Self-Care Sustability

40% of people in the US, 51% in Australia, and 50% in Great Britain say that they will feel personally threatened by climate change in the next 5 years. When this question was asked of people in the US and Great Britain in 2016, climate change was only nominated by 23% and 20% of people respectively.

40% of people in Australia and Great Britain say that they only buy products from a company whose ethics they agree with and 52% of people in the US agree that it’s important for companies to provide information about how their products are made (working conditions, fair trade, factory location etc.).

The responsible use of technology is an important element in social sustainability. Managing the impact that increasing tech has on our own state of mind is an act of self-care. The lockdowns and isolation of the pandemic sent people around the world even further into digital decline with negative impacts on mental health.

A global wellbeing report released in 2020 found that that heavier users of social media were more likely to feel heavier negative impacts on their social well-being and lighter users reported a greater sense of well-being overall.

Sustainability is having an impact on the skincare category as well. Search results for the beauty category provide a glimpse of a shift from natural to sustainable.

Terms like plastic-free (+325%), reef safe (+105%), and refillable (+93%) have all increased.

Plastic-free has shown quarter-over-quarter gains during the past year, as shoppers look for products that produce less environmental waste.

Meanwhile, terms that represent the “free-from” movement, such as paraben-free (-7%), sulfate- free (-6%), and fragrance-free (-21%) have all been declining slightly in popularity.

We will see the emergence of products that satisfy consumers’ desire to live sustainably. Consumers across the US, Australia, and Great Britain think that it is very important for brands to be using completely recyclable packaging (US 57%, Aus 66%, GB 70%) adopting a zero plastic policy (US 48%, Aus 54%, GB 60%) and making products from sustainable materials (US 38%, Aus 52%, GB 56%).

These will only increase over coming years and other expectations around regeneration of natural resources, becoming climate neutral and using electric vehicles for deliveries will also increase in importance.

That's why Patchology will focus on moving to more sustainable packaging, continue to seek sustainable behaviors all along the supply chain, as well as creating RareCycle™ our recycling program to collect empties.