The Sustainability Start-Up category will highlight emerging companies offering new solutions that could reshape sustainability practices in the cosmetics and personal care industry.
Start-ups added to spotlight early-stage innovation
The new category expands the awards’ scope to better reflect where many sustainability breakthroughs are now occurring, in smaller, agile companies developing alternatives to legacy materials, packaging, and formulations.
“We see the Sustainable Beauty Awards as inclusive since previous winners have been small start-ups such as Organic Bioactives and P2 Science,” Amarjit Sahota, founder of Ecovia Intelligence, told CosmeticsDesign. The judging process is designed to accommodate companies of varying sizes and structures.
Start-ups working on sustainable ingredients, products, or solutions are eligible to enter, alongside larger players across the supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, NGOs, and other stakeholders working to advance sustainability in the beauty and personal care sector.
Five categories open for entries
In total, five award categories are open this year:
- New Sustainable Product
- Sustainable Ingredient
- Sustainable Packaging
- Sustainability Pioneer
- Sustainability Start-Up (new for 2025)
“Each year, we receive about 100 entries to the Sustainable Beauty Awards of which five finalists are selected per award category,” Sahota said. “An external judging panel selects the eventual winners.”
The deadline for entries is September 19. Finalists will be notified by October 8, with winners announced during a ceremony in Paris on October 22.
Awards reflect global participation and range
The awards have drawn entries from across the global beauty ecosystem since launching in 2013, with winners ranging from multinational companies to mission-driven brands and ingredient suppliers.
Past recipients include AAK Personal Care (Sweden), Croda Beauty (UK), Henkel (Germany), Lumene Group (Finland), Lush (UK), O’right (Taiwan), and P2 Science (USA). Sahota said the international and cross-sector mix reflects how sustainability is being embedded at multiple levels of the supply chain.
“They are also inclusive since they are international awards, with winners coming from the four corners of the globe,” he added.
Ceremony to be held alongside Sustainable Cosmetics Summit
The 2025 awards ceremony will take place on 22 October at the Crowne Plaza – République hotel in Paris. The event will be co-hosted with the European edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, which takes place on October 22-23 and covers sustainability developments in sourcing, formulation, and packaging.
For more information about the awards and entry process, please visit www.sustainablebeautyawards.com. Details on the summit agenda are posted at www.sustainablecosmeticssummit.com/Europe.
