Taking place this week in New York City (June 4-6), the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit - North America edition draws industry leaders, innovators, and visionaries to discuss the future of sustainability in cosmetics and personal care products. Among the keynote speakers is Connie Norton, a Specialist on the Lush North America Sustainability team, who will deliver a speech titled "Building a Sustainable Tomorrow." Her role involves ensuring that Lush's sustainability efforts extend throughout its value chain, from sourcing to logistics.
In an interview with CosmeticsDesign, Norton provided insights into her upcoming keynote presentation, including Lush's innovative approaches towards sustainability and the company's commitment to ethical practices.
Preview of the "Building a Sustainable Tomorrow" keynote
Norton explained that her upcoming keynote speech will delve into the culture of sustainability at Lush. "We will focus on how we’ve grown a Lush culture that can support a sustainable tomorrow," she shared. Lush aims to embed sustainability in all business areas, inspiring both the workforce and customers to be changemakers, she added, which "is critical to, as we say, leave the world Lusher than we found it."
Balancing innovation with ethical product standards
One of the core values at Lush is maintaining high ethical standards while fostering innovation, which will be discussed in Norton's keynote speech. "The Lush founders, who are still creating products today, and product inventors always have our values at heart, and in mind," she shared, as "our ethics have always been ingrained in the creative process; and have evolved along with it."
This commitment translates into products that are "fresh, handmade, vegetarian, often naked (without primary packaging), contain ethically sourced ingredients, and are not tested on animals," she explained. For example, Norton highlighted that Lush's "inventors have worked to invent and reformulate 84% of Lush products to be self-preserving – without synthetic preservatives." This move not only "protects the natural skin microbiome, but also benefits the environment," she said.
Further, she added, "reformulating with higher quantities of oils, butters, clays, and other ingredients that benefit the skin presents the added opportunity and responsibility to ensure those materials are ethically sourced...for example, from local suppliers or grown using regenerative practices." While "this process of formulating/reformulating and sourcing the right ingredients to supply different markets takes time to perfect," Norton stated, it is essential to Lush's dedication to sustainable practices.
Exciting projects and initiatives
Lush is continuously working on insetting and improvement projects with its supply chain partners, Norton continued. "The ongoing insetting or improvements projects we have with partners in our supply chain are really exciting, and critical from an impact perspective," she said.
These projects prioritize significant emissions reductions, regeneration, and community livelihoods. For example, she illustrated, Lush's Ethical Buying teams collaborate with suppliers to implement regenerative agriculture practices, enhance agroforestry systems, and support local restoration and conservation efforts. "Growing and sustaining this work in the supply chain, through our Ethical Buying teams, is inspirational," she emphasized.
Engaging customers in sustainability efforts
"It’s been said that Lush is like a campaigning organization fronted by a soap shop," said Norton, and Lush's commitment to sustainability extends beyond its products to actively engaging with customers on ethical issues.
The company empowers customers to take action and connects them with grassroots organizations, and specific examples of these efforts will be highlighted in her keynote speech. "I think it’s truly unique how passionate and dedicated Lush is to campaigning, and it makes me proud to work here," she expressed.
Embracing a greener future
The Sustainable Cosmetics Summit promises to be an inspiring event for cosmetics and personal care product manufacturers and suppliers. With speakers like Connie Norton sharing insights into Lush's sustainability journey, attendees can look forward to learning about innovative practices and initiatives that are shaping the future of the industry.
As Lush continues to lead by example, the summit serves as a platform to promote a greener, more ethical future for cosmetics and personal care products. For more information and to register, visit https://sustainablecosmeticssummit.com/Namerica/.
