51 Clean Beauty Statistics, Trends, Market and Facts (2023)

1 out of 3 beauty products in the US are now labeled “clean”.

The trend of clean beauty is now a stand-alone market with the highest growth prospects of the beauty and personal care market.

To understand this fast-evolving market, we gathered myriad of relevant clean beauty statistics, trends and market data from the industry authorities.

In this statistic roundup, you’ll learn about:

1. Clean Beauty & Sustainable Beauty Statistics
2. Clean Beauty Market Size & Growth
3. Clean Beauty Demographics: Consumer Gender, Generation, and Income
4. Clean Beauty: Trend, Social Media & Ecommerce
5. Consequences of the Rise of Clean Beauty: Greenwashing, Regulation, and Natural Resources

To learn more about clean beauty, read our articles here.

Clean Beauty Statistics (Editors Pick)

• The clean beauty industry includes cosmetics and personal care products qualified as organic, natural, non-toxic, safe, pure, eco-friendly, sustainable, cruelty-free, vegan, plastic-free, and biodegradable. 
• In a study of 57,000 products from 500 companies, 83% of the tested products contained Titanium dioxide, a known human carcinogen.
• Women use an average of 12 products a day, containing 168 different chemicals. For men, it’s an average of six personal care products that contain 85 different chemicals. 

• Nearly 1 out of 3 beauty products are now labeled “clean” in the US.
• The “clean” beauty market was valued at $6.5 billion in 2021.
• The global natural and organic beauty market is expected to exceed $22 billion by 2024. 

• Over half of the beauty and personal care products being sold in the U.S. are currently paraben-free.
• Younger consumers are the most interested in sustainable products. Gen Z consumers are 1.3 times more likely to want to try environmentally friendly products. 
• When shopping for beauty and personal care products, consumers consider first the presence of natural ingredients (40.2%), the respect for the environment (17.6%), and finally the use of recyclable packaging (15.8%). 
• 21% of U.S. adults purchase organic makeup exclusively, or nearly exclusively. 

• The demand for clean beauty products is mainly located in North America and Europe.
• 80% of trending beauty brands over Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2022 were clean skin-care brands. 

• Research carried out in Europe found that 42% of green claims were exaggerated, false, or deceptive. 
• 58% of CEOs and other leaders admitted that their companies were guilty of greenwashing. 68% for the American leaders.
• Federal law regulating the beauty industry has not been updated since 1938.
• The organic label is the only one that is regulated in the US.
• Terms like clean and natural aren’t regulated in the US. 
• Currently, the European Union counts 1694 ingredients banned from use in cosmetics. Only 11 ingredients are banned from use in cosmetics in the US.  

Clean Beauty & Sustainable Beauty Statistics

What is the clean beauty industry?

• The clean beauty industry includes cosmetics and personal care products qualified as organic, natural, non-toxic, safe, pure, eco-friendly, sustainable, cruelty-free, vegan, plastic-free, and biodegradable. 

• The term “clean beauty” emerged in the 1990s in the U.S. at the same time as the trend of “clean eating”.
• 46% of consumers are looking for brands to take the lead on creating sustainable changes.
• Health and beauty eCommerce sales are projected to grow by 77% between 2021 and 2026.

How many chemicals are in beauty products?

• Women use an average of 12 products a day, containing 168 different chemicals. For men, it’s an average of six personal care products that contain 85 different chemicals.

• In a study of 57,000 products from 500 beauty companies, 83% of the tested products contained Titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide was listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a possible human carcinogen.
• Heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) are among the hazardous ingredients that have been reported in cosmetics products.

Sources: California Safe Cosmetics Program, New York Times, Ascential, Nielsen IQ, EWG

To know more, read our article about Toxic Ingredients To Avoid In Skincare & FDA Regulation.

Clean Beauty Market Size & Growth

How much is the clean beauty industry worth?

• The “clean” beauty market was valued at $6.5 billion in 2021.
• The global natural and organic beauty market is expected to exceed $22 billion by 2024.

• 40% of the natural and organic beauty products market is attributed to skin care products in the US.

• Nearly 1 out of 3 beauty products are now labeled “clean” in the US.

Clean Beauty Market Growth

• The revenue of organic cosmetics is forecasted to reach approximately $1.65 billion by 2025, with most of the growth in revenue coming from organic face creams.

• Beauty products free from parabens reached $23.4 billion in sales in the US.
• Beauty products free from parabens and sulfates reached $15.8 billion in sales in the US.
• Beauty Products free from parabens, sulfates, and phthalates reached $5.4 billion in sales in the US.
• Clean beauty products (free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, artificial colors and fragrances, and 600 other ingredients.) have reached over $400 million in sales in the US.
• Over half of the beauty and personal care products being sold in the U.S. are currently paraben-free.

• Biodegradable beauty & personal care products show an increase of 22% in sales.
• Vegan beauty & personal care products show an increase of 33% in sales.
• Cruelty-free beauty & personal care products show an increase of 27% in sales.
• Phthalates-free beauty & personal care products show an increase of 11% in sales.
• The demand for plastic-free beauty products increased by 18% from 2021 to 2022. Those products generated $25M in sales.

Sources: Brand Essence, NielsenIQ, NielsenIQ, Statistica

Clean Beauty Demographics: Consumer Gender, Generation, and Income

Clean beauty per location

• The demand for clean beauty products is mainly located in North America and Europe. 

Who is the clean beauty consumer?

• Younger consumers are the most interested in sustainable products. Gen Z consumers are 1.3 times more likely to want to try environmentally friendly products.

• 32% of consumers aged between 13 and 39 are interested in trying clean beauty products.
• 45% of female consumers aged between 13 and 39 are interested in trying clean beauty products.
• 66% of consumers aged between 13 and 39 are more likely to buy a personal care or beauty product that has a “clean” label.
• ⅓ young consumers are interested in learning more about and buying “clean” makeup/skincare in 2022. That includes plant-based skincare, vegan makeup, and products with “clean” ingredients.

• When shopping for beauty and personal care products, consumers consider first the presence of natural ingredients (40.2%), then comes respect for the environment (17.6%), and finally the use of recyclable packaging (15.8%).

Who buys clean beauty?

• 21% of U.S. adults purchase organic makeup exclusively, or nearly exclusively.

• 28% of men and 22% of women in the United States want to use mainly organic skin care products.
• 40% of U.S. consumers believe that organic personal care and cosmetics products are healthier than conventional personal care and cosmetics products.

How much people spend on clean beauty?

• Consumers of plastic-free beauty brands come from high-income households. It’s generally a mother aged between 35 and 45, with a salary over 100 000$ a year and living in the Pacific Northwest or Southwest region.

Sources: NielsenIQ, Statistica, Ypulse, Instagram Trend Report 2022

To know more about, read our article about The Top Sustainability Beauty Trends To Expect.

Clean Beauty: Trend, Social Media & Ecommerce

• Currently, clean beauty has 5.7 million hashtag views on Instagram and 1.3 billion on TikTok.

• 80% of trending beauty brands over Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2022 were clean skin-care brands.

• 63% of consumers are more likely to recommend a product if they believe it’s less harmful to the environment.

Sources: Shopify

Consequences of the Rise of Clean Beauty

Clean Beauty & Greenwashing

• Research carried out in Europe found that 42% of green claims were exaggerated, false, or deceptive.

• Companies that are perceived to be greenwashing suffer a drop in their customer satisfaction score.
• 58% of CEOs and other leaders admitted that their companies were guilty of greenwashing. 68% for the American leaders. 
• Greenwashing fines and scrutiny will make many companies reconsider their claims.

Clean Beauty & Regulation

• The demand for clean beauty led to a rapid increase in the creation of green certifications or labels. Today dozens exist such as Leaping Beauty, Beauty Without Bunnies, USDA, NSF, Ecocert, MADE SAFE, Climate Neutral, EWG, B Corporation, Verified Carbon Standard, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Fair Trade, and Cosmos.

• Today, there are no regulations for the use of terms such as: clean, green, sustainable, safe, and natural.
• Federal law regulating the beauty industry has not been updated since 1938.

• Under current law, personal care products companies do not have to register with the FDA.
• Under current law, the FDA does not have the power to suspend registration or order recalls when products pose a risk of serious adverse health consequences or death.
• The organic label is the only one that is regulated in the US.

To know more, read our articles about Clean Beauty Labels & Certifications or about Toxic Ingredients To Avoid In Skincare & FDA Regulation.

• Cosmetics are one of the least regulated consumer product categories in the US.
• Currently, the European Union counts 1694 ingredients banned from use in cosmetics. Only 11 ingredients are banned from use in cosmetics in the US.

Clean Beauty & Use of Natural resources

• Popular ingredients found in “clean” products formula like baobab oil or argan oil are now overharvested.
• The demand for wild plant ingredients is growing rapidly, with 75% in the last 20 years.
• Natural doesn’t mean safer. Some natural ingredients have been shown to cause skin irritation.

Sources: Harvard business review), Nielsen IQ, FDA, European Law, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, Science Direct

To learn more about clean beauty, read our articles about Sustainable Beauty Trends, Clean Beauty Labels & Certifications, Toxic Ingredients To Avoid In Skincare & FDA Regulation.