Barbara Brockway, director of personal care for the company, describes the technology as having been developed from plant DNA as an innovation for forensic science, and calls it an ‘essential, unique way’ to prove the source of cosmetics materials.
Brockway asserts that such technology is increasingly pertinent for beauty brands, as the rising interest in ‘sustainability’ is making it necessary to show the provenance of products claiming to be sustainable. Consumers are increasingly demanding ‘full transparency'.
Core applications within beauty
SigNature DNA is intended primarily to prove the provenance and the presence of ingredients, especially those tha are difficult to find once a product is manufactured.
“The core application is tagging raw materials (synthetic or natural and if needed, from specific locations) and so uniquely enabling ingredients be tracked & traced throughout the supply chain and on into the finished product,” Brockway confirms.
“In minutes, with forensic certainty, brands can prove that the ingredient they claim to use has been used. SigNature DNA prevents brands from unintentionally misleading their customers through error or fraud in the supply chain.
“When questioned, brands can quickly scientifically prove materials are present,” the company director explains.
Why is it relevant?
SigNature DNA comes at a time when the incidence of fraud in beauty is on the rise, asserts Brockway, and as more and more products are marketed on the source and quality of their ingredients, come under attack from regulators and the media.
The company director points, for example, to class actions taking place in the USA over aloe vera not being present in formulations, despite product claims.
“Including SigNature DNA into raw materials is essential to protect a beauty brand's integrity,” Brockway concludes.