According to James Yang, the company’s market development manager, although the green concept remains very much a niche aspect, it is rapidly growing in importance as awareness of environmental issues continues to grow in China.
Green formulation stems from greater environmental awareness
“We believe, and indeed, are seeing, that interest in all things green is growing in China as companies begin to realize that marketing more environmental products can give added credibility,” said Yang, who spoke to Cosmetics Design at the recent PCHi event, in Guangzhou, China.
“As a global company, Purac developed a green strategy many years ago, but it is only now that we are starting to see it take off in China, as this awareness in the environment continues to flourish.”
Last year the company launched Purasal at in-cosmetics Barcelona, an ingredient that is marketed on the strength of its superior hydration capabilities for both hair and skin car formulations.
Marketing ingredients on the strength of green credentials
However, the company also claims that it has extremely green credentials, not only because it is produced from plant extracts, but also because it is made from the same bio-based fermentation process that all new products in its portfolio are made from.
Not only is this process said to use less energy in the production process, but it also means that the portfolio of ingredients is biodegradable.
“We have now decided to officially launch Purasal in China at the PCHi event because we believe this ingredient fits in with this trend for greener formulations in the country and that this is now the right time,” said Yang.
“In Europe, the move towards green formulations began around 20 years ago, but now, due to obvious issues about air quality and pollution, China is starting to move this way. This trend is being driven both by consumers and government regulation, which is forcing industry to go green.”
Ecocert logo resonates with formulators in China
Yang also mentioned the fact that Ecocert is growing in importance in China, and that formulators in the country are increasingly recognizing the value it brings.
“Technically all the production in our new portfolio are capable of fulfilling Ecocert requirements. Although the expense of fulfilling Ecocert is not always viable with respect to cost, we are definitely noticing that formulators in the country prefer to have the logo on their products.”