In today’s fragmented marketing world, it can be difficult to get your brand noticed and have it remain relevant. Packaging is often the [literal] first touchpoint for consumers and must serve multiple purposes, including the need to be sustainable and prove it. On top of that, a new trend Green Hushing, is influencing how beauty brands develop sustainable products, packaging, and most importantly, talk about what they are doing publicly and on packaging. 

There is a growing tension between consumer demand for sustainable packaging and what companies are comfortable with, due to concerns about how they can validate and substantiate these claims to stand up to both consumer and regulatory scrutiny. Therefore, consumers are having a more difficult time navigating and making purchase decisions based on whether the sustainability claims are real and can be substantiated.

Enter a new trend in packaging and product validation – third-party providers like Provenance, a data-led platform that validates and amplifies sustainability credentials for consumer-packaged goods. These providers enable brands to be more transparent about sustainability and inform their customers about their impact from discovery to checkout.  
            
After a survey revealed that Cult Beauty’s customers prioritized transparency when shopping online, the beauty retailer partnered with Provenance to place ‘Proof Points’ on product pages within its ‘Cult Conscious’ line. If a product is claimed to be Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free, for instance, shoppers can see via the Proof Point that the claim has been verified. For further information, they can click on the Proof Point to see how the claim was verified, and by whom, how long it is valid, and be able to review a lab test confirmation document. By using Proof Points, Cult Beauty drove a 35% higher purchase rate and 5% higher shopper sentiment.

The design innovation required to create sustainable packaging, particularly in beauty,  is not simple; it takes exploration, consumer testing/feedback and, now, transparency.  Are you doing everything you can with your packaging to future-proof your beauty brand? 
 

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