The cosmetics industry has exploited natural resources by extracting ingredients from animals and plants that they had to turn into a bottle that is probably in your bathroom will go with unsafe methods but now with consumers demanding more sustainable and ethical products, there are brands that are truly free from cruelty.
The gene editing technology can help the industry clean up
its work that we produce molecules. They will be able to do better for the
environment than to get them from their natural resources and whether it could
eventually make cosmetics cheaper.
Sharks hunting for Skincare products
Sharks at the top of the seafood chain, they have very few
natural predators except humans who Has been hunted for a plentiful supply of
oils.
The amounts of scallops that are normally converted into a
chemical called squalene, is a key ingredient in Skin Care Products. Squalene
is a chemical that has been used in the cosmetics industry for decades. If you
use a sunscreen or if you use a moisturizer, chances are very good that the
product contains squalene. There are no statistics on how many sharks are
killed each year to extract their precious oil, but it is estimated in the
millions.
Production of Squalene in laboratory by gene editing
Sunil Chandran, a scientist runs a California-based biotech
company Amyris. Amyris says it now supplies most of the world's squalene. It
is all built in a lab without the involvement of a shark. They are currently
supplying just over 2000 metric tons using the latest technology and they are
doing it using a field of science, the latest in gene editing technology called
Synthetic Biology. Cosmetics brands often use science to promote their products.
How Squalene is produced by gene editing without the
involvement of any shark hunting?
They take the shark that produces squalene in its liver
using a special proteins called enzymes. Scientists are able to identify which
genes of sharks are responsible for producing the enzymes that use the latest
gene editing technology. And has the ability to unlock its genome. Scientists
enter the genetic code into a self replicating germ, which is often yeast. The yeast
is placed in a fermentation vat and fed with sugar and other ingredients to
fuel the cell division and this reaction to produce another molecule called squalene
or pharmacine.
This process has less environmental impact on the natural
world than hunting sharks which we can actually change. The production of squalene
can be exchanged from shark hunting to the use of sugarcane grown on a square
kilometer of land. Amyris has been selling square lanes to some large
cosmetics companies since 2011 in the world as well as in their own luxury
brand Biosciences, Squalene has become an increasingly popular and well-known
ingredient in skincare today backed by celebrities and influencers such as
Squalene Omega Repair Moisturizer.
Squalene is just one of the many materials that is used in the
cosmetic industry which are extracted from animals. Some of them are,
- Facial masks using collagen from cow,
- Shampoos used keratin derived from sheep
- Eye shadow dyes from farm-crushed Beetles
Consumers are becoming more aware of where the content from which,
cosmetics are being obtained from and they are demanding that their products be
animal free and sustainable.
Gene editing technology has the potential to replace all of
these animal products. Some brands have moved on and replaced fat-like
ingredients with alternatives to petrochemicals but many consumers do not like
it and are looking for so-called natural alternatives. This means that there is
more pressure to find plant-based alternatives and this leads to more
environmental problems.
Rose cultivation for perfumes
Take rose for the production of perfumes. There are many rose
petals needed only to make some mililiters of perfume and so it's not just a
significant amount of roses that need to be grown, but think about land use and
the water that comes with it, which has become a growing problem with the
changing seasons.
The problem is not just the pruning of plants, but also the
flowering of wild trees for their fragrant wood. Wild flowers are at risk and
most modern cosmetics contain palm oil which is a major driver of deforestation.
Reduce the cosmetic industry's dependence on plants and
animals. Some scientists argue that the current synthesis of plant products
will make the industry more sustainable and environmentally responsible.
Production of fragrant molecule by gene editing
For example to grow a rose on a plot of land, it takes a lot
of energy and a lot of water to sustain it. But with the help of gene editing
you can design a germ that can effectively produce the same type of material
without the carbon footprint, without the need for that land, without the need
for too much water and without the need for so much energy.
Plastic degrading germs
But is this claim to reduce reliance on plants and animals a
good marketing story for the cosmetics industry that harms the environment in
other ways? 120 billion single-use packaging units are created each year by the
cosmetics industry. About ten out of ten products nine contain microplastics,
and here again some biotech companies say that technology may be the answer
through engineering microbes that can break down plastics into every waste
product. There is a germ that uses it as a food source so it is really
interesting to think about designing germs or finding germs that can help us
break down plastics and not have harmful effects on our environment.
Conclusion
It may be safer than traditional plant-based or animal-based sourcing methods and Can also be a life saver. The future of this technology is very bright. I think scientist will be able to produce almost every molecule in cosmetics using this technology and not only that they are going to have the molecules that you currently get in cosmetics. Can't predict what will happen. Probably once they start tapping into other natural molecules that we haven't been able to play with yet.
References : All data is provided by Amyris and The Economist.
