Ocean bloom: A sustainable opportunity

A recent consumers study by the University of Hull on the topic of fashion shopping habits has revealed they are strongly influenced by globally important issues like sustainability and ethics, leaving celebrity or influencers endorsements only effective on 4% of the people interviewed1 . I believe that this is because, as the demand for renewable resources increases, many wonder how to face the challenge of meeting this demand without causing additional deforestation or loss of biodiversity.

Palm kernel oil is a very efficient source of renewable commodities and there are some great initiatives to make palm plantations more sustainable. Even the new COSMOS standard, which will be released this year, will require a higher number of palm oil and palm kernel oil derivatives to be of certified sustainable palm oil origin (CSPO).

Despite these initiatives and the increasing number of cosmetic ingredients that are mass balance CSPO, there is still concern among consumers about climate change and the destruction of rain forests, driving ‘palm-oil free’ claims in the marketplace. A new solution to address this environmental concern within the cosmetic industry could come from the oceans rather than a plantation. In fact, the majority of the Earth’s surface (71%) happens to be covered by water, with 68.5% of that total being oceans2 .