Fair Trade sales soar in Australia and New Zealand
Clarins, , and Pure Fiji are just a handful of the cosmetic companies who now use Fair Trade ingredients in their products. Basically, the aim of such projects is to protect workers and communities in developing countries from being exploited and to guarantee that they receive a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. Promoting the financial independence of women in some of the world's poorest countries is also a major goal of beauty brands. , for example, sources its shea butter solely from a women's cooperative in Burkina Faso, one of Africa's most impoverished countries, and Pure Fiji uses organic coconut oil produced with the help of village women in Fiji.
For the past 20 years Europe has lead the way in sourcing Fair Trade products, but over the past five years Australia and New Zealand have been catching up fast. In 2009, Fair Trade sales in both countries totalled $50 million. Last year the figure tripled to $150 million reports Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand. Awareness of Fair Trade labelling has grown significantly, too, with 37% of Australians and 51% of New Zealanders saying that they are aware of the certification.
Fair Trade goods sold in Australia and New Zealand include cosmetics, coffee, tea, chocolate cotton and sports balls. But the beauty business has invigorated the category over the past two years reports Fair Trade USA. Beauty companies have not only encouraged the growth of existing Fair Trade ingredients such as cocoa and olive oil says Maya Spaull, director of new category innovation at Fair Trade USA, they have also sparked the commercial production of luscious ingredients such as baobab oil, long used as a moisturiser by African women. Over the past year, sales of Fair Trade aromatherapy oils and body oils have increased by 19%, while skin care has increased by 32%. Women love Fair Trade products says Spaull because they might not be able to save the planet by themselves, but they can change a life by buying even one product.
Panasonic invents hair-washing robot
As reported a few weeks ago, there's been a global boom in the sales of at-home beauty appliances. Skin isn't the only part of the body affected by the ageing process, so is the ability to wash and dry hair. Japan, with the highest life expectancy in the world, has become a global leader in innovations targeted at meeting the health and appearance needs of the world's ageing population. To quote those reality check ads you see in airports - two thirds of all the people who have ever reached the age of 65 in the history of the world are alive today.
The Hair-Washing Robot uses Panasonic's robot hand technology and has the ability to scan individual head shapes. Unlike human hands, the bot has 24 fingers and uses 3D pressure control technology to wet, shampoo, condition and dry the hair. There's even a spot massage washing function which allows people to direct movements to particular spots that require more of a rub.
Panasonic is also keen to point out that the robot's use shouldn't be confined to the elderly and that it could also be used in professional hair salons for anyone looking to cut back on staff. The same argument could apply to hospitals, too, and let's not forget pregnant women. One of the unspoken side-effects of having a baby is that as their stomachs grow and their centres of gravity change, many women find it more difficult to hold a hairdryer for extended periods. Panasonic could be onto a real winner.
Cosmetic chemists predict which demographics will rack up most profits for the cosmetic industry
Ask any top beauty executive to name the most important people in the cosmetic industry and the answer will often be - the guys in the white lab coats. So who better to predict where the beauty industry should be focussing its efforts over the next three years than the people who are already working on the formulas of up-and-coming launches. SpecialChem, a US publication targeted at cosmetic scientists, recently surveyed its readers about the importance of different demographics to future beauty sales.
Get ready for even more products targeted at the over-50s. Cosmetic chemists fingered retired people as the most important market (35%) because "they want to look younger". Second place went to young adults (38%) because "younger people don't want to get old". People in their 30s and 40s aren't a prized market at all, it seems, and cosmetic boffins rated them just above children and tweens - 16.9% and 16% respectively - in the importance pecking order. While babies (5%) look set to remain of most interest only to their traditional suppliers such as Johnson & Johnson.
New model for skin testing offers conclusive proof
"Does it work?" has to be the most frequent question directed at beauty editors when the topic is skincare. And all the verbiage devoted to explaining in vitro and in vivo testing doesn't really settle the issue, either. That's why a new "real skin" model jointly developed by Symrise, the German multinational, and Cutech of Italy is such a landmark development.
Traditional skin testing models currently used by beauty and cosmetic companies only test the outer skin layers - the epidermis and the dermis. With all the emphasis on skincare actives penetrating the skin to produce long-term results, skincare formulators have been under pressure for some time to prove that they really do.
The new skin model from Symrise and Cutech allows testers to measure changes in subcutaneous tissues and hair follicles and therefore allows more accurate predictions of an ingredient's effect on human skin. An invaluable tool in product development in the anti-ageing, anti-cellulite and skin whitening categories. It's also a money-saver for beauty companies, too, because if a new ingredient doesn't do that much, there's no need to invest in much more costly clinical testing.
Snippets from the wires
- Aussie skincare brand Sasy n Savy has signed on-board sales agreements with not one but two UK airlines - British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. From next year, short-haul BA travellers will be able to buy a chic hessian bag containing three hand creams. And Virgin Atlantic passengers can fork out for a capsule collection of seven Sasy products, including an eye cream and brightening serum.
- The Frontier Awards are the so-called Oscars of the travel retail industry and Paco Rabanne Lady Million recently picked up the gong for Star Product of the Year for the second time in three years. The sexy juice is a major seller in some of the world's leading airports - Dubai, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schipol. Its partner fragrance, One Million, is the number four ranking men's fragrance in global travel retail.
- Most of the latest prestige brand/mass retailer team-ups have centred on fashion from Missoni's sell-out partnership with Target to Versace's deal with H&M. Essie will be launching a new, reasonably priced nail range in Monoprix, the French equivalent of Kmart, this month.
- David Beckham doesn't venture far afield for opinions where his fragrance launches are concerned. Sons Brooklyn (12), Romeo (8) and Cruz (6) form an at-home testing panel, it seems. "Anytime I get a fragrance to try, I give all my sons a tester," says their dad. "Kids are so honest, so they say they love it or they hate it." , the sports star's latest scent, gets an "I love it" rating from the boys Coty will be happy to hear.
- In the US and Europe outlet villages are packed with Asian tourists. So in a coals-to-Newcastle move, Value Retail, a British company that operates nine luxury outlet centres in Europe, is opening a 200,000 square metre "village" in Suzhou, 90 kilometres from Shanghai. The shops will offer a minimum of 35% off and, although Value Retail are being cagey about naming names, labels sold in their European outlets include Prada, Armani, Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren.
- It's best to save up before a man pulls the plug on your relationship is the message from a survey conducted by the Superdrug chain in the UK. Researchers found that newly single women spent a minimum of $800 on new hair-dos, makeup and clothes after being dumped. Far from being a tragic cry for help, though, 75% of those surveyed said the outlay was worth every penny and boosted their self-esteem.
