Seaweed Cosmetics under the Spotlight of Sustainability
Fernando Pagels,
Ana Arias,
Adriana Guerreiro,
A. Catarina Guedes,
Maria Teresa Moreira
Affiliations
Fernando Pagels
CRETUS–Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de Lope Gómez de Marzoa, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Ana Arias
CRETUS–Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de Lope Gómez de Marzoa, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Adriana Guerreiro
ISS–Ínclita Seaweed Solutions, Novo Edifício do Terminal de Cruzeiros de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal
A. Catarina Guedes
CIIMAR/CIMAR-LA–Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Novo Edifício do Terminal de Cruzeiros de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal
Maria Teresa Moreira
CRETUS–Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de Lope Gómez de Marzoa, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Seaweeds represent a diverse and valuable source of cosmetic compounds such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, antioxidants, etc., with moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative effects. The so-called “blue cosmetics” represent a line of products related to the use of natural active ingredients and an important market share in major international cosmetic brands. To be recognised as environmentally sustainable, it is essential to ensure that algae-derived products comply with environmentally sound harvesting, production, and extraction practices. In this work, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to carry out an environmental impact assessment of the processing of the brown algae extract from Fucus vesiculosus and its comparative profile with the most used antioxidants in cosmetics: vitamin C and green tea extracts. Considering an equivalent formulation in antioxidant content, the results showed that seaweed has the lowest environmental load while green tea extracts have the highest environmental impact. Furthermore, to further reduce emissions from seaweed processing, the use of renewable energy sources and the valorisation of biomass residues as fertilisers in a circular economy approach are proposed.
