Author: Linjie Zhou

What Does Organic Mean?

The standards for organic vary worldwide. Simply and straightforwardly, the ingredients of organic products must be grown under an agriculture system that does not use artificial substances such as pesticides and fertilizer. To be more specific, according to the international standards that are commonly accepted, organic products cannot contain any artificial spices or skin pigment. It also cannot use oil chemicals including preservatives and surfactants. The main idea behind organic is that its manufacturing process is less harmful to the environment.

What is Organic Skincare?

Organic skincare products must consist of organically farmed and processed plant-derived ingredients. As mentioned above, the standard of organic farming is not globally consistent, but typically it prohibits the use of laboratory-made substances and harmful chemicals such as chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, parabens, sulfates, and GMOs at any point during the manufacturing process. Organic skincare products should not be tested on animals. Organic skincare products should be packaged in environmentally friendly containers such as glass or recyclable plastic to minimize waste and reduce the carbon footprint.

Standards for Organic Skincare in the United States, Europe, and China

In the United States, USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) organic certification is the only standardized, government-regulated system that exists to ensure the safety of foods put in the body and products put on the body. Since FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) does not define the term “organic” when it applies to cosmetics and body care products, if a cosmetic/body care product contains or is made up of agricultural ingredients, and meets the USDA/NOP organic standards, it might be eligible to be certified. Once the cosmetics/body care product is certified, it is eligible for the same 4 organic labeling categories as all other agricultural products. To briefly explain the 4 labels, the “100 percent organic” label means that the product must contain only organically produced ingredients (excluding salt and water); the “organic” label means that the product must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding salt and water); the “made with organic ingredients” label means that the products contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients; if the product contains less than 70 percent organic ingredients, the product cannot use the term “organic” anywhere on the principal display panel, but they can identify specific USDA certified organic ingredients on the ingredients statement on the information panel.

In Europe, the most used standard for organic cosmetics is COSMOS. For a cosmetics product to be certified as “COSMOS Organic” it must contain the required percentages of organic ingredients, and it must be free from GMOs (genetically modified organisms), parabens, phenoxyethanol, nanoparticles, silicon, PEG, synthetic perfumes, and dyes, animal-derived ingredients, hexane, gluten, phthalates, silicones, sulfates, and ureas.

Compared to the United States and Europe, China’s state certification and accreditation administration canceled the certification for organic cosmetics in 2012. Currently, there are no regulatory agencies or standards to do organic cosmetics certification in China.

With the help of my tutor, I posed a question via email to Nuria, an LCF student who is researching ingredients in hair products. Which ingredients in everyday care products are the most harmful? Are there healthier alternatives or ways to improve them? Her research reminded me that there are no ingredients in regularly sold skincare products that are dangerous, only things that are more effective for different consumers. This is to focus the question more on the consumers themselves. Even though it is a non-dangerous ingredient it should be dosed appropriately and not just for the sake of effectiveness.

Nuria: Safety in cosmetics, especially in skincare products, is a hotly debated subject. As we all know, every nation has laws protecting consumers that include stringent testing.

In the course of my research on this subject, I spoke with Diogo Baltazar, the course leader for cosmetic science at LCF, who assured me that all cosmetics that have been properly developed and regulated (legal cosmetics) are safe for the consumer to use, and that any ingredients that were found to be harmful would not be included.

I do agree with this up to a point, and that is that we can only test ingredients and their effects so far. Since we don’t have enough time to conduct long-term studies, we cannot determine whether they will harm users in the long run.

It would be worthwhile to consider the case of Johnson & Johnson’s talc powder, which was found to cause ovarian or uterine cancer in female users.

In conclusion, I don’t think any ingredient in skincare is harmful, but I do think some ingredients are more potent than others and some won’t work for different skin types
I suppose this is not the response you were hoping for to your question, but I hope it will still be helpful.

Strategy to enter Chinese Market

Origins, a naturalist brand whose name means “origin,” is a division of the Estée Lauder Group. Its mission is to develop products using only the purest botanicals found in nature. The Origins Global Plant Medicine Team and William Lauder, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Estee Lauder, collaborated to do research on natural cosmetics made with components derived from plants in 1983. For this reason, the company was founded as a natural and effective skincare brand with the tagline “Powered by Nature, Proven by Science.” The range’s organic products are all prepared without the use of artificial preservatives and are carefully chosen from the best USDA-approved ingredients, which is stunning. Ebenezer has been able to draw customers from all around the world thanks to its well-established technology, experience, and superior natural ingredients.

The company has been dedicated to a number of international environmental efforts since its beginning in order to achieve the 3Rs of reduce, recycle, and reuse. The “Love the Earth Forest Recycling Campaign” and the “Bottle Recycling Campaign” are two significant public welfare initiatives Ebenezer is now implementing in China as part of its CSR operations. According to a Joywood study, planting one tree can lower indoor temperatures by more than 20 degrees, saving an average of $175 annually on the power used by air conditioners and producing the equivalent of 118 kilograms of air annually. Since 2009, Ebenezer has supported tree planting worldwide by launching its “Love Land Forest Restoration Campaign” in recognition of the value of doing so. Echinacea has partnered with the China Greening Foundation to advance environmental initiatives since it entered the Chinese market in 2010. With the planting of almost 160,000 sea buckthorn trees as of 2015, China’s ecological environment has improved. Another one of Echinacea’s charitable endeavors is the “Empty Bottle Recycling Campaign,” in which consumers can receive free merchandise of any brand if they bring in empty bottles and make purchases in exchange for freebies. Ebony Source prepared a campaign to lessen the amount of buried empty bottles. In acknowledgment of the multiple environmental initiatives that Ebenezer is leading by example with, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen Ebenezer as one of 30 firms to be a Green Energy Partner. The marketing effort also improves consumer perceptions of the brand by increasing brand awareness.

• Localized marketing approach

To successfully enter the Chinese market, it was essential to thoroughly comprehend the Chinese market before developing a marketing and sales strategy. Although the idea is the same, because consumers get information in a familiar setting and take into account cultural and knowledge aspects, their level of awareness and understanding of the product varies from consumer to consumer. The concept of “natural and science-based,” which appealed to Chinese customers, was the secret to the brand’s success in the Chinese market rather than adhering to the current marketing plan. The brand put laboratory hoses, other scientific equipment, and natural ingredients on display in each store to emphasize the superiority of natural products and technology. Chinese customers, however, associated the labware with “chemical components,” notwithstanding the opposite. The full process of creating the products from elements obtained from plants was depicted in a video to clear up this confusion and to communicate the accurate brand concept to customers. “It is not what you do, it is how you do it,” counseled the managing director of Woody Noir at the American Express Luxury Summit in 2013 regarding the approach to taking on China’s largest cosmetics industry. As a result, even though the product is the same, marketing strategy is crucial. The best-selling product on the market, Dr. Andrew Weil serum, primarily promotes self-healing and produces healthy, radiant skin. The “restore” aspect of de-tanning is highlighted in the product’s US marketing. Although Chinese consumers are more interested in the low-irritation “maintenance” and “repair” features than the “restore” function, it is sold in China with a focus on the “brighten” function. Additionally, repair has purposes beyond returning skin function. Chinese consumers prefer a segmented approach to skin care, therefore Yummy’s often promotes a variety of items rather than just one or two. In conclusion, Origin investigated and created a marketing plan that is best suited for the Chinese market instead of adhering to the conventional marketing method, and has been successful in winning over Chinese consumers.

• Vigorous web marketing promotion

One of Origin primary marketing techniques is the active development of online marketing because 55% of the company’s total sales take place in locations without storefronts. Origin regularly advertises its marketing initiatives on Weibo and WeChat and sells its goods on both its official website and the Tmall Mall. It also maintains an active Weibo account, and as of December 6, 2016, at 13:00, it had posted 10,244 tweets and gained 233,190 followers. Its Weibo posts include information on new products as well as normal offline business activities including promoting eco-friendly and healthy lifestyles and other encouraging feedback from followers. This demonstrates how Origin is keeping up with the times of interpersonal communication, maximizing the word-of-mouth diffusion impact, and converting customers who use the items into brand advocates. Local cosmetic companies have been ignoring this market, but Origin has grasped the chance to implement an effective internet marketing campaign.

Reflections：

Origin, all of its product lines, as well as its development and expertise in marketing campaigns in China, are all about the environment-friendly strategies. As such, it is a brand that practices the environmental philosophy of giving back to nature and the planet. With the goal of achieving the 3Rs of Reuse, Reduce and Recycle, it has launched a number of green initiatives around the world, thus leading the entire beauty industry to take a step towards environmental protection.

This blog is based on the sum of 18 questions about organic skincare products asked by 58 Chinese customers from different regions. The questions included the consumer’s gender, occupation, and choice of brand and origin of skincare products. After the last mentor interview, I realized that I had insufficient data to analyze in my market research, so I looked for consumers of different age groups and different regions to tell me their perceptions and future plans for skincare and organic skincare products.

After my interviews, consumers do not understand what organic skincare is. This questionnaire has inspired me to focus more on the ingredients in organic skincare products next time, and to promote awareness of organic skincare products. Start from the ingredients to identify how to perceive organic skincare brands.

The content on the screen is the promotional video of some merchants, and then some “consumers” guide the audience to use organic products. Their want to convey a message to the audience that our products are pure natural without any additives, and are healthy, advanced and luxurious. But with global pollution, are these products really healthy and pollution-free? What are the standards of organic? What message are they sending when their voices are erased? Through the corridor to the second hall is a fluorescent cage installation, white figures and plaster flowers are bound in it. The message is that people crave nature and beauty, but such products require a lot of chemical additives to bring out that beauty. The audience outside the cage, seeing white figures and plaster illuminated by blue fluorescence, presents an illusory aesthetic feeling, but what is the real situation of the plants and people inside the cage? What we want to show is the binding relationship between a chemical agent and nature, man’s quest for perfection.

Finally, there is a reprocessed forest in the exhibition hall. People take the natural forest as the basis of the product and reprocess it into a new organic product. The cube appearance reflects the man-made traces. The installation, along with the white figures, is enclosed in one glass display case after another and presented to the audience like a commodity. It shows that natural products are reprocessed by people into a kind of commodity and redefined as organic products.

Redefining “organic” in Chinese customers’ eyes is the third intervention. Visual identity design and other techniques could be used to redesign the organic logo. To make the distinction between organic and purely plant-based products clear, work with brands that make organic skin care products, organise campaigns, and promote them on the appropriate social media platforms.

I had numerous difficulties when creating this virtual show hall.
One result I hope to achieve is to involve more people in the “interactive” and “flexible” ways I want to popularise and publicise “organic” in China without creating a source of the legal issue.
I previously considered how the presentation in the virtual exhibition hall would be more effective. I discovered that employing the VR-assisted virtual exhibition hall will result in a more immersive experience and emotion after consulting a lot of information and resources. We are all members of Gen Z, who enjoys accepting new things. Additionally, it will be significantly more striking.

I created an online exhibition space and then planned an experience workshop.
I welcomed attendees of the product workshop to stay and browse my online display space.
The attendees all demonstrated a great interest and were extremely impressed after testing on the VR glasses and viewing the excellent educational demonstration I developed through the virtual exhibition hall.
Immediately after the experience interview:
Linjie: How do you feel? Can you talk about how you feel?
W: Let me start by saying that this form is fantastic. I never imagined I’d be able to participate in an online show in this way! It’s awesome!
I believe this is well ahead of its time based on the exhibition’s format! And I find the exhibition’s guided procedure to be incredibly enjoyable.
Additionally, I think this exhibition has excellent picture quality. The impact of 3D is far more startling than I anticipated. Naturally, I’m a touch lightheaded.
I’m still taken aback by the fact that “organic” is a liminal term in the content.
Linjie: How do you feel? Can you talk about how you feel?
M.: You’re very imaginative! Well done!
Does anyone actually hold the idea of organic in high regard? I discovered that this might be an IQ tax after watching your display. I won’t have to pay for it later.
Linjie: How do you feel? Can you talk about how you feel?
Y: I believe you can display it in a more prominent location and inform more people in China about this organic product. Your form is also rather innovative. Excellent, come on.
Linjie: How do you feel? Can you talk about how you feel?
J: How did you come up with this concept? It’s a lot of fun. Yeah. I believe I am fairly receptive if a cosmetics company wants to advertise to me. an extremely positive encounter.
Linjie: How do you feel? Can you talk about how you feel?
G: Fairly Boring.
Linjie: Why?
G: Considering the sustainability of your display, where is it? Is that it? What now? How about the following? That is definitely eye-catching, in my opinion. Therefore, it was a little dull.
Linjie: Your feedback is very good! I will write it down.

I learned through the interview that several people at the scene were aware of my intervention. One is that I can initially accomplish the effect I desire because the form is relatively unique and the substance also challenges their preconceived notions. is to make clear to the public that no regulation nor organic product certification exist in China. Therefore, we need to take a more critical look at how this product with the “organic” label was created.

The crowd also questioned my ability to draw in visitors and maintain the display over time. This issue, in my opinion, merits consideration as well.

This is the video I did in virtual world to demonstrate the intention of inviting stakeholders to join in and experience the journey in virtual world.

The organic skincare market in China has seen significant growth in recent years. As Chinese consumers become more health-conscious and environmentally aware, the demand for organic skincare products has increased.

According to market research firm Euromonitor International, the sales of organic skincare products in China reached RMB 8.8 billion (about 1.3 billion USD) in 2018, and is expected to grow to RMB 15 billion (about 2.3 billion USD) by 2023.

The organic skincare market in China is currently dominated by foreign brands, which have a higher market share and brand recognition compared to domestic brands. However, as Chinese consumers become more educated and aware of organic skincare products, domestic brands are also expected to gain a larger market share in the future.

The organic skincare market in China is primarily concentrated in first-tier cities and large malls, but online sales through e-commerce platforms and social media are also gradually increasing.

In summary, the organic skincare market in China has great potential and growth opportunities, but as it is a relatively new market, further efforts to educate and raise awareness among consumers are needed.

The workshop was held to let people to experiment on the test of different organic skincare product.

I asked some audience members who were curious about organic skincare products to attend a session I was hosting.

This workshop served two aims for me:

By using the products of these companies available on the market, we can personally examine the oxidation process of the products after a period of exposure to air.

intuitive perception of the product’s stability following the use of preservatives.

In addition, after removing the initial mechanistic organisation, I showed the participants how some organic plants oxidise naturally without the need of preservatives.

Preservative-added “organic skin care products” on the other hand, are more stable. As a result, the question arises: Are preservatives, organic goods, natural extraction, preservation, etc., acceptable? Is it inappropriate, then?

Preservatives are a crucial component of cosmetics and the primary way to stop cosmetic items from degrading due to microbial contamination during storage or use. The majority of conventional preservatives are created chemically. Even while the preservation effect of chemical preservatives is generally steady, increasing numbers of studies have revealed that, at certain doses, some chemical preservatives may have adverse consequences such skin irritation, allergy, or inflammation. Natural plant-derived preservatives and their use in cosmetics have been researched recently in an effort to increase the safety and gentleness of cosmetics. In the business, research has grown in popularity.

Preservatives are required even if organic goods are harvested using natural methods. However, it is also clear how preservatives are harmed.

As a result, I think that in order to establish balance, there needs to be strict regulation, or laws and regulations.

All of the participants claimed they could not define them if these products emerged on the Chinese market when I explained the current state of these rules and regulations in the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China.

Nevertheless, it is likely that the Chinese market has no “organic” legal protection. Does this imply that there are some excellent goods out there with no true protection from the actual material? Additionally, some of the widely used “organic” skin care products may be phoney. A product that is neither organic nor nonorganic, or even uses preservatives or additives improperly, is a very bad situation.

Therefore, furthering the disclosure of this information ought to be the top priority. The next thing I want to do is build a virtual exhibition space for learning that more people can use.