TO READ ALL the marketing hype, it would seem that the personal care products industry is rushing to label as natural, organic, or sustainable just about every new product coming onto the market.

In part, that is because toiletries and cosmetics carrying a "sustainable" or "natural" moniker are flying off the shelves, according to Gillian S. Morris, chemicals and materials director of consulting firm Kline & Co. Worldwide, manufacturers' sales of natural products are growing at an average annual rate of 15%, three times faster than the overall market, she says.

However, just what manufacturers mean when they tout their products as natural, organic, or sustainable is anything but clear, Morris notes. And that has opened up an opportunity for industry groups and certification bodies to offer various seals of approval that ingredient makers and formulators can use to authenticate their claims.

Lest anyone get carried away about this fast-growing market, be mindful, Morris points out that what may be called the natural category represents just 2%, or $4 billion, of the $180 billion-per-year global personal care products market, based on manufacturers' sales.

Soaps, shampoos, body lotions, and other personal care products are complex mixtures of ingredients. Those from natural plant-based sources, Morris notes, make up fully 30% of the approximately $10 billion global personal care ingredients market.

In addition to the simple lure of a fast-growing market, the greening of cosmetics has a more subtle business imperative. Much of the ongoing effort is tied into the desire of corporate executives to be seen as environmentally and socially responsible operators of sustainable businesses in just about everything from food production, mining, and building construction to energy and chemical production.

According to a study released in November by consumer attitudes research firm Yankelovich, investors in publicly owned companies want to own stock in sustainable businesses. Eight out of 10 such investors are more likely to invest in companies that are socially responsible, Yankelovich found.

But the message of social responsibility and sustainability has yet to fully infiltrate consumer ranks. A July 2007 Yankelovich survey of consumers and their environmental attitudes found that only one-third of consumers are more concerned about environmental issues than they were a year earlier. "Consumers are not drinking the Kool-Aid when it comes to green," says J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich.

But he suggests that it is possible for companies to change consumers' behavior so that the green attributes of a product become a key feature in their buying decisions. Before that can happen, though, "consumers have to know what green means or has to offer to them."

Full Story: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8619cover.html