Opinion

Here we bring you the thoughts of the natural and organic products industry’s leading commentators and opinion formers.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

It’s official, the ideal age for a person, according to the people of Britain, is 36. New research brought to us by a recent YouGov survey shows that the majority of the 1,700 people who took part in the poll view middle age as having the highest prestige, status and everything else deemed to be good and worthy.

Cheer up, we just reversed humanity’s decline

OK, reversing humanity’s decline took 40 or 50 years longer than we thought. But let’s celebrate it anyway, writes Craig Sams.

How to lengthen your life and your telomeres

The process of making a new cell in your body starts by copying the map of how to build that cell, which is contained in a package of DNA strands called a chromosome.

Food and friendship without frontiers

Craig Sams celebrates the role of the natural food industry in helping to nourish refugees in Calais camps.

A Tale Of Two Retailers

As John Lewis Partnership and Marks and Spencer Christmas sales figures are announced I am reminded of how even large retailers can misinterpret the...

The First (tea) Lady

Born through an off-chance meeting in London, Hampstead Tea is an ethical tea company which aims to offer ‘great taste with peace of mind.

Retail revolution

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, even the January sales have started appearing before we’ve sung the New Year in. Loud price slashing has always been most retailers’ preferred way of engaging with consumers, and once our interest is piqued we’re further enticed with BOGOFs, three-for-two deals and any other money-saving offer that can be dreamed up. It’s a war zone where a war of attrition is being played out to the bitter end.

It’s Christmas – enjoy the gift of supermarket disinterest!

The astonishing growth of the organic markets in Scandinavia (up 40% in Sweden and 30% in Norway in 2014) and organic’s share of the...

Pop up and listen

In my July Beauty Buzz column Organic beauty retailing – the future is multi-channel I wrote about how high street fashion retailer H&M had become the latest store to relaunch its beauty collection, which included a subsidiary-conscious range of Ecocert-approved sustainable products.

Grow organic, save the planet

Solving global warming was never going to be easy, but it would be a heck of a lot easier if we cast off the...

Are we nearly there yet?

As this latest installment of my Beauty Buzz column goes to press, we are putting away the chairs  and closing the door on yet another hugely successful Round Table discussion hosted by the Natural Beauty Yearbook and Natural Products News magazine.

Repetition is key

Keep it clear. Keep it transparent. And no, I’m not just referring to your well-cared-for complexion! That’s the mantra this September when the Soil Association embarks on yet another emboldened Organic Beauty Week, focused this year on the theme, Campaign for Clarity.

Bitter sweet insanity

How seriously should we take official exhortations to cut sugar consumption while governments continue to subsidise industrial scale sugar farming? asks Craig Sams When my...

Organic beauty retailing – the future is multi-channel

The Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2015, published in March, revealed that online shopping at independent retailers boosted the organic health and beauty sector by 20% in the last year, making it one of the strongest channels for growth.

There is a new crowd on the scene

They are hip, happening and there isn’t a tree hugger in sight – actually if it looks good on Instagram there might be. They’ve been...

#BeautyExchange

Didn’t I have a lovely time the day I went to The Beauty Exchange?! It was great for a number of reasons, but mainly...

Show and tell

Another year, another inspiring and exhilarating show. At the time of going to press with this column the dust has not long settled on the fabulous Natural Beauty & Spa show, part of Natural & Organic Products Europe, held for the first time this year at ExCeL London.

Stand up and be counted

It’s been more than six months since the team at the Natural Beauty Yearbook and Natural Products News magazine sat down around a round table with a handful of key industry figures and discussed the state of the natural and organic beauty market.

Real change is coming

People have had enough of corrupt politicians and their ruthlessly self-serving corporate backers. Real world change is breaking out everywhere Did you get what you...

Pocket rocket sales

Internet sales, e-commerce and social media have long been the mantras for successful retailing. If you want to be perceived as being a savvy, contemporary and forward- thinking store it’s imperative that you not only have a well-presented and securely built website, but more importantly that you offer shoppers the opportunity to buy your goods online.