Skin-deep decisions

With a growing environmental awareness among consumers, cosmetics companies are taking a hard look at how to smooth over their eco-footprints. Gan Tian reports.

In 2003, when Beijing-based office worker Yu Lu decided to buy a whitening facial cream, her most important consideration was: Is it effective? Time flies. A decade on, with more Chinese people conscious about environmental protection, Yu, now 35, has become more sophisticated when selecting cosmetics products. Besides effectiveness, she also cares about its creation: In the making of this cream, has the environment been polluted? Is the product's package eco-friendly? Yu's change in attitude is reflected in the Research Report on China Sustainable Consumption 2012, issued by the China Consumers' Association, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the beauty company L'Oreal China.

According to the report, 89 percent of people care whether these products are sustainable, compared with 94 percent of consumers who consider safety and effectiveness when they purchase cosmetics.