London-based research and consulting company Organic Monitor, which focuses on the global organic industries, is creating a Latin American edition of its Sustainable Cosmetics Summit.
Following the success of the European and U.S. editions, the new event place in São Paulo city on 24-26th September 2012 at the at InterContinental hotel. Focal themes of the inaugural Latin American edition are biodiversity and ethical sourcing, sustainable ingredients and marketing best practices.
“There are growing pressure on cosmetic and ingredient companies to adopt sustainability practices in the procurement of raw materials,” explained the organisers in a release.
São Paulo was chosen as the location of the Latin American edition because of the growing importance of Brazil for the cosmetics industry. The country is the third largest cosmetics market in the world. Moreover, Brazil is considered the most biologically diverse on the planet.
“In this first edition, we aim to share sustainability best-practices in Latin America, as well as highlight areas for development,” said Amarjit Sahota, President of Organic Monitor.
Among the topics that will be covered in the new summit will be biodiversity and benefit sharing, social impacts (CSR & corporate philanthropy), green chemistry and formulations, as well as marketing pitfalls and challenges.
The opening speaker will discuss the implications of Rio +20 on sustainable agriculture and ingredient sourcing. Daniel Sabará from Beraca will give a case study on how sustainable sourcing can create positive social impacts. A Colombian company will discuss the challenges of developing actives from rare plant species whilst sharing benefits with indigenous communities. Shea butter will be used as a case study by AAK to illustrate how sourcing programs can encourage sustainability in Africa.
The growing use of sustainable ingredients is also a major theme of the program. The Brazilian company Agropalma will discuss the growing use of sustainable oils in cosmetic applications. Other papers in the sustainable ingredients session cover green chemistry principles, sustainable fragrances, new extraction techniques for actives, and the problems in switching from petrochemical to plant feedstock.
Ulrike Weber from Weleda will highlight the pitfalls and challenges of marketing pure natural cosmetics in Latin American countries. Surya Brasil, one of the few regional companies with certified products, will speak about the potential of organic cosmetics.
The detailed program is available from: www.sustainablecosmeticssummit.com
