Does the beauty industry need to become more transparent with consumers?

More than 40% of beauty consumers feel that they do not get enough information from brands about ingredient safety, a new report has found.

The results come from the 2018 FIT Transparency Perception Assessment Survey, a global study carried out by students on the Fashion Institute of Technology's Master of Professional Studies program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (CFMM) program as part of their Capstone Research Presentation. According to the survey, empowered consumers are increasingly demanding more transparency from the beauty industry.

The survey, which involved 1,800 respondents, found that 42% of shoppers do not feel companies inform them enough regarding the safety of ingredients, while 72% would like brands to explain what the ingredients in their products actually do. And more than 60% want brands to identify sources for ingredients.

The students also put the rise in the "clean beauty" trend partially down to this craving for transparency, stating: "The lack of clear information is impeding the path to purchase. Consumers are turning to naturals because they think green is clean." In response to the findings, the students proposed that companies use the clearBEAUTY app, which will "allow consumers to translate ingredient lists and to comparison shop in real time."

Transparency is a big buzzword in the beauty industry at the moment, and some brands have made moves to engage more directly with consumers on the issue. Last September, cosmetics giant Procter & Gamble, which owns Olay, Aussie, Herbal Essences and SK-II, promised to bring "all fragrance ingredients down to 0.01 percent" across its product portfolio in the US and Canada by the end of 2019.

For more information on the Capstone Research Presentation can be found on FIT's website.