Sustainable sourcing tops Asian Cosmetics Summit agenda

Ethical sourcing and biodiversity will be featured in the 3rd Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit (www.sustainablecosmeticssummit.com/Asia), hosted in Hong Kongon 11-13^th November. By casting the spotlight on the environmental impact of cosmetic ingredients, the summit aims to raise awareness and encourage sustainable sourcing in the region.

Rapid economic development and industrialisation have had a heavy toll on Asian ecosystems.Asiahas lost 95% of its primary, uncut forests, whilst individual countries have lost 70-90% of their natural habitats. Although the region has become an international source of cosmetic ingredients, the ecological price has been high. Production of palm oil - a ubiquitous ingredient in personal care products - has been directly responsible for the destruction of rainforests in South-East Asia, putting many animal and plant species to near extinction. Many cosmetic ingredients are produced inAsiaby expanding agricultural frontiers to virgin terrain.

At this year’s Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, speakers will give best-practices in raw material ethical sourcing, showing how economic and ecological development can be intertwined. The use of biodiversity charters and sourcing programmes will also be debated. Novel green ingredients, especially those originating from Asia, will also be featured, and the healing properties of ayurvedic ingredients like neem and amla in cosmetic products will be highlighted. Another paper looks at the use of traditional Chinese herbs in modern skincare products. Other topics include marine ingredients, emerging natural actives, and sustainable processing methods.

Although the cosmetics industry has become global, divisions are occurring in terms of regulations and standards. Most fragmentation is occurring inAsiawhere major country markets have different interpretations of cosmetic products. For the first time, the summit will give an update on the legislative framework for cosmetic products in Europe, theUSand Asian countries. Details will be given of new EU regulations, which are increasingly perceived as a barrier to market entry by non-European brands. Other papers will look at the mushrooming of green standards, such as natural, organic, fair trade, and green spa.

The 3-day programme ends with two interactive workshops. A technical workshop will tackle the formulation issues associated with natural and organic cosmetics. A marketing workshop will highlight the opportunities provided to cosmetic brands by social media and digital marketing. Conducted by David Liem, founder of Happy Marketer, the workshop will show how social media can be used to provide transparency and authenticity to increasingly discerning consumers.

About the Sustainable CosmeticsSummit

The aim of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit is to encourage sustainability in the beauty industry by bringing together key stake-holders and debate major sustainability issues in a high-level forum. The 3rd Asia-Pacific edition will take place inHong Kongon 11-13^th November. More information is available from

http://www.sustainablecosmeticssummit.com/Asia/iFashion & Celebrity News