The Amazonian forest represents a unique potential for identifying new cosmetic actives. Photo credit: Filipe Frazao - shutterstock.com

The Amazonian forest covers about 4 million km2 throughout the Brazilian territory. As the lungs of the Earth, it shelters the greatest biodiversity, natural resources, and traditional knowledge in the world, and represents a unique potential for identifying new cosmetic actives. Today, Brazil intends to develop a real bio-economy with this heritage.

We don’t just aim to be a source of raw materials, but rather to develop partnerships and knowledge and become the leading supplier of authentic, quality products derived from biodiversity,” explains Maria Beatriz Martins da Costa, CEO of Planeta Orgânico / Green Rio, a platform that promotes sustainable initiatives and a partner of the project.

Getting the whole branch structured

The SEBRAE project, named “Cosméticos de base florestal da Amazonia”, gathers Brazilian state representatives of the Amazonian region: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, and Tocantins. Each of them coordinates the project for the promotion and competitiveness of local and independent ingredient producers, who are real guardians of Brazil’s biodiversity. “About sixty microbusinesses are involved right now, but we estimate they only represent 2% of the potential. So, there still remains 98% to be explored in order to develop,” declares Aécio Flavio Ferreira da Silva, Director of SEBRAE – State of Amazonas.

Representatives from SEBRAE presented their project at the Embassy of Brazil in Paris.

The project is based on a coordinated policy and the creation of partnerships with institutions and universities. It aims at activating performance levers like the access to knowledge in technologies and innovation, in particular with the validation of extraction techniques, the distribution and the study of production chains, profit distribution, regulatory issues, and the opening to cosmetics markets.

During their visit in France, the SEBRAE representatives of the different Brazilian States concerned met their Cosmetic Valley counterparts to discuss a partnership.