Sephora to Tighten Clean Beauty Standards

Sephora’s new “Clean Plus” program will ban petroleum-based ingredients and focus on more sustainable ones.

What We Know:

• People familiar with Sephora told WWD the new initiative will introduce parameters for brands to qualify as “Clean Plus”. This includes not adding polyethylene glycol and other petroleum-based contents. If skincare, haircare, and makeup companies want to continue working with Sephora, they must comply with their standards by the start of 2022. Fragrance lines may take a little longer to comply; their deadline falls on March 31, 2022.
• Two sources believe Sephora wants to sell cleaner products because 30 percent of their sales growth derives from the 92 Clean manufacturers. As a result, the makeup superstore expects to “build out its assortment” of clean haircare and color brands.

“A lot of these clean and sustainability initiatives are directed by consumers. It’s no longer Sephora doing above the call of duty, they’re responding to consumer demand,” said one source.

• However, other sources think Sephora only agreed to cleaner ingredients to knock out competition. These experts believe that Sephora wants to specifically compete with clean retailer Credo, which partnered with Ulta Beauty last year. One of these sources references that Credo is now the “gold standard” for clean makeup.

“Credo is the destination for clean, but Sephora is the destination for prestige,” one said.

• The new program may result in some interesting brands entering the store. These may include some never seen at the beauty retailer. To ensure only the best brands enter with their new rulers, they will enact very “strict” and “in-depth” guidelines to their certification process. This will determine the sustainability and ethicalness of the makeup, hair care, or skincare.

Currently, Sephora has not released any information on their new movement. Black News Alerts will provide updates on Clean Plus once Sephora releases new details.