The beauty industry, including organic skin care and cosmetic companies, are joining the automotive and manufacturing industries in focusing on reducing environmental impact. No longer primarily focusing specifically on the end result, beauty companies are centering on business as a whole, including production, marketing, packaging, and researching ways to service customers while helping the environment. Companies producing green beauty and skin care products hope to make the earth as beautiful and healthy as they make the people who live here.

Green Beauty and Skin Care Products

Companies in the beauty industry who have "gone green" no longer use harsh, unnatural chemicals or resources that are unsustainable in their product lines. Products used to be made using ingredients taken from the environment or produced in a lab without care of the devastating effects of environmental impact. Chemicals that are used in product production and resource accumulation eventually make their way into the water and air supply. These chemicals are then absorbed into people's bodies, many times causing health issues.

With environmental impact in mind, today the beauty industry produces organic skin care products and cosmetics using resources produced by organic farming and renewable processes instead of harvesting ingredients from the depleting environment. The beauty industry now considers the plant population and the plight of endangered species of animals in product production. For example, chemical-based sunblock applied to the skin is absorbed into the body and washed off into water when swimming in natural water sources. Organic skin care products, like Sunsation Sunblock, are not produced with chemicals that can harm people, water sources, or marine life.

Observing Green Business Practices

Thanks to the establishment of green business practices, the beauty industry has changed the way it does business. The Internet and computer technology have helped to eliminate landfill waste by keeping papers, and therefore are empty ink cartridges, out of the trash. The beauty industry now recycles paper, ink cartridges, packing materials, and other production and office materials that used to go straight to a landfill.

Factories and offices are now conserving as much water, energy, and resources as possible. Energy-efficient appliances and machinery work together with new production systems that are more ecologically aware so that companies have a reduction in renewable energy use.

Marketing plans within the beauty industry, including organic skin care and cosmetic production companies, now include ecologically friendly business practices. For example, many companies in the beauty industry now provide media kits, catalogs, and special advertisements online or via e-mail instead of on printed paper. E-mail, web conferencing, and telephone meetings have lessened travel requirements, thereby lessening the use of fossil fuels.

Green Packaging and Shipping

Green business practices have also changed the packaging and shipping methods used in the beauty industry. Excessive, unnecessary product packaging has been eliminated by organic skin care and cosmetic companies through the use of earth friendly recyclable materials. This green business practice serves as a bonus for the beauty industry as this type of packaging not only keeps waste out of landfills, but it increases the amount of shelf space for displaying more products. Green packaging is also smaller, making for less costly, more efficient shipping since more products can be shipped per load. The materials used in shipment packing are also now made of recycled materials.

A vital step toward a successful business today, the beauty industry, including organic skin care and cosmetic companies, are constantly on the lookout for ways to ensure green business practices and to promote an environmentally aware world. If companies and consumers work together to live responsibly on this planet, everyone can rest assured it will be here and healthy for a long time to come.