 Global Cosmetics Cluster (GCC) holds its first in person networking event on the occasion of in-cosmetics global in Paris, France, April 6, 2022. A much anticipated in-person get together for GCC members took place on April 6 in Paris at the Maison De La Nouvelle-Aquitaine, rue des Pyramides, on the occasion of the in-cosmetics global show, which happened in-person for the first time in 3 years. 45 representatives from 7 clusters and more than 20 companies took the opportunity to meet informally over drinks and canapés and share information on the theme of ‘The History of Cosmetic Ingredients and their Modern and Cultural Use’. Attendees came from the following countries: France, England, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Colombia and Peru. Short presentations from the following companies were prefaced by an introduction to the GCC and its board members from France, Spain, Canada and UK clusters.
Speakers included: Alejandro Franco from Kaffe Bueno Harry McIlwraith from Full Circle Ingredients Hector Mijia from Multiceras Léo Liénard from Laboratoires Expanscience GCC is hoping to organise further informal networking events at forthcoming international shows such as Cosmoprof and Cosmetics 360 during the year. Global Cosmetics Cluster (GCC) was born in 2021 and is a network of over 20 different cluster organisations representing the cosmetic industry value chain from all over the globe. www.cosmeticsclusters.com The GCC is working on three areas of strategic focus for 2022: 1. Connecting cluster people to boost business and R&D opportunities 2. Education 3. Inter-cluster activities For further information, please contact hello@cosmeticsclusters.com
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 Kathi Fischer and Michelle Regel with the CleanO2 CarbinX unit The Canadian Cosmetic Cluster would like to shine a spotlight on this amazing Canadian company that combines innovation and sustainability. Clean O2 develops technology to produce an ingredient that is essential for soap. We share the interview we had with Kathi Fischer and Michelle Regel as they tell us more about Clean O2. 1. Tell us a little bit more about your cosmetic business. What makes it unique? Every CleanO2 soap product is made with carbon that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere if not captured by our CarbinX™ units and turned into amazing soap products that are great for your body, the community, and the environment. Proceeds from the sale of CleanO2 soap products support the deployment of more CarbinX™ units around the world to capture more carbon and reduce the impact on our climate. 2. What products do you specialize in?
 The Canadian Cosmetic Cluster had the pleasure of speaking with Alejandro Franco of Kaffe Bueno. Alejandro is an inspiring individual who is one of the co-founders of Kaffe Bueno. We ask him to share his story and vision to making the world a better place through upcycled ingredients. 1. History of the company - why did you start? |
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Who is NATIVE EXTRACTS?
New Plant Profiles - New Access to Natural Vitamin C
NATIVE EXTRACTS is an Australian company leading the evolution of the plant extract through multiple scientific methodologies, new technology development and conscious manufacturing in the pursuit to expand knowledge and access to analytic results of natural phyto-compound profiles. As a result of our extraction innovations, back in 2012-13 we publicly launched an unprecedented library of water-soluble profiles on Australian Natives, most of which had not been seen before. We also announced our breakthrough in the ability to harness the natural Vitamin C molecule in an aqueous format and have further expanded our capabilities in holding the highly unstable molecule for over 24 months, as well as new concentration levels in our recently launched EssenXce range, nutrient-dense liquids, where we achieved 15,000-16,000mg/100g natural Vitamin C in the ESS Kakadu Plum EssenXce 5:1. We strive to provide traceable, transparent and 'true to nature' ingredients that go beyond the molecules, but tell bigger stories about biodiversity, unique botanical species, conscious manufacturing practices, building partnerships and science-backed R&D on plant profiling. Due to industry recognition of our continued advances, expertise and quality work we are chosen to do R&D and commercialise high value crops for Cosmetics, Hair Care, Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical development, Food & Beverage. We are evolving into a biotech company that offers more than ingredients, but engages R&D partnerships (commercial and university driven) for natural solutions to human problems.
"Our vision was simple but complex, like nature - to develop a range that truly delivers the power of nature, and is unique, innovative, creates new points of difference and gives brands access to the natural molecules in their entourage as they exist in the species. We are more than high value natural ingredients, and so are our brand partners. We are conscious manufacturers that focus on energy efficiency, significant water saving practices, recycling and composting waste. We value close collaborations with our partners from brands to manufacturers and growers, with a mission to improve Indigenous enterprise and inclusion throughout our supply chain across direct sourcing and co-ops. I dove into the cosmetic ingredients space knowing that there was so much room to improve the quality of extracts, to create new formats, to research unique species and share the discoveries for other to innovate with, to collaborate with brands to translate research into innovative natural products, and to diversify and strengthen our primary industry. We are now chosen by growers to be their scale and commercialisation partners, creating new market for them, whilst serving as a platform for new access to world-first innovations and discoveries. We are only at the beginning of an explosion of global research and new knowledge of what botanicals can offer as solutions across multiple industry sectors,"says Lisa Carroll, Innovator and Director.
The Canadian Cosmetic Cluster is Launching the 2nd Edition of the ChemBox and we are excited to share with you some of our interviews with the new ChemBox participant suppliers. This is an interview we had with the Canadian west coast company Glacial Bay Organic Clay. Read the interview below and learn about the amazing resources that Canada has to offer.
1. 1. (a) Tell Us About Your Company?
We are a raw material ingredient supplier of Glacial Marine Clay powder (Sea-silt) to the cosmetic, health & beauty industry. Our Company practices environmentally sustainable methods to hand harvest & solar dry while processing this clay. Our clay deposits come from an active glacier located in a pristine area on the west coast of Canada. Glacial run off deposits these precious minerals into a pristine Estuary, energizing the clay particles with a strong negative charge that helps bind toxins.
ECOCERT COSMOS Certified, this unique clay is both nourishing and detoxifying when applied to the skin. Unlike any other Clay, the Oceanic nutrients combine with over 50 essential trace minerals to create this magical, healing clay that has an average particle size of 20 microns. This powerful combination of minerals, negative charge & oceanic nutrients produce skin product formulations that are highly effective, extremely stable with no odor and low heavy metal counts.
1. (b) What Inspired You to Get into the Cosmetic Ingredients Industry?
I have worked with several Indigenous First Nations over the years. While volunteering for one band, I heard about this "Healing Clay" after listening to stories from the Chief & Elders of our local First Nation. So we followed up to find these unique, rare deposits in the Estuary at the end of this long inlet off the Pacific Coast. We started to test these clay samples and worked with worked with several scientists, doctors, nurses, formulators & chemists to see what positive effects our clay had on the skin. It was wonderful to find out how beneficial our clay was to restoring the balance of the skin microbiome (good bacteria that protects the skin) and to see the results once applied to the skin. So we got a group of like minded shareholders together with the goal of bringing this "Healing" clay to market to help various skin conditions including simple things like acme and oily skin to relieving pain from shingles. As there were costs associated with establishing/proving our claims for the healing qualities of our clay, we decided to enter the cosmetic ingredient market for clay masks and clay related products. This was done to generate funding for future testing to prove our clay has many healing qualities. But in the meantime, people who will use our clay for products such as clay masks, will also get the added benefits of the healing qualities our clay possesses.
2. What Makes Your Ingredients Unique?
Several factors combine to give our clay its unique qualities. First is the source of the clay, from ancient volcanic mountain ranges that produced a lot of Montmorillonites and Illites clay. These clay is known for their high absorbency and stronger cation exchange capacities for absorbing active ingredients and binding to them to produce a more stable clay mask. Secondly, there is an active glacier and Icefields that feed this ground up clay down long river systems and through electrolysis, our clay particles become negatively charged. This strong negative charge binds with the active ingredients of the formula to produce stable products also binds positively charged toxins such as bacteria when applied to the skin
Third, and just as important is that our clay has a very small particle size, which translates to larger surface areas to absorb active ingredients. Fourth, our clay has an anti-inflammatory property that reduces inflammation which helps reduce wrinkles, bags under your eyes and is even used in a suave for professional athletes for muscle aches and inflammation from injury or overuse. Last is the fact that our clay is immersed in the Pacific Ocean for more than half its life, mixing with the rich micronutrients in the water to produce a microbiome environment similar to the human skin. Thus allowing an easier transfer of active ingredients to the skin, while detoxifying the skin at the same time.
3. Is Your Ingredient Sustainable?
Absolutely! We are fortunate that our mineral claims for our clay material is located at the base of an active Glacier that deposits about 3-4 inches of new clay silt annually. We rotate between the areas of our 10 claims ( each claim is 55 acres) to ensure we do not harvest from the same area every 5 years. We only harvest the clay from the top 12-18 inches of the surface as this region has the richest aerobic clay full of good microbiomes. Thus, we allow time to for each harvest to be replenished with between 15-20 inches of clay before we harvest again.
We are a raw material ingredient supplier of Glacial Marine Clay powder (Sea-silt) to the cosmetic, health & beauty industry. Our Company practices environmentally sustainable methods to hand harvest & solar dry while processing this clay. Our clay deposits come from an active glacier located in a pristine area on the west coast of Canada. Glacial run off deposits these precious minerals into a pristine Estuary, energizing the clay particles with a strong negative charge that helps bind toxins.
ECOCERT COSMOS Certified, this unique clay is both nourishing and detoxifying when applied to the skin. Unlike any other Clay, the Oceanic nutrients combine with over 50 essential trace minerals to create this magical, healing clay that has an average particle size of 20 microns. This powerful combination of minerals, negative charge & oceanic nutrients produce skin product formulations that are highly effective, extremely stable with no odor and low heavy metal counts.
1. (b) What Inspired You to Get into the Cosmetic Ingredients Industry?
I have worked with several Indigenous First Nations over the years. While volunteering for one band, I heard about this "Healing Clay" after listening to stories from the Chief & Elders of our local First Nation. So we followed up to find these unique, rare deposits in the Estuary at the end of this long inlet off the Pacific Coast. We started to test these clay samples and worked with worked with several scientists, doctors, nurses, formulators & chemists to see what positive effects our clay had on the skin. It was wonderful to find out how beneficial our clay was to restoring the balance of the skin microbiome (good bacteria that protects the skin) and to see the results once applied to the skin. So we got a group of like minded shareholders together with the goal of bringing this "Healing" clay to market to help various skin conditions including simple things like acme and oily skin to relieving pain from shingles. As there were costs associated with establishing/proving our claims for the healing qualities of our clay, we decided to enter the cosmetic ingredient market for clay masks and clay related products. This was done to generate funding for future testing to prove our clay has many healing qualities. But in the meantime, people who will use our clay for products such as clay masks, will also get the added benefits of the healing qualities our clay possesses.
2. What Makes Your Ingredients Unique?
Several factors combine to give our clay its unique qualities. First is the source of the clay, from ancient volcanic mountain ranges that produced a lot of Montmorillonites and Illites clay. These clay is known for their high absorbency and stronger cation exchange capacities for absorbing active ingredients and binding to them to produce a more stable clay mask. Secondly, there is an active glacier and Icefields that feed this ground up clay down long river systems and through electrolysis, our clay particles become negatively charged. This strong negative charge binds with the active ingredients of the formula to produce stable products also binds positively charged toxins such as bacteria when applied to the skin
Third, and just as important is that our clay has a very small particle size, which translates to larger surface areas to absorb active ingredients. Fourth, our clay has an anti-inflammatory property that reduces inflammation which helps reduce wrinkles, bags under your eyes and is even used in a suave for professional athletes for muscle aches and inflammation from injury or overuse. Last is the fact that our clay is immersed in the Pacific Ocean for more than half its life, mixing with the rich micronutrients in the water to produce a microbiome environment similar to the human skin. Thus allowing an easier transfer of active ingredients to the skin, while detoxifying the skin at the same time.
3. Is Your Ingredient Sustainable?
Absolutely! We are fortunate that our mineral claims for our clay material is located at the base of an active Glacier that deposits about 3-4 inches of new clay silt annually. We rotate between the areas of our 10 claims ( each claim is 55 acres) to ensure we do not harvest from the same area every 5 years. We only harvest the clay from the top 12-18 inches of the surface as this region has the richest aerobic clay full of good microbiomes. Thus, we allow time to for each harvest to be replenished with between 15-20 inches of clay before we harvest again.
Lisa Fryer
Quadra Ingredients
How to make efficacious cosmetics actives easier to use?
Microencapsulation technology has been widely explored by many industries including Cosmetics and Pharmaceutical. Cosmetics and Personal Care products often contain biologically active substances that are unstable and sensitive to temperature, pH, light and oxidation. These substances may undergo undesired reactions that lead to the reduction or loss of their effectiveness or even lead to the degradation of the cosmetic product. [1] Microencapsulation of efficacious cosmetics actives can overcome these undesirable results.
ACTIVE PROTECTION
Essential Oils, Vitamins, Acids and Natural Extracts are highly oxidative substances that quickly degrade and constantly react with the medium and other cosmetic compounds (light, oxygen, packaging, preservatives, fragrances, surfactants, etc.). By encapsulating it, we grant the stability of the active ingredients and protect them from possible reactions with the formulation or the environment.
AQUEOUS BASE
Using a production process that is based on Green-Chemistry allows some encapsulated ingredients to be water-based, free of organic solvents and totally sustainable, reducing waste that may otherwise be harmful to the users and/or the environment.
EFFICACY
Increased Permeation
The encapsulation grants a better permeation of the actives in the skin. Unlike the actives in their free form, the encapsulated actives can overcome the stratum corneum layer, reaching the epidermis and delivering the maximum benefits.
[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284754922_Encapsulation_of_cosmetic_active_ingredients_for_topical_application_-_a_review
ACTIVE PROTECTION
Essential Oils, Vitamins, Acids and Natural Extracts are highly oxidative substances that quickly degrade and constantly react with the medium and other cosmetic compounds (light, oxygen, packaging, preservatives, fragrances, surfactants, etc.). By encapsulating it, we grant the stability of the active ingredients and protect them from possible reactions with the formulation or the environment.
AQUEOUS BASE
Using a production process that is based on Green-Chemistry allows some encapsulated ingredients to be water-based, free of organic solvents and totally sustainable, reducing waste that may otherwise be harmful to the users and/or the environment.
EFFICACY
Increased Permeation
The encapsulation grants a better permeation of the actives in the skin. Unlike the actives in their free form, the encapsulated actives can overcome the stratum corneum layer, reaching the epidermis and delivering the maximum benefits.
[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284754922_Encapsulation_of_cosmetic_active_ingredients_for_topical_application_-_a_review
Canadian Cosmetic Cluster Team
Uniting Canadian Cosmetics and Bringing it to the World
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