Blue Beauty: The latest trend of clean products and eco-responsibility

We tell you all about the Blue Beauty, the new movement that goes even further than the green beauty
Image: Taranova Oxana / shutterstock

You have probably heard a lot about green beauty, now there is Blue Beauty! And while one doesn't replace the other, it's time to integrate this relatively new term into our lexicon. Straight from the United States, the Blue Beauty concept is emerging as the latest trend in terms of eco-responsibility and clean beauty. So what does it mean exactly?

With some brands only recently starting their green revolution, will they now have to double down to take part in a blue revolution? It seems to be increasingly the case, as Blue Beauty is progressively showing up in various spheres. Let's take a look at this new concept, which goes even further than green beauty—already strongly focused on plants, transparency, and reduction of environmental impact—and where it comes from.

What is it?
The last few months have seen a focus on a return to the essential, the authentic, to nature, in the cosmetics industry, with an emphasis on natural ingredients, formulas that are more transparent and easily understood, and less polluting packaging. And as consumers demand more of these criteria from their products, brands have embraced the concept of green beauty, making efforts to reduce their impact on the planet while offering cosmetics that are healthier for the skin. With Blue beauty, brands are going even further by taking concrete actions to preserve the planet and support those who work on the front lines.

While the phenomenon is currently getting a lot of attention, the origins of Blue Beauty go back a few years. It was in 2018 that Jeannie Jarnot, the founder of "healthy beauty"-focused e-commerce site Beauty Heroes, launched an initiative called "Project Blue Beauty," with the support of other big names in the industry including Kapua Browning, founder of the brand  Honua Hawaiian Skincare, in response to a call to commit to preserving the planet and the oceans—hence the name Blue Beauty.

"Inspired by many of the brands and founders we partner with looking to make a positive impact on the environment through their beauty, wellness and lifestyle companies, we launched the Blue Beauty movement," one reads on the official site Beauty Heroes. "Beyond finding ways to wholeheartedly embrace organic and plant-based beauty and minimize our impact on the environment, Blue Beauty brands are finding ways to regenerate, improve and repair it in ways big and small." The statement sets the tone.

Brands taking action for the planet
So it's no longer just about turning to natural ingredients instead of chemical ones and being more transparent to consumers, but about taking action to repair past damage or make sure that we don't do more harm to the environment. The movement sounds somewhat like a way to fight against greenwashing and to encourage brands to act and do more for the preservation of the planet and its oceans.

Brands that have made commitments in this area, whether it be planting trees, collaborating with associations for the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, or working hand in hand with farmers, are considered Blue Beauty brands. But it is also a question of committing to no longer use products that are harmful to these same marine ecosystems, as well as to eliminate packaging, or at least to reduce the presence of plastic that is particularly harmful to the environment as much as possible.

Between 5 and 13 million tons of single-use plastic end up in the oceans every year, according to the latest report from the  Minderoo Foundation.