Last July, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition had asked the CGEDD (General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development) to make an inventory of the cosmetics sector in order to “identify strategic axes and concrete actions allowing the sector to fully engage its ecological transition”. The half-tone report has just been submitted to the Minister.
The mission letter dates from 16 July 2021.
Based on the observation that “precise analyses of the entire sector were lacking,” and that it was “necessary to have a better knowledge of the issues,” in order to “promote the ecological transition of the sector and to be able to change scale,” the Ministry of Ecological Transition asked the CGEDD to establish “an overview of good practices and the investments necessary to be implemented over the entire value chain of the sector.”
For each phase of the life cycle of the cosmetic product (manufacture, use, end of life), it was asked in particular:
• To identify virtuous practices and their impact
• To quantify the necessary investments and to study the feasibility for companies
• To identify the potential gains and opportunities that could result from each measure
• To propose a framework for the implementation of an environmental display on cosmetic products
• To formulate proposals for action, both for the industry and for the State
The report has just been submitted, and while it recognises that the French cosmetics industry is well engaged in an ecological transition process, it also considers that the sector’s efforts must be amplified.