Webinar Conversation Continues Here
It has been said that community is at the heart of the Internet and that webinars offer an easy means for participants to ask questions of the speaker as well as one another. This morning's GCI webinar on the greening of the beauty industry, featuring speakers from Burt's Bees and Aveda, was just such an opportunity. We had more questions than we could manage in the hour allotted, so we'll start right now posting questions here. Let's continue the conversation. to respond, click on the word "comments" below and type in your response.
- How do you differentiate between "organic" and "natural?" There seems to be a lot of confusion on this topic What makes something "natural?"
- Given that natural products aren't as regulated, how do you evaluate ingredients to make sure they are natural? Do you look for ECOCERT certification or is there another method?
- Back to ingredients, is it just a matter of suppliers saying something is natural or is there more to it? any regulated certification?
- For Aveda: given that you're not a mass brand, who do you think your competitors are?
Watch for more questions coming soon!
posted by Karen at 1:49 PM
5 Comments:
The first and second question goes to the heart of the subject of our discussion today - more precisely, the need for clear definitions and standards for what determines "natural"and "organic".
We think that Mike and Suzanne did a fantastic job explaining. To summarize, if there was an industry standard, "natural" should be equivalent to a product made with over 95% natural ingredients. Natural ingredients do not include synthetics like parabens, sulfates, chemical sunscreens etc.
"Organic" applies to the principles and processes used to cultivate these ingredients. Organic means that no synthetic chemicals, fertilizers etc are used to grow these ingredients.
With regards to the second question, at the moment the best way to evaluate ingredients as "natural" is to educate oneself on the "alert list" for non-natural ingredients, manufacturing processes or non-recyclable
packaging.
Suppliers need to show certification for ingredients they are claiming are natural.
For the Aveda question, I will defer to Suzanne and her team!
- Tina & Beth Ann, twist new.brand.venture
Thanks, Tina and Beth Ann. I predict challenging times ahead for the beauty industry.
Hi - I wanted to get back to you about the questions regarding our competition. Aveda's competitors cover a very broad spectrum: as a professional brand that aims to deliver high quality, performance-driven products to our network of salons and spas, Aveda considers any other professional hair care brand as healthy competition. But our combination of high-performance products alongside our commitment to environmental leadership also positions us beside other environmentally-conscious beauty companies. This joint focus of professional services and products built upon a platform of environmental responsibility creates a niche--and this is what makes Aveda truly unique.
Rather than focus on our competitors, our goal at Aveda is to educate and aid the professional beauty industry as a whole in order to provide environmentally-responsible, high quality products that contribute to the well-being of professionals, consumers and the planet.
Thanks, Suzanne. An important reminder that our brands may compete in several important arenas at the same time. Competing on 'natural' alone ignores the competition from others in our product category.
Karen,
Agree 100% with your comment that the "push" of natural does not eliminate at tall the opportunity for brands to compete on alternative platforms.
How boring would cpg become if all products were just "natural". this is exactly where the marketing conundrum occurs... how to maintain creativity, continue to deliver on the "next best" trend, heed technology advances and yet be a natural brand.
we all have our work cut out for us...
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