Complex supply chains and climate change make "clean beauty" near impossible, but some keep trying

EAST GARAFRAXA, Ontario (AP) — Julie Thurgood-Burnett had no idea that her COVID-19 lockdown whim of starting a lavender patch on her husband's family farm outside Toronto would turn into a small business. She had never been a farmer, but before long she had a bright purple field and a new hobby of creating lavender oil for her friends and family, who liked it so much she ran out.

And then she had a brand, Hereward Farms, which she wanted to be “authentically sustainable." To her that meant avoiding plastic packaging, even though it would have been cheaper. It also meant sourcing as many raw ingredients from Canada as possible, which turned out to be much harder than she expected. She was able to get Canadian-made beeswax and sunflower oil, and work with a Canadian supplier, but not everything comes from Canada. Most of Hereward's essential oils and all of its dried flowers (except lavender, of course) come from the United States.

“You go down this dark hole of trying to figure out where things are sourced from,” she said.

It's a challenge for small brands with environmentally friendly values because the beauty industry, worth billions of dollars and dominated by a few major brands, has an uglier underbelly. It can be nearly impossible to trace some ingredients to their source, according to supply chain experts. The making and disposing of cosmetics contributes to planet-warming carbon emissions, deforestation, pollution and waste. Climate change in turn is exacerbating extreme weather events like heat, drought and flooding that disrupt production. And there’s little regulation governing beauty products in many countries. But despite the uphill battle, many business owners who care about being eco-friendly are trying their best to tackle these problems.

Consumers have begun demanding sustainability and transparency from their beloved multi-step skincare routines, seeking out what's popularly known as “clean beauty”. But dubious claims about “green” and “pure” products abound.

Dale Rogers, a professor in the business school at Arizona State University who studies supply chains, gave the example of “sustainable” palm oil, an ingredient commonly featured in eco-friendly cosmetics brands. “There’s sustainability certification groups that will certify ingredients. So palm oil might be sustainably sourced, for example, but then it gets blended with other palm oil and you start to lose track,” he said.

“Very few” major beauty companies are doing the kind of research needed to actually know where their materials come from, said Bindiya Vakil, CEO and founder of Resilinc, a company that maps supply chains for businesses. And Vakil said that even when big companies are willing to support the effort to trace ingredients to their origins, suppliers aren’t always willing to answer those questions. Investigating entities can then turn to public domain information to try to fill in the gaps, but it’s imperfect.

And “brands are changing their suppliers all the time,” said Homer Swei, senior vice president of healthy living science and consumer safety science at the Environmental Working Group, which offers a third-party certification for beauty products focused on human health. “So even if you spend $1 billion to define the supply chain today, tomorrow will be different and it’ll be obsolete.”

Legislation in some countries can crack down on companies, making it illegal for them to source from suppliers that, for example, use forced labor or harmful chemicals. But environmental regulations lag behind, and profit motives and the promise of sustainable branding claims “align against greater disclosure,” Vakil said.

Any third party can create their own certification or sustainability effort, including beauty companies themselves. The Estée Lauder Companies is a founding member of an initiative called the Traceability Alliance for Sustainable Cosmetics, according to Meghan Ryan, their executive director of responsible sourcing. It's not a certification, but asks suppliers to voluntarily input information about their production and “uses a variety of tools to conduct due diligence,” she said in a statement.

Major beauty retailers Sephora and Ulta Beauty both have labels on certain products calling them “Planet Aware” or “Conscious Beauty,” respectively, but neither company would answer questions from The Associated Press about why certain criteria for those designations were chosen, how many of their total product offerings get those labels and whether they have plans to expand the number of those types of products.

Swei said the best certifications on the market are fully transparent ones, but added that “climate change is moving supply chains all around the world,” making full transparency more difficult. Vakil agreed that extreme weather events fueled by climate change have been disrupting companies more and more, especially those who rely on farmed materials susceptible to heat, drought, flooding and damage from hurricanes and wildfires.

Many small brand owners have the motivation to be more transparent and selective about their ingredients, but some described spending hours tracing where things came from, having to switch manufacturers and accepting smaller profit margins. And entrepreneurs, just starting out, sometimes don't know what questions to ask their suppliers, or don't have enough leverage to demand answers.

Rina Clarke founded Buck Naked Soap Company when her infant son developed a skin reaction to traditional cosmetics. She said she's been “constantly disappointed” to find that she can't make soaps with certain highly desired scents, such as sandalwood and strawberry, because she's determined it would be impossible to do so by her company's set sustainability and health standards. Many species of sandalwood, for instance, have been overharvested and some are now facing extinction.

“As much as I want for us, as a business, to be competitive with other businesses, it's hard,” she said. “We don’t want to be a hypocrite is basically what it comes down to.”

Charlie Razook, who founded men's skincare line Jackfir, said it took an extra-long time to launch the brand because he spent multiple years getting third-party certifications, including from the Environmental Working Group, and rejiggering his products' formulas to achieve his health and sustainability goals. But he still had to give up on his original intention to sell everything in glass containers instead of plastic, because beyond manufacturing constraints, quite simply, “men like tubes.”

Clarke also said it's hard for eco-conscious brands not to price out some customers. "Sustainability oftentimes costs money,” she said.

The odds are against their goals in many ways, but small business owners like Razook, Clarke and Thurgood-Burnett keep trying. They say the extra effort is worth the frustration. All described customers who have demanded transparency and sustainability and been happy to find brands that are willing to try to meet that demand.

And Thurgood-Burnett has gotten personal satisfaction from the quest, too.

“It’s such an intimate relationship because you’ve put it in the ground and you’ve cared for it," she said of her lavender crop. “I go out and sometimes just sit there with the plants, and I love that the bees are there, and we're doing this really neat ecosystem. That wasn’t the reason why we started it, but it’s become that.”

This story has corrected a quote from Homer Swei to read, “to define the supply chain ...” rather than "did you find the supply chain ...”

Follow Melina Walling on X at @MelinaWalling. Follow Joshua A. Bickel on X and Instagram.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Wind blows through lavender plants, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at a farm in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Dried lavender buds sift through a processor, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Hereward Farms in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Stephen Burnett processes dried lavender, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Hereward Farms in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Bunches of cut lavender hang on display, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Hereward Farms in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Cadence Thurgood bundles fresh-cut lavender after harvesting, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Hereward Farms in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A jar of face cream sits out for sale, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Hereward Farms in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Lavender-infused beauty products sit out for sale, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Hereward Farms in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Julie Thurgood-Burnett, owner of Hereward Farms, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Jessica Froll, right, of Arthur, Ontario, takes a picture of her 1-year-old daughter duirng a visit to a lavender field, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Cadence Thurgood places freshly-cut lavender in a bucket while harvesting, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at a farm in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Cadence Thurgood cuts lavender, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at a farm in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Weston Grubb carries a bucket of fresh-cut lavender while harvesting, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Lavender plants grow, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at a farm in East Garafraxa, Ontario. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The New York Giants lost by winning.

A rare victory — 45-33 over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday — knocked the Giants out of control for the coveted No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

So much for Shedeur Sanders’ Giants-themed cleats unless New York trades up to get the Colorado quarterback.

The Giants (3-13) dropped from first to fourth in the draft order, with the Patriots (3-13) moving up to No. 1. New England doesn’t need a quarterback because rookie Drake Maye has been one of the team’s few bright spots this season. But the Titans (3-13) currently sit at No. 2 and they will be seeking a franchise QB at No. 2. The Browns (3-13) should do the same if they stay at No. 3. Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward won’t be around if New York has to settle for the fourth pick.

That’s why Giants fans were angry after witnessing the team’s first win at MetLife Stadium this season.

“The playoff is out of contention, you understand what they’re saying,” quarterback Drew Lock said after throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns. “But at the same time, it’s nice to say we’re going to go work, we’re going to keep doing this, we’re going to keep pushing, the season’s not over, we’ve got two games left to be able to come out and win this one — that’s the goal every single week, come out and win and work as hard as we can to do it."

Players aren’t going to tank football games. It’s a violent, physical sport and it would be dangerous to play to lose. Plus, there’s too much pride involved and other factors. Guys are playing for contracts and there are few job guarantees in the NFL.

“We’re obviously not tanking,” said wide receiver Darius Slayton, who screamed an expletive about tanking after catching a 32-yard TD pass. “At the end of the day, we have a job to do. This isn’t basketball, it’s not golf, it’s not tennis. Football, you get hit, so I’m not (going to) go out there and just let people tee off on me just to tank.”

Getting coaches on board to play not to win would be a tough task, too. Brian Daboll has no incentive to care about draft positioning if his job status is uncertain. General manager Joe Schoen also could be fired, so this decision should have come from the top. Start a third-string quarterback and bench key starters. That’s how teams give themselves a better opportunity to lose.

The Giants didn’t do that. The repercussions of this victory could set the organization back a few years if New York doesn’t end up with a franchise quarterback.

That’s not Daboll’s concern. He breathed a sigh of relief after the Giants avoided becoming the first team to go 0-9 at home.

“I see these coaches every day come in and are consistent. It’s hard to be consistent in an inconsistent league when things go ... It’s not great,” Daboll said. “We haven’t had a good record. I firmly acknowledge that and I accept responsibility for that. But their commitment to doing things the right way, day in and day out, staying late and putting together plans much like the players when we’re down and we got two wins. We have the right kind of people. It was good to get a win at home, I’ll say that. It was good to get a win at home. But it means more to me for the players and the coaches.”

Las Vegas, another team that needs a franchise quarterback, was in contention for the top pick before winning consecutive games. Now, the Raiders (4-12) are sitting at No. 8.

“We don’t do this to lose,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said last week. “We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team. Don’t do this for anybody’s draft projections. None of that (stuff) matters to us. What matters is winning, and that’s all we want to do.”

Even if winning ends up hurting the franchise.

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New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) celebrates with tight end Daniel Bellinger (82) after Lock scored a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)