The Growth in Popularity of Clean Beauty: Marketing Model Analysis in the Cosmetic Industry

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-598-5_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

clean beauty; cosmetics industry; marketing model; e‑commerce; consumer behavior

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the global cosmetics industry has expanded rapidly, driven by rising incomes, urbanization, and digital transformation. Within this context, clean beauty has emerged as a transformative force that emphasizes safety, ingredient transparency, sustainability, and the avoidance of controversial substances. This paper investigates the drivers behind the rise of clean beauty. It also analyzes how the movement is reshaping mainstream marketing models. We employ a mixed-methods design that combines a systematic literature review, descriptive analysis of sales indicators from 2018–2023 in North America and East Asia, and four comparative case studies—Estée Lauder, Perfect Diary, Fenty Beauty, and Innisfree. We find that authenticity, third‑party validation, and eco‑conscious practices differentiate brands in both premium and mass segments, while e‑commerce and social content accelerate diffusion across markets. We also identify vulnerabilities—including greenwashing, fragmented standards, and shifting regulatory expectations—that can erode trust. The findings suggest that clean beauty is not a short‑lived trend but a long‑term reorientation of value creation in the cosmetics industry, where scientific rigor and transparent engagement constitute the core of competitive advantage.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yawen Xue
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
TI  - The Growth in Popularity of Clean Beauty: Marketing Model Analysis in the Cosmetic Industry
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 6th  International Conference on Big Data and Social Sciences (ICBDSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 81
EP  - 88
SN  - 2352-538X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-598-5_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-598-5_9
ID  - Xue2026
ER  -