Unilever’s eco-beauty brand is well-timed and full of potential

Love Beauty & Planet. It all sounds a bit hippie, doesn’t it? Like the kind of brand you’d find at Glastonbury covered in flowers and hemp.

Yet this is the first beauty brand launched by Unilever in 20 years. And despite the name’s ‘peace and love’ vibe, its commercial aspirations are altogether serious.

The amount of work put into the range was clear at this morning’s launch event. As the name suggests, it’s all about ethical beauty. Unilever was keen to point out this ethos has shaped every part of the product. Ingredients are sustainably sourced, vegan and (largely) natural – ranging from organic coconut oil to Amazonian murumuru butter. All packaging is recyclable. Nothing is tested on animals. The brand will publish its annual carbon footprint, work towards a 20% reduction in this footprint and pay a tax on all the carbon the brand emits. It’s the beauty equivalent of an organic almond milk made by a vegan co-operative.

All this is tapping into a growing market. As consumers become more concerned over the recyclability of their coffee cups and black plastic in their ready meals, it’s only natural that they start holding their beauty products to the same ethical standards. So mainstream is this trend that Elle magazine published a guide to sustainable beauty just last month. Unilever has clearly spotted potential to do more in this area. As it pointed out today, only 50% of bathroom waste is recycled. That compares with 90% of kitchen waste.

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Another selling point is that it doesn’t look like your standard ethical product. In the place of your ubiquitous slushy green or muddy brown ‘natural’ colour scheme is a vibrant floral design that you wouldn’t be ashamed of people spotting in your bathroom. All of which could go some way to tempting consumers beyond the core ethical crowd. Plus, Unilever is keen to stress the natural credentials haven’t in any way diluted performance (which is, after all, the main reason you’re buying the stuff). It says the range will “give a little bit of love back to the planet, without compromising on beauty-boosting results”.

Which is all well and good, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. Lush made similar claims when it was founded in 1995. Unilever’s argument is that it’s taking this ethical ethos to the mass market. The target consumers for the Love Beauty & Planet brand are those “who currently shop the natural beauty fixtures and specialist shops”. Getting those shoppers into supermarkets would indeed be a coup. But it will also be a challenge. Shops such as Lush have retained an artisan feel, with personal touches such as printing the name of the staff member who made the product on the label. While Love Beauty & Planet has adopted a similar style to Lush in many ways – highlighting natural ingredients on the list and explaining exactly where they come from – the sheer scale of production means it won’t be able to replicate everything. There is a danger of the loyal ethical shopper perceiving this brand as a sort of Diet Lush.

Still, with rsps ranging from £5.99 to £9.99, it’s also at Diet Lush prices. So there may well be plenty of potential for this brand to take ethical beauty to the masses. Maybe it could even freshen up the tents at Glastonbury.