Sustainability

In addition to sustainability, Myers noted DEI and advancing alternatives to animal testing among key priorities for the group. “We have member companies that really lead the way on many of those. We want to be able to amplify their good work and their messaging, because they are good corporate citizens” and “it’s what consumers are demanding anyway,” he said in an interview.

Legislator education is key to checking state bills that overreach, says Ross, executive VP of government affairs at the Personal Care Products Council, discussing the rising tide of US state bills aimed at restricting ingredient use.

In this episode, HBW chats with Michael Washburn, principal at Washburn Consulting, on how producers of single-use packaging subject to extended producer responsibility laws rolling out in Oregon, Colorado and California next year can tackle the tedious work of collecting data on packaging materials. 

The plastic-neutral retailer of personal care, health and wellness, household cleaning and other sustainable products has been focused on enhancing its customer experience and expanding its third-party assortment as it progresses toward long-term, profitable growth. The company revealed on 1 July that it will not be Plastic-Free by 2025, but is on track to avoid 15 million pounds of plastic by 2030.

The European Chemicals Agency’s committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) are evaluating sector by sector the proposed REACH restriction on PFAS and more than 5,600 public comments, reaching provisional conclusions on cosmetics at their June meetings. A date has not been set to consider PFAS uses in medical devices, which are numerous, essential, and in many cases devoid of alternatives, industry says.

The European Council adopts its negotiating position with regards to the Green Claims Directive, which aims to prevent greenwashing and empower consumers in making informed, environmentally conscious purchasing decisions. While small and medium-sized enterprises stand to specifically benefit from the Council's more flexible approach, companies in general may be allowed to make certain explicit environmental claims without third-party verification.

The Personal Care Products Council’s "Beauty of Impact, Economic & Social Contributions Report 2024" illustrates the strength of the US personal-care industry, which added $308.7bn to gross domestic product and accounted for 4.6 million jobs in 2022.

Industry can look forward to a global OTC market compound annual growth rate of around 7% over the next few years, according to IQVIA Consumer Health. Innovation will be key to ensure individual companies realize this level of growth. IQVIA CH's Amit Shukla and Simon-Kucher & Partners' Clemens Oberhammer point to some key consumer trends to keep an eye on at the recent AESGP Annual Meeting in Brussels. 

Failing to take sufficient action on climate change could be a costly business for consumer health companies. However, the good news from the AESGP's 60th Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, is that at least half of the cost of decarbonizing will be balanced by savings, according to Boston Consulting Group. And climate change adaption will present firms with a wide variety of opportunities for product innovation, IQVIA Consumer Health's Volker Spitzer tells delegates.

Should the consumer health industry be exempt from the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive? This question is hotly debated by representatives from major flexible packaging supplier Amcor and OTC manufacturer Perrigo at the 60th AESGP Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. 

The Association of the European Self-Care Industry's 60th Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, opens with a rousing call to action from president Jonathan Workman. Looking to the upcoming EU elections, Workman urges industry to push for widening access to OTC medicines through switch, digital and sustainable investment, improved health literacy and regulatory flexibility.

Bezos Earth Fund, founded with $10b in 2020 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, makes five-year grant to launch Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

In this episode of HBW Insight's Over the Counter podcast, we unpack the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with the help of ESG expert Jasper Crone, drilling down into exactly what consumer health companies need to know about this enormously complex and significant piece of EU legislation.

Packaging manufacturer Logoplaste – supplier to major consumer health and cosmetics firms – speaks to HBW Insight about plastics and working with industry to develop alternatives.

The negotiated revision of the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulation met with industry approval in April, even if it just kicks the can down the road with regard to classification of more-than-one-constituent substances (MOCS). DSM-Firmenich announces partnerships with plants in mind, Symrise’s new CEO maintains growth targets, and more news in brief.

A survey of 1,000 EU health consumers commissioned by AESGP finds that OTC users see numerous benefits of digital patient information leaflets, but are agreed that information should also continue to be available in paper form.