Organic beauty is big business right now

The beauty industry is getting an organic overhaul, and it could mean big business in the next few years.

According to a new report, the global organic personal care ingredients market size is on track to reach US$11.1 billion by the year 2025, representing a 5.4 percent compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2025.

The report points to growing consumer awareness about the benefits of organic personal care products -- which are free from potentially harmful chemicals -- in comparison to their synthetic counterparts as one of the key reasons for a surge in demand.

The organic personal care sector is biggest in the US, but emerging economies such as China and India have also witnessed an increase in demand over the last few years.

The report highlights aloe vera, soybean oil, neem extract, xanthan gum, and fish oil as some of the major raw materials used in the fabrication of organic products, so we could be about to see much more of these ingredients in beauty aisles in the near future. Skincare in particular is expected to emerge as the fastest growing segment between now and 2025.

Retailers have been quick to double down on the notion of 'clean' beauty recently. In July, the chain store Target unveiled a new 'Target Clean' icon, designed to alert shoppers to products formulated without certain chemicals such as phthalates, propyl-parabens, butyl-parabens, sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and more.

The icon has since been applied it to almost 4,000 products across the retailer's beauty and personal care aisles. Earlier this year, it was reported that the cosmetics giant Sephora was tripling the list of vetoed ingredients on its 'Clean at Sephora' program, while Garnier unveiled a new organic skincare range, 'Garnier Bio', in France.