Eco boost: Five recent developments in sustainable beauty across APAC

1 – Smart and green: How NFC-enabled packaging can help beauty brands aid the environment as well as drive engagement

NFC-enabled packaging can help to minimise the environmental impact of product packaging​, in addition to boosting engagement with consumers, claims a company that has recently worked with Paco Rabanne.

The brand recently unveiled a connected bottle for its Phantom fragrance for men.

The refillable robot-shaped bottle is embedded with an NFC chip. Users can simply tap it with their smartphone and gain access to the Phantom Universe, which houses exclusive content such as interactive filters, personalised playlists, and interactive games.

“Now, it's important for brands to exist somehow within the digital space even though their product is a physical product. They can reach out to spend time with the end-users. Of course, the point is to bring what is meaningful to the users because there is plenty of content available to them,”​ said Giuliana Curro from electronics firm STMicroelectronics, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland and has operations across the world including the US, France, Singapore, and China

2 – Eco Deo: HK’s Coconut Matter takes first steps to achieve circularity with new compostable paper deodorant tube

Hong Kong-based brand Coconut Matter is rolling out a new compostable paper tube​ for its natural deodorants on its quest to become a circular enterprise.

Coconut Matter was founded in 2015 by Diane van Zwanenberg, who left the world of finance to develop a personal care brand as a platform to share sustainable values.

“Our brand is a mission-driven brand… and I have a very simple mission – to convert your bathroom into a plastic-free bathroom,”​ said van Zwanenberg.

The company offers a range of natural personal care products from deodorant to lip and hand balms that come in plastic-free packaging.

3 – ‘A lot to look forward to’: NZ’s Ecostore highlights global eco-initiatives it will undertake in 2022

Kiwi brand Ecostore has underlined the global eco-initiatives​ it will be focusing on next year, including expanding the footprint of its refill stations and reducing its reliance on water in its formulations.

Ecostore is a leading brand in sustainability that offers a range of products from skin and body care, to baby and home care. The company was founded in 1993 by Malcolm and Melanie Rands and had humble beginnings as a mail-order business based in an eco-village in New Zealand’s North Island.

Fast forward to today, Ecostore now operates in more than a dozen markets, including Japan, Korea, China, and Singapore, in addition to its home markets of New Zealand and Australia.

Since its inception and overseas expansion, the company has seen an uptick in consumer adoption of eco-friendly alternatives.

4 – Ready to fly? First insect-based skin oil brand Point68 eyes China and Macau as potential markets

The brand behind a skin oil derived from black soldier fly larvae extract​ is looking to expand into China and Macau following its recent launch in Hong Kong.

Point68 Insect Beauty, is a joint venture between US organic and clean-beauty brand SIBU Sea Berry Therapy, and Asia-based insect industry professional Josh Galt.

There is only a single product, a youth regenerating face oil, which is a luxury face oil formulated to improve skin hydration with cellular healing and rejuvenation.

Galt told CosmeticsDesign-Asia: “We have sold fairly well compared to our initial first-year targets, both through international distributors and direct to consumer online sales.”​

5 – From Tonga to the world: Feniu aiming to elevate Tongan beauty rituals to the world stage

The Tongan-Australian founder of a skin care brand that uses Tongan coconut oil and sandalwood​ is on a mission to introduce T-beauty, or Tongan beauty, to a global audience.

Launched in August 2020, Feniu is an Australian skin care brand that draws on the beauty secrets and culture of the Tongan people.

Founder Mele Feniu Olivetti told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that she conceived Feniu as a platform to showcase Tonga as a producer of high-quality ingredients such as vanilla bean oil and coconut oil.

“Tonga is best known for producing really high-quality agriculture. Never before have these been manufactured in a cosmetics line. It’s my dream to share our resources, our story, our culture and our history with the rest of the world.”​