We expect to find beauty brands that are certified clean, green, sustainable, Halal, vegan, carbon negative, plastic free and more. But, would you know which to choose if you had to opt for a vegan or plastic-negative version of the same product. "Have we over-certified the beauty industry to the point of confusion?", asks Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier.

In this opinion short, Lorraine says that even those of us in the beauty industry struggle to make sense of all the schemes, so it is inevitable that many beauty consumers will simply have no clue about their merits. Now, retailers like Target and Sephora are coming up with their own standards and choosing to reject stocking brands on the basis of their own criteria.

In her last guest episode, Lorraine interviewed Yashi Shrestha, Head of Science & Research at Novi Connect, an online platform helping cosmetic formulators comply right from product inception stage with a variety of standards. Similarly, another platform Provenance, also a recent podcast guest, helps with product transparency by using blockchain to verify brands' claims.

But, even with these innovative, pioneering platforms, Lorraine says she keeps coming back to the question of whether the beauty industry needs all these certification schemes. Has the beauty industry gone too far and made life impossible for itself and its consumers?

This podcast has covered a large number of the most commonly used terms and certifications on beauty and we urge you to delve into the archives to play catch up on them. All seem open to interpretation though.

The fact remains that many cosmetic formulators are relying on obtuse supply chains that may not have all the documentation required to verify a claim or help certify a standard. The beauty industry is still working in the dark having made a rod for its own back by creating standards that for many are simply unattainable.

Lorraine challenges us as formulators and beauty shoppers to ask ourselves what really matters to us. What standards and claims do we prioritise and why? Or, are we simply too exhausted and confused by the schemes to know?

Listen in to another Green Beauty Opinion that challenges us to make the beauty industry a better, more sustainable place.