Startups & SMEs

Exclusion from procurement processes, confiscation of revenues, and a fine of at least 4% of annual turnover are some of the penalties the European Parliament is considering for greenwashing as part of its position on the EU Green Claims Directive. 

Joining IBA from The Honest Company, where he headed up innovation, Frey aims to promote networking and collaboration within the group’s membership in an environment where in-person events – and travel budgets – still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Frey spoke with HBW Insight about his career to date and his goals for IBA in the near and longer terms.

With biotech, “the entire tree of life starts to become accessible to us ethically and sustainably,” says Arcaea CEO Jasmina Aganovic. Her company, launched in October 2021, is developing custom keratin molecules for skin and hair, as well as new UV filter technology, among other innovations to expand formulators’ toolkits, not just replace problematic ingredients.

The cosmetics industry has an “optics” problem, and that is creating other issues, namely a growing body of state legislation to address perceived gaps in federal regulatory oversight.

Ballard Spahr attorney Brendan Collins warned attendees to take Prop 65 violation notices seriously and address them in a timely manner, speaking at the Independent Beauty Association’s 2022 Technical Regulatory Forum.

US demand for personal-care and cosmetic products continues to exceed the capacities of an industry fraught with supply-chain pressures, according to Independent Beauty Association leadership.

Extended producer responsibility legislation passed last year in Maine and Oregon and is being considered in other states, including New Jersey and Hawaii as of January 2022. The Independent Beauty Association is concerned about a patchwork of laws forming across the US that would significantly challenge small and mid-sized companies.

“There's a lot of creativity and innovation that's being forced” by supply chain challenges, according to Elizabeth Corrigan, recently appointed chairwoman of the Independent Beauty Association. IBA’s Akemi Ooka says smaller companies looking to engage on sustainability can be well-served to start with supply chain assessment.

The Independent Beauty Association’s Akemi Ooka, head of global supply chain resources, and new board chair Elizabeth Corrigan sat down with HBW Insight to discuss ongoing supply chain challenges, how the trade association’s members are adapting, and prospects for relief ahead.

The Honest Company’s new digital and strategy chief joins from Amazon.com where he led development of home security systems and contactless, in-garage delivery for more than 50m Amazon Key customers. More cosmetics people news, including new supply chain and sustainability leadership at the Independent Beauty Association.

Inc. 5000 ranks the fastest-growing privately held companies in the US. With three-year growth of nearly 2,200%, Soapbox came in at No. 198 on the 2021 list, outpacing other beauty and personal-care companies that had enviable showings nevertheless in a year of unprecedented challenges.

Presenting at the Independent Beauty Association’s Cosmetic Technical/Regulatory Forum, Product Integrity Laboratory’s Howard Baker dug into the less-discussed aspects of green packaging that “could damage your brand’s reputation, cause regulatory and legal problems, and severely harm the economics of your business.”

Trade association for micro-sized cosmetics businesses says draft reform bills in the House and Senate propose exemption thresholds for registration and other requirements that are too low, failing to account for the high costs and unique challenges faced by its members.