This is a follow up to my post on make-up manufacturing. For those who may not know, large multinationals tend to incorporate a vast amount of brands. This goes for beauty, household, food and media. If you simply want to know who owns what, just click here. Do you ever wonder why luxury and drugstore cosmetics look, feel, smell and perform the same way as each other? Chances are, not only are they owned primarily by the one main corporation, but they may also be made in the same factory and re-packaged as a totally different brand. Why do you think there are so many cheaper dupes for what is fundamentally the product? Why are there are no real answers on this topic on the internet?
Earlier this year I tried to find some answers and emailed many beauty brands both large and small. I posed the questions to Real Techniques, Beauties Factory, Urban Decay, Estée Lauder, Inglot, Coastal Scents, Make-Up Academy, No7, MAC, Chanel, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. I did contact many more companies than these; however they were the ones who replied to me - either with answers to some questions or just to confirm they received my email. My questions were:
 |
| Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates |
- Where are your brushes/cosmetics manufactured?
- Which country are they made in?
- Are your brushes/cosmetics made in a factory that caters to other beauty brands?
- Do you make brushes/cosmetics for other companies?
- Also can you tell me if you are an independent company or are you owned by/shared with another company?
MAC stated,
“MAC Cosmetics is one of The Estée Lauder Company brands, which is why you may find similarities with the products to other brands.”
Fair enough answer. I already knew that and had contacted Estée Lauder at the same time I contacted MAC. Two steps ahead of you MAC. Estée Lauder replied with,
“The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. does business in over 150 countries and territories around the world. As a global organisation, our products are produced in various facilities worldwide. You can be assured that, regardless of the place of manufacture, all of our facilities follow stringent manufacturing practices and adhere to our high quality control procedures.The Estee Lauder Group of Companies brands include Estee Lauder, Tom Ford Beauty, Clinique, Creme De La Mer, Bobbi Brown, M.A.C., Jo Malone London, Origins, Aveda, Darphin, Aramis Designer Fragrances, Ojon, bumble & bumble and Smashbox”
Thanks Estée Lauder but that is public information. I want to know what is not typically disclosed. I want answers to my questions! I feel like a female version of Alex Riley when he presented Secrets of the Superbrands for BBC3 in 2011. It was his episode on fashion which piqued my curiosity on brand exploitation and product manufacturing. The scenes which showed Chanel sunglasses being made in a huge factory based in Italy owned by super brand Luxottica were of particular interest to me as they themselves own Sunglass Hut, Persol, RayBan. In addition to manufacturing glasses for Chanel, they also make for DKNY, Armani, Burberry, Vogue and Tiffany! Not only do they blatantly manufacture for all these luxury and mid-range brands plus many more, they also design the sunglasses for undisclosed brands.
For me, this is a testimony that consumers are being browbeaten into thinking they are buying an item which depicts opulence and lavishness, when in fact consumers are paying an excessive amount of money on products that are designed and manufactured by a similar group of corporations. Is this not a form of oppression? I believe it is.
 | |
|
Anyway... enough of my social care standpoint and back to the beauty brands. Where was I? Ah, yes, I was discussing Estee Lauder’s evasion of my questions. Similarly to them, Unilever could not address me exclusively, stating,
“Unfortunately, due to the large number of requests we receive similar to your own, we are unable to provide you with the specific information you have requested. Our website at www.unilever.com has a wealth of information and PDFs - perhaps try using the search engine to find the information you need.”
But Unilever, this information is not available on any website I have looked at. Procter & Gamble gave me a very lengthy response which did not answer my factory specific questions,
“P&G is a global company with manufacturing and research facilities throughout the world. Although I'm not able to give you the origin of a specific ingredient in a product - we manufacture over 300 products and versions - P&G's safety and quality standards are global standards that apply to all products manufactured by or for P&G around the world. All of our products and ingredients, no matter where they are from, have undergone safety testing before they go to market. Once in the market, we continually monitor their safety. P&G fully complies with all legal requirements and regulations in each specific country or region. Please be assured, the safety and well-being of the people who use our products is always our highest priority. P&G has one of the most trusted portfolios of brands in the world including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Gillette, Max Factor and Olay. We are solely focused on harnessing the power of innovation to create brands and services that truly improve the lives of the world's consumers. The manufacture of private label products is not part of our business model. The only P&G make-up brand available in the UK and Ireland is Max Factor.We make a wide variety of products, including some of the world's most well-known brands. To see a listing, please visit the "Worldwide Sites" section of our website at: www.pg.com/en_US/index.shtml Any further information would be proprietary, but I hope this helps.”
Proprietary? You may as well have said, ‘mind your business.’ No thank you Procter & Gamble. I want to know exactly where my stuff is made, who it is made with and who else gets a slice of pie.
Make-Up Academy, also known as MUA, were of a similar response, albeit much shorter than Proctor & Gamble,
“We are very happy you love our products so much! Other brands owned by FB Beauty are Look Beauty, Vivo Cosmetics and Famous! We design our products in London and they are manufactured in the PRC! We cannot say who else uses the factories we do I'm afraid!”
Thanks MUA, at least you guys were candid in you simplistic language unlike P&G. Why all the secrecy? Well, Real Techniques alluded to an answer for me,
“I’m unable to answer all of your questions due to our privacy policy but I can say that our brushes are made in China. Thanks!”
It seems the answer falls into the category of ‘superfluous for public knowledge.’ As in this information is wrapped up in policies which may or may not be filtered down from law. But private policies does not always equate to statute so why shouldn’t we know where our cosmetics comes from and what other brands/factories they are shared with? I could rattle the cage more and press for information under the doctrines of freedom of expression and an open internet but I imagine that won’t go down well with all of the above companies. I would likely receive responses containing phrases such as, ‘not necessary for public interest,’ and ‘unlikely to affect common wellbeing.’
I imagine these answers because something tells me that the larger of the multinationals - and I mean the Big Kahunas of this multi-billion dollar industry, are closely linked to government. That’s right, just like the banks and media houses of this world which own your money and your news, also own the so-called private corporations that you buy your make-up and household items from. So the legislature owns, or at least part owns what you are consuming. That would explain why I was receiving answers about individual company policy. Speaking of policy, Beauties Factory also used this as their excuse for not disclosing such information,
 |
| Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates |
“Thanks for your email but due to client confidentiality that is not the sort of information we would share.”
Beauties Factory did mention that re-branding is one for their services and kindly sent me a pricelist should I choose to place an order of make-up with my name and logo on it. At least there is a little bit more transparency with Beauties Factory. Urban Decay also went a step further and touched on the issue of public information,
“Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, that information is not public knowledge. All of our information regarding manufacturing is located on the products packaging. Is there something you were looking to avoid in our products? Why were you looking into this information? Maybe we can find another way to help you.”
So when that did not satisfy my curiosity, I explained my reasons for speculation on manufacturing and received this back,
“Our cosmetics are manufactured in many places throughout the world. If I find out the information on each product you would have to check on the packaging. Unfortunately, we can't give out specific locations. As for if our factories cater other beauty brands, that is not public knowledge and honestly, we are not privy to that information.”
Seems like a repeat of your original message Urban Decay. At the time of this message, Urban Decay had just been acquired by L’Oreal, an eminently large corporation, which would explain why this subject is such an enigma. Perhaps the big conglomerates are afraid we will boycott them if private speculation turned into public awareness. I know I would - and not because of the high price they suggest to their retailers, but because they cannot be upfront with loyal customers. For me, hiding such information on the manufacturing of their goods and who they share a factory with does seem unethical. Unethical in the sense that customers are paying £37/$52 for an Urban Decay Naked palette and £4/$6 for what is essentially the same palette from Make-Up Revolution. Does that not seem unconscionable to you? It does to me. That is outright mistreatment of the customers.
Let me put this into a different context for you. When researching fashion brands, Alex Riley interviews culture and fashion journalist, Dana Thomas and questions just how unattainable Louis Vuitton clothes and accessories really are. Dana’s response is provocative and certainly made me wonder about the illusion that fashion houses have created for the consumers,
“It’s seen as that (unattainable) through its marketing but it’s actually very accessible. In 1977 Louis Vuitton only had two stores and now it’s an enormous business. It’s a delicate balance of selling masses to the masses whilst still remaining exclusive to the rich.”
Dana then discusses The Pyramid Model,
“You have a pyramid. At the top you have the very beautifully made, exclusive, limited amount of product. They will make anything you want. From there you have the middle range which you can walk into the store and buy. It’s still very well made with beautiful fabrics. Then you have the bottom range where the money comes in where they just sell masses of stuff - could be perfumes, wallets, belts, scarves, umbrellas, key chains, sunglasses. That’s how they’ve managed to keep the Sultan of Brunei, Hollywood stars, Royalty as customers as well as selling to the Chinese secretary who wants to put the bag on her desk to show that she afford a Louis Vuitton bag.”
This is a very interesting analysis. Now think of Dana’s pyramid from a beauty industry perspective - The Make-Up Pyramid, if you like. Starting with the luxury brands at the top including Tom Ford, Chanel and Dior. Next there is the higher end of mid-range brands, for example, MAC, Urban Decay and Sephora. The third portion of the pyramid is the lower end of mid-range, or higher end drugstore/pharmacy brands such including Bourjois, Real Techniques and Revlon. At the bottom you have discount brands such as Make-Up Revolution, Make-Up Academy and W7. How many of those higher end brands have eyeshadow palettes, blushers, foundations and lipsticks which can be classed as dupes for the lower end ones? It is possible that discount products are made by the same hands that created the luxury brand, or at least have appeared on the same conveyor belt. What is obtainable for some is not for others and this all depends on your budget as well as your personal preference as a consumer. By having duplicate products at a lower price, this makes the once unobtainable Chanel blusher a much more accessible product if it has a Bourjois price-tag. Same goes for Urban Decay Naked 2 palette being rebranded as W7 In The Buff. By factories and brands rehashing the same product with different packaging, it will fly off the shelves, making the company a huge amount of money. This appeases the consumer with the smaller budget as they believe they have found a luxury item at a fraction of the cost. It also pacifies the consumer with the bigger budget as they have the original opulent item, perhaps attributing to their already existing ostentatious lifestyle. Whether you have a buying style that is grandiose or on sale, brands and factories alike appear to be misleading no matter where you buy from. The top of The Make-Up Pyramid is where you build the cult status of a product which reflects back to the customers. The rest of the pyramid is where this status image at the top milks the consumers for their money.
 |
Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates
Enough of my own theory and back to the brands as mentioned earlier. Rest assured that Inglot are 95% transparent,
“95% of INGLOT products are manufactured in the EU, mainly in our state of the art facilities in Przemyśl, Poland. We are an independent company and we do not manufacture for other brands.”
Coastal Scents were also very forthcoming,
“Thank you for your interest in our cosmetic line. Coastal Scents offers a wide range of products that are manufactured in the USA as well as other areas of the world. Our line of Mineral Makeup is manufactured within the USA along with many of our fragrance and essential oils. Our Gel Liners, Finished Makeup Palettes, Foundations, Liquid Liners, and Lip Smacks are manufactured in areas of Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. We offer our Made in Africa line, which includes products that are all-natural and come directly from Ghana, Africa. Coastal Scents partners with other countries to manufacture products to be able to offer our customers the lowest pricing possible. All products are made under FDA guidelines and none of our products are tested on animals.”
There is ambiguity in that word ‘partnering.’ Does that mean you use the same factory as other brands? Who knows? I can only hypothesize on the matter.
Chanel told me they would forward my message on to the relevant department. I received nothing. Boots contacted me of behalf of No7 who said they would get back to me in three days. That was 10 months ago.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you thing brands should disclose whether or not they share a factory with other brands? Do you think this is up to the brand or the factory to inform the consumer if a luxury £30 bronzer is the same £3 one from the drugstore, only with a little clever re-packaging? Do you think it is time the big beauty superbrands let the secret out? I do!
 | |
|
*Disclaimer:
I am not brand bashing, nor am I trying to create dolmens for the beauty industry. I just simply wanted answers to my questions. I love make-up and cosmetics in all forms and I welcome all brands into my make-up collection. I have had these queries for a few years now and I thought I would share them in the hopes I could get start a conversation with like-minded people and also the beauty industry itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment