Conscious creation: Sigi Skin on how the need to raise its sustainability standards will impact future product development

Sigi Skin debuted in November 2018 with a line of superfood-infused skin care products. The brand transitioned into a fully vegan brand as of February this year.

Recently, the brand launched Idyllic Fields Day-Time Moisturiser, a 100% waterless moisturiser that is described as having a ‘soft souffle texture’.

This is not the brand’s first time launching a waterless product. In 2019, the company launched Dew Potion, a facial essence mist that contains three extracts – chamomile, Aqua 3G and maqui berry – and no fresh water at all.

Founder and managing director Xenia Wong told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that the brand has been working to increase its sustainability standards in order to reduce the impact its business has on the environment.

“More and more consumers are becoming very conscious of how they spend and consume. We are definitely looking at how we can move down a more sustainable path.”​

Hailing from one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, the brand recognises that water scarcity is a pressing issue and is wary of its own water consumption.

Wong said: “Water shortage is a very real problem and will become more apparent in the years to come. As a brand, we want to be mindful of our water consumption and wastage during the production process.”​

At the same time, Wong noted that waterless formulation of Idyllic Fields gave consumers more bang for their buck.

It is formulated with a whopping 71% of colloidal oatmeal extract. Additionally, the formulation also contains troxerutin, polyglutamic acid and matcha extract.

Altogether, they give the moisturiser multi-benefits, including helping to repair the skin’s barrier, retaining moisture, rebalancing the skin microbiome and improving the signs of ageing.

Wong noted that developing multifunctional skin care products was another way the brand was trying to improve its sustainability, as it reduced the need to develop more products overall.

“Sustainability can come from less consumption. We don’t believe in trying to sell our customers three or four different products. We want one product to be able to do more than one thing so it can help more people,” ​said Wong.

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Eco-packaging woes

Wong told us that while the brand has been making the effort to be more environmentally responsible, it was still at the beginning of its journey.

One of the biggest issues the company struggles with is the packaging.

It has previously experimented with biodegradable packaging in its Minis collection, a discovery set with travel-sized products.

The items in the set are made out of biodegradable d2w technology, which accelerates the natural process of oxidation until the product is no longer plastic.

“The technology available with our minis set is quite new and now it's only available in tube form. Most of our packaging are bottles and have pumps. We are continuously looking at new formats to make our products more sustainable in the long run.”​

Wong added that the firm was currently exploring refillable packaging solutions, which she believed would be viable as most of its customers are returning regulars.

However, she highlighted that the company does face several hurdles when it comes to sourcing more sustainable packaging options.

“A lot of this technology is still quite new and many of the bigger conglomerates have signed exclusive deals that make it inaccessible to us. We still have a long way to go. Hopefully in the future we will have more sustainable packaging options and when there are, we will definitely be ready to pick it up.”​

For now, the company intends to look into implementing a recycling programme.