste created by plastics but their broader consequences. The studies reveal “the presence of toxic chemical additives and pollutants that pose multiple health threats to humans and the environment. The health effects include causing cancer or changing hormone activity (known as endocrine disruption), which can lead to reproductive, growth, and cognitive impairment.” What’s more, the chemical additives in plastics make them unfit for reuse, turning the idea of a circular economy for plastics into little more than an empty promise.
While big companies scramble to rethink their deeply embedded production models and organizations such as IPEN push chemical and plastics manufacturers to ban the use of toxic additives, smaller, more nimble brands designed to be sustainable and ethical have a chance to lead the way forward.
One such promising example is La Bouche Rouge, a four-year-old French makeup line that is free of petrochemical derivatives, silicones, and microplastics both in its formula and packaging. The cruelty-free line, which began with a single lipstick and expanded to include mascara, liners, eyeshadow, and accessories, come in refillable cases made from recycled metal and either upcycled leather from France’s renowned Tanneries du Puy or a vegan leather made from a recycled fiber material created by Stella McCartney.
The genesis of the idea came gradually to founder Nicolas Gerlier after having his first child and feeling overcome with self-doubt about his profession as he prepared to return to work. He had spent the bulk of his career rising up the ladder at L’Oréal until suddenly, the work no longer made sense. “It wasn’t just a question of sustainability, although that was certainly an obvious issue to me then. It was about meaning and values; it felt like what I was doing was completely devoid of it.”
Gerlier knew he’d have to make a big move, but first wanted to get “green beauty” experience. He turned down the stability and high salary of a job with L’Oréal in London to head up Phyto, France’s pioneering vegetal hair care brand but quickly discovered that while it was honorably green in its formula, its production and supply chain were not.
The search for meaning continued when Gerlier agreed to help transform Kookai from fast-fashion to green ready-to-wear. “I thought it would be an interesting opportunity. But in the year and a half I worked on the project, the holding company went belly up, and everything ended without launching,” he explained. “I wanted to align my personal values with my professional life, but society didn’t seem set up to accommodate that.”
In other words, Gerlier needed to create a project of his own with an ethical foundation he could defend through and through. His journey to create La Bouche Rouge coincided with a global wake-up call: China had begun refusing the West’s waste, and plastics were finally being discussed with greater urgency. Well-versed in the cosmetics business, Gerlier knew that’s where there was room to focus his attention.
“One billion tubes of lipstick are thrown out every year as well as 400 million single-use silicone molds used to print a logo on a stick that will wear off after application. These are all things that can’t be recycled,” Gerlier said of his decision to begin with lipstick.
It also happens to be part of an ever-growing market and an extremely visible everyday luxury, particularly on social media. With a strong manifesto, striking images, and a detailed list on its website of blacklisted ingredients, La Bouche Rouge was able to make a big splash, quickly positioning itself as France’s first eco-responsible luxury line. At $45 for the lipstick (plus $80 for the leather tube), the star product is certainly more expensive than mass-market lipsticks, but less expensive than the premium labels that dominate beauty counters around the world, from Dior to Givenchy—with the added benefit of being safe for the environment. “The idea was to re-create a desire that’s fit for the 21st century,” Gerlier said.
That also means the composition of the lipsticks needed a clean treatment. Produced in the brand’s dedicated lab, the lipsticks are, in fact, serum formulas, enriched with an antiaging seaweed harvested by hand in St. Suliac, France, and completely vegan (no beeswax). “It took us two years to develop. Lipsticks are full of things that can damage the lips over time, so I wanted a treatment-style product. The seaweed from Brittany is repairing and very rich without deforming the stick,” said Gerlier. Something else clients can’t get from the competitors: made-to-measure shades with a personalized name and finish.
With his hard-line stance on plastics and toxic-free ingredients, Gerlier has become a vocal champion of blue beauty, a newer movement that promotes nontoxic products both in composition, production, packaging, and distribution to limit the danger to human health and the impact on our oceans.
Defending this position has also meant potentially turning down handsome distribution opportunities. Four years ago, buyers from China’s SKP came to meet Gerlier and offered him a chance to enter the Chinese market with La Bouche Rouge. He turned them down. “They required animal testing. I wasn’t going to change the face of the brand and go against my values,” he recalled. Three years later, the buyers returned and lifted the testing requirement so that La Bouche Rouge, and its responsible vision of elegance à la fran?aise, could be added to the mix at SKP. “I seemed to have surprised them!” Gerlier noted. “I guess few have tried to go against their animal testing policies.”
While there may be no silver bullet to solving the world’s plastic crisis, Gerlier insists that it’s up to brands to do what it takes to be part of the solution: “It’s not just about lipstick or mascara. It’s about asking ourselves how we can make everyday life a little bit brighter for consumers without destroying our own future.”
