EP114. Influence for sustainable beauty

Influencers have an exciting opportunity given their reach and reputations to change hearts and minds of beauty consumers. Imagine influencer product reviews mentioning how easy it is to refill packaging or that a beauty brand has gone plastic free or is working towards zero waste or carbon negative goals? In the last episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier discussed the world of the beauty influencer with School Education Manager Ana Green and questioned whether influencers were talking about, let alone talking up, beauty brands' sustainability. One key thing hit home in that episode: the power and great responsibility beauty influencers have. In a recent survey, some 49% of shoppers interviewed said they relied on  recommendations of vlogggers, YouTubers, bloggers and social media influencers in making purchases, viewing their opinions as they would those of trusted friends. In this short Green Beauty Opinion, Lorraine proposes how influencers can use their platforms responsibly to drive home the message that sustainable beauty should be the norm, not the exception in the industry. Influencers are not going to stop covering new product launches, but they could do more to challenge brands about their sustainability credentials and include this information in their regular content. In this way, they will influence consumers to make sustainable choices and to ask their own questions of brands. Changing the beauty industry is a collective job that we all need to participate in. Lorraine's challenge to influencers is to embrace their power and harness it to promote a more sustainable beauty industry. In doing so, influencers could have more influence than they perhaps realise and make positive, lasting change to the beauty industry.