NATRUE took part for the first time in this year’s Eco Living Iberia, the biggest natural and organic trade event in the Iberian market, which took place from 8 to 9 September in Madrid. With almost 5,000 attendees, Eco Living Iberia brought together more than 300 exhibitors and gave us the opportunity to discover the newest trends emerging from the natural and sustainable sector.
Eco Living Iberia has been the first event where NATRUE has exhibited in-person in 2021. As it is the only dedicated Iberian trade show for eco-living (self-care, beauty, skincare, clothing, homewares and cleaning products,) the show attracted thousands of visiting distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and buyers from the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the world.
On the first day of the event, Viktoria Potko, NATRUE’s Label and Events Officer, delivered a presentation about the latest trends in natural and organic cosmetics (NOC) and provided an introduction to obtaining the NATRUE Label.
“Consumers are increasingly raising their expectations of a cosmetic product, and particularly within the natural and organic sector. Consumers’ top concerns reflect the perceived health, ethical and environmental attributes of a product including aspects such as ingredient avoidance, sourcing, packaging and animal welfare. Although product sales have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer demand is growing even stronger than before”, explained Viktoria Potko.
However, the data show that in the absence of an official regulatory definition for the terms natural & organic when applied to personal care products, means the risk of consumers being misled by such claims through malpractices like greenwashing remains an issue. In line with this, Viktoria Potko was clear: “Certification stays one of the most reliable sources for consumers to be sure that they are buying truly natural or organic cosmetic product”.
At Eco Living Iberia, NATRUE had the chance to meet some of our label users that are present in the Iberian market, like Essabó, and to exchange impressions about the challenges and opportunities for the natural and organic cosmetics sector.
In case you missed it…
Earlier this year, NATRUE’s Director General, Dr. Mark Smith, was featured in a series of interviews with industry experts published by Eco Living Iberia. Click here to read the full interview.