Sustainability without compromise with ChromaPur CV2 and CV7

Developed from a patented technology, ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 are high quality spheroidal cellulose powders with a unique surface structure and morphology. It enables them to provide exceptional sensory and optical benefits, including a soft-focus effect in skin care, and an enhanced pay-off, coverage and colour intensity in colour cosmetics. They are particularly interesting to tackle the ‘human paradox’ as they provide a sustainable and functional alternative to plastic microbeads. It means they allow to maintain strong performances, similar or even better sometimes to what is achieved with plastic microbeads in cosmetic products, while being sustainable and offering the consumers to have a positive impact.

What do you know about plastic microbeads?

A great awareness about plastic pollution has occurred in recent years and it is now perceived as a global environmental issue. A survey conducted among 20,513 adults across 28 countries by Ipsos, in partnership with WWF, revealed that an average of 75% of people would like to see the single-use plastic banned as soon as possible⁴.

But it doesn’t stop there. The spotlight is now on microplastics. They are used in many industries and can come from different sources including the cosmetic products. According to research by environmental non-profit Plastic Soup Foundation, of 7,000 cosmetic products evaluated, 87% contained microplastics⁵, resulting of billions of plastic microbead drained into the oceans annually⁶. Small and not necessarily visible to the eye, microplastics represent a potential threat to the environment, marine life and human health⁷. Indeed, as for plastics, they do not completely decompose and can be ingested by fish, mussels, and other sea animals, and then enter in the marine food chain.

On the bright side, the potential harmful effects of microplastics have led many countries around the world to introduce restrictions on their use in different applications over the past few years. It has promoted the development of sustainable replacements like ChromaPur CV2 & CV7.

What sustainable benefits ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 offer?

There are a variety of opportunities to make a difference in beauty and personal care using more sustainable and transparent practices across the whole production cycle, from ingredient sourcing to manufacturing. It is these consumer must-haves in terms of sustainability that inspired ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 development:

• Starting with sourcing, the two powders are derived from upcycled black spruce.
• The spheroidal cellulose powders are then produced via an environmentally friendly and patented process (Figure 1) that maintains native Cellulose, type 1, which is the same cellulose that occurs in nature. The manufacturing facility uses energy from 99.77% renewable power, CO₂ emissions are minimal based on predictions, and the waste stream is effluent only, meaning no solid waste is generated, with the resulting water treated on site and released back into the environment as clean water.
• The resulting powders are 100% natural according to ISO 16128 standards, vegan suitable, readily biodegradable and COSMOS approved.

Figure 1: Process flow diagram for ChromaPur CV2 & CV7

Production of ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 therefore results in minimal pollution and damage to the environment, responding to consumers new priorities in line with their core values.
But ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 could not be considered as a sustainable alternative to plastic microbeads without offering the same functionalities in cosmetic products.

What performance can we expect from ChromaPur CV2 & CV7?

Plastic microbeads are still added in many applications thanks to the numerous benefits they offer. ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 needed to demonstrate the same performance standards to allow the industry to move to more sustainable options. Studies have been performed in skin care and colour cosmetics against broadly used benchmarks.

Skin Care performance benefits

ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 create a filtered look on the skin, visibly reducing the appearance of pores, fine lines, and wrinkles for an even, natural looking appearance. It is technically possible thanks to the soft-focus effect they provide, meaning they optically blur the skin surface without adding coverage to the skin. As can be seen in Figure 2, when visually compared to existing solutions, both ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 showed the highest level of soft focus of all the powders tested.

Figure 2: Optical images comparing the effect of the various powders (5% ww) incorporated into an O-W emulsion on cheek skin model Bioskin

To demonstrate the inclusive skin blurring efficacy, the skin blurring property of the products was assessed both in-vitro, and in-vivo, on different skin ages and phototypes (please discover more on the datasheet available on the products pages).

Colour cosmetics performance benefits

In colour cosmetics, a similar approach was taken, evaluating the pay-off, coverage, colour intensity and sensory against specific benchmarks commonly used as a sensory modifier in lipsticks and eyeshadows (please discover more on the datasheet available on the products pages).

The colour intensity comparison seen in Figure 3 shows that ChromaPur CV7 offers equivalent performance to Nylon-12 and PMMA, with better performance than a competitive cellulose fibre.

Figure 3: Colour intensity in a lipstick on the forearm with 5% powder loading of ChromaPur CV7 compared to Nylon-12, PMMA and Cellulose Fibers

Results demonstrate that the unique properties of ChromaPur CV2 & CV7 allow them to maintain or exceed performance of existing solutions, offering a viable sustainable and functional alternative to plastic microbeads.

Is it time to imagine a world where we don’t need to choose between our own interests and the planet?

The global concern of human impact on the environment leads to in increase of the ‘human paradox’ phenomenon where consumers would like to make more conscious decisions and purchases but don’t find the solutions that meet all their needs. It reinforces the necessity for a big change in the way the world operates and, in the solutions companies offer. With ChromaPur CV2 & CV7, we not only enable consumers to not compromise on either the sustainable or functional aspects, but also to allow them to have a positive impact on the environment. Many more initiatives are to come and, just like the development of ChromaPur CV2 & CV7, they can offer multiple benefits that not only benefit the planet, but also the people.

Discover ChromaPur CV2 & CV7

References

1. The Human Paradox: From customer centricity to life centricity, Accenture, 2022.
2. Accenture Research, global consumer survey, June 2022 (n=13,165).
3. Accenture Research, global consumer survey, April 2022 (n=13,085).
4. Three quarters of people in global survey want single-use plastics banned, Ipsos, 2022.
5. Barge, B., Global plastic waste on track to triple by 2060, Cosmetics Business, 07 June 2022.
6. England: the ban of plastic microbeads in cosmetics to come, CosmeticObs, 2017
7. King, A., 9 in 10 beauty products from leading brands contain microplastics, Cosmetics Business, 07 April 2022.