admin The effects of climate change are far-reaching, catastrophic and ever-present. The reality is that few (if any) regions of the world are immune to its dangers — and the same goes for business sectors.
One industry currently facing major challenges due to the climate crisis and its accompanying extreme weather conditions and heat waves is beauty. If you’ve ever left beauty products in the car on a hot day, you’re familiar with the despair that comes with tossing melted lipstick and clumpy sunscreen. Certainly the accelerated expiration of medicine cabinet staples isn’t the most pressing concern we face when it comes to the effects of climate change, but it’s nonetheless worth considering.
As unprecedented heat waves reach the triple digits, beauty manufacturers and retailers are facing a new challenge: past-their-prime product deliveries and spoiled formulas. This is a growing problem, particularly as many consumers are increasingly purchasing their beauty products online. The entire supply chain, it seems, is grappling with ways to cope with the climate crisis and beat the heat.
“When I started in the industry 35 years ago, the maximum temperature we tested products was 100°F. Now, the standard heat-stability test is 130 degrees,” says cosmetic chemist Akshay Talati, who has worked for Estée Lauder, Unilever and L’Oréal brands. “We test to ensure that products will be stable in most global countries, but not the weather extremes, like in Antarctica or Ecuador. If a delivery truck reaches 140 degrees and a lipstick is in there for many hours, then it’s a problem.” (For reference, UPS drivers have 150+°F conditions inside their trucks in the summer.)
“Most manufacturers have a stability-testing in place,” says Ron Robinson, cosmetic chemist and founder of BeautyStat. “Given the unprecedented heat wave that we had this year, brands might have to make their protocol more rigorous to ensure that the product stays intact.”
When products are exposed to extreme heat for extended periods of time, they change physically and chemically. Some products can “recover,” meaning they re-solidify and maintain their ingredient integrity and benefits. (For example, you can shake a foundation to re-emulsify the ingredients.) But that’s always not the case, and disgruntled beauty consumers are already sounding off about melted deliveries on Reddit.
With skin-care products containing actives, stability becomes even more of an issue. Heat can break down preservatives and render potent ingredients — like those sunscreen, retinoids or vitamin C serums — ineffective. According to a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Chemistry, retinol loses up to 80% of its efficacy after six months at 77°F and can degrade 80% to 100% at 104°F, which is the norm at warehouses and storage facilities. (The study tested 16 retinoid derivatives.)
If you reformulate products to withstand higher temperatures, “you risk losing desired texture, consistency, color and ingredient benefits or performance,” says Talati.
Our favorite liners glide seamlessly across eyelids because they contain soft waxes that melt on contact with skin, which is below 98.6°F. If reformulated to survive high temperatures, the product would be hard and uncomfortable to apply.
Product developers face increasing demands in an ultra-competitive market. Years of research and development goes into creating a product that lives up to its marketing promises.
“This is a new topic — it’s not something people have had to think about (in the past). The last thing brands consider when they make a product is, ‘Oh, is it gonna melt when it’s sitting on someone’s porch one day?’ You have to really be thinking about that now,” says David Silbergleit, CEO of PIMS, a marketing company that creates custom mailers for luxury brands. “This is the environment we’re in now. Unfortunately, temperatures are rising.”
The food industry has navigated the challenges of shipping temperature-sensitive produce and wine for many years. Some chocolatiers require expedited delivery during summer months or have separate shipping rules and pricing for heat-sensitive products. Perishable foods are often genetically modified to stay fresh during shipping and not bruise easily when piled high at the grocery store. Of course, there’s a tradeoff: Would you rather order a caprese with juicy heirloom tomatoes or pale beefsteaks?
“Some things are in our control, but the weather is not one of them,” says Silbergleit. “There’s a reason you can only buy Mallomars at the grocery store certain months of the year: They don’t last in the storage and warehouses.”
There are now specialized packing options that can insulate without taking up too much space, but they’re not recyclable. The most common insulation materials are expanded polystyrene foam (like Styrofoam), polyurethane foam (similar to squishy egg-crate padding) and reflective materials like metalized bubble envelopes and sheets that deflect heat (also known as radiant barrier film). All of these come with an added cost, one that will eventually trickle down to consumers.
Indie brands will likely be hit hardest by the increasing need for packaging and cooling solutions. Amazon offers a Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) service to small businesses with limited staff and warehouse space, through which, for a fee, the company will store, pack and ship orders.
“Amazon refuses to store meltable items in their warehouses during certain months — it’s not just about products melting during shipping, but also during storage,” says an independent beauty retailer who preferred to remain anonymous. “Between May and October, Amazon tells FBA sellers that you have to pull everything out of your inventory that’s meltable, because their warehouses can reach upwards of 120°F in the summer. It can happen to anybody, even when you take all the necessary precautions, because believe it or not, having items melt in the mail is very, very common.”
By the time a product reaches your hands, it’s usually spent months traveling through a supply chain, which varies from brand to brand. There are different paths a product can take after it’s designed: First, raw ingredients need to arrive in stable form at a manufacturer; the finished product is shipped in bulk to warehouses, and could sit there for several months before going to retail stores or fulfillment centers that send out individual orders to buyers. A product will likely pass through shipping docks, sorting centers, airports and trucks. These environments may not be climate controlled, but boxing and packaging can create a temperature buffer.
Many companies have begun upgrading to air-conditioned facilities. “The smaller brands might not be doing it, but global companies that I work with are shipping in temperature-controlled trucks,” says Talati.
“Our warehouse is temperature-regulated with air conditioning and fans, and we have heat in the winter so products don’t freeze,” adds Silbergleit.
As global warming continues to impact our climate, brands will need to become more nimble.
“If it’s a holiday weekend, people go out of town. A Friday delivery could mean it’s sitting out on a porch for the entire weekend. If you’re sending a candle or lipsticks, and it’s a scorcher, forget about it,” says Silbergleit. “I went to play tennis last weekend and brought a bag with a change of clothes and deodorant. When I was done, the deodorant had completely melted all over the place. I basically had to throw that bag out.”
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