Review Reports - Sustainable Assessment of the Environmental Activities of Major Cosmetics and Personal Care Companies

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I find this paper very important due to the fact that it shows that the work of companies and their contribution to environmental and sustainability issues are being closely followed by the scientist. This is highly stimulating for the companies and contributes to overall awareness on these important topics. Nevertheless, the tougher attitude should be presented, or at least more consideration should be given to certain aspects presented in the following comments:

Comment 1: Page 3, section reviewing water pollution should address the fact that cosmetics and personal care products are being rinsed off human body, or disposed by cotton pads and washed in the nature. Authors are mentioning this but please make clearer statement that this is a destiny for all substances, although some are find to be particularly toxic for aquatic ecosystem.

Comment 2: Page 3, concerns about microplastics, although there is no European-wide ban yet it should be mentioned that the EU Commission published its legal proposal in August 2022 for microplastics ban in cosmetics. Major points from this proposal should be mentioned, due to the fact that manufacturers are already taking proposals into consideration while formulating.

Comment 3: Page 3, line 145, it should be stated which role consumers wanted brands to play.

Comment 4: Please provide legends for all tables where it is applicable which have full names for acronyms (it will be more comprehensive) and descriptions for marks in the table (table 6).

Comment 5: Page 13: Since that we are all aware that at some point sustainability concerns are also driven by the current trends in the world and consequently by the profit, greenwashing should be more thoroughly explained and responsibility of companies for this should be adressed. Clean beauty term is like toxic or harmful ingredient sometimes potentially misleading and/or misused.

Comment 6: Page 14, similar and related to previous comment, please give some additional attention to the necessity to regulate environmental and sustainability claims as the major communication channel with costumers.

Author Response

July 13^th, 2023

Dear Editor-in-Chief, Sustainability:

We are sincerely grateful for carefully reviewing our paper “Sustainable assessment of the environmental activities of major cosmetics and personal care companies(Sustainability-2470460)”. Through the accurate comments made by the reviewer, we have been able to better understand the improvements with this manuscript. In response to the comments, we have taken a closer look at our manuscript and previous studies, which have been very helpful. We have revised the manuscript according to the Reviewer’s suggestions. As a result, the completeness of the manuscript has been improved and revised. We hope that our revised manuscript will be considered and accepted for publication in the Sustainability.

The manuscript has been revised along with response to each comment. The part to be deleted or revised is underlined in the middle, and the part to be modified or added in track changed Red Version is written the attached. The point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ comments are provided below.

Best regards,

Ki Han Kwon, PhD, Professor

Comment 1: Page 3, section reviewing water pollution should address the fact that cosmetics and personal care products are being rinsed off human body or disposed by cotton pads and washed in the nature. Authors are mentioning this but please make clearer statement that this is a destiny for all substances, although some are found to be particularly toxic for aquatic ecosystem.

Response 1: We greatly appreciate your valuable comments. We totally agreed your opinion, so we have revised the Introduction Section as below: [Page 3, Lines 145-152]

Water Pollution: Cosmetics and personal care products have many chemicals that have adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. Representative ingredients include surfactants, preservatives, fragrances, sunscreen, and colorants [22]. Most of the chemicals are derived from petroleum and are not biodegradable, so they are washed down the drain and end up in rivers, lakes and seas. [23].

All substances have the potential to be toxic to humans as well as to other living organisms. However, most of them are safe when used in an appropriate method and amount [22][19]. Some chemicals used in cosmetics and personal care products, such as preservatives, surfactants, fragrances, sunscreens, and pigments, have been found to be toxic [23][20]. These substances are washed out of the human body with water and enter rivers, lakes and seas through sewers. It is also thrown away in the nature as it is on a cotton pad.

Comment 2: Page 3, concerns about microplastics, although there is no European-wide ban, yet it should be mentioned that the EU Commission published its legal proposal in August 2022 for microplastics ban in cosmetics. Major points from this proposal should be mentioned, due to the fact that manufacturers are already taking proposals into consideration while formulating.

Response 2: We agree with the reviewer. It is true that there are already active steps being taken to ban microplastics. We have taken your suggestion into paper. [Page 4, Lines 168-171]

Concerns about microplastics are increasingly driving bans. There is no European-wide ban yet [28].

There is no European-wide ban yet, but the EU Commission has issued a legal proposal for a ban on microplastics in cosmetics in August 2022[28][25]. Currently, the dangers of microplastics are well known and are gradually being removed from product formulas [54,60] [26,27]

Comment 3: Page 3, line 145, it should be stated which role consumers wanted brands to play.

Response 3: The sentence was too short, so the explanation wasn't good enough. This part has been revised as follows: [Page 4, Lines 187-190]

76% of consumers wanted brands to play a role.

76% of consumers would like brands to be more responsible and more proactive about sustainability. Consumers are paying more and more attention to what companies are doing about sustainability. This will be a key driver influencing the brand choice.

Comment 4: Please provide legends for all tables where it is applicable which have full names for acronyms (it will be more comprehensive) and descriptions for marks in the table (table 6).

Response 4: Thank you. The acronyms and marks in the table have not been explained sufficiently. We have revised them as follows:

Table 1: We have replaced all greenhouse gas with GreenHouse Gas (GHG) in the manuscript.

The full name of GHG is indicated again under Table 1. [Page 10, line 387]

Table 3: Below Table 3, the full names of VOC and COD are indicated. [Page 12, line 423]

VOC: Volatile Organic Compound, COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand

Table 4: We have changed Basis from SBT to SBTi. [Pages 12~13]

The full name of SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) is in the text and is also indicated under Table 4. [Page 13, line 446]

Table 5: Below Table 5, full name of PCR is indicated. [Page 14, line 458]

PCR: Post-Consumer Recycled

Table 6: Explanation of the marks in Table 6 has been added. [Page 15, lines 471~473]

Disclosure (D-/D score), Awareness (C-/C score), Management (B-/B score), Leadership (A score)

Submitted: Submitted a response to some or all questions

No response: Did not reply to CDP regarding the request.

However, there was no separate explanation on the CDP website regarding Unavailable.

Tables 2 and 7 do not have acronyms.

Comment 5: Page 13: Since that we are all aware that at some point sustainability concerns are also driven by the current trends in the world and consequently by the profit, greenwashing should be more thoroughly explained and responsibility of companies for this should be addressed. Clean beauty term is like toxic or harmful ingredient sometimes potentially misleading and/or misused.

Response 5: We also agree that retailers' standards and campaigns are being abused as greenwashing, so we have explained this further and clearly mentioned corporate responsibility. The term clean beauty is open to misunderstanding and misuse, so we have revised it to safe ingredients for clarity. [Page 16, lines 493-502]

Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and Douglass have created their own ingredient standards, leading brands to switch to safer, cleaner formulations and educating consumers about unsafe ingredients. Retailers are now extending their standards to eco-friendly and launching campaigns (see Table 7). While these campaigns are expected to play a large role in the transition to eco-friendly products, they can also be abused for greenwashing for corporate profits, requiring responsible behavior by companies and active management and supervision by third parties. Companies are actually using environmental messaging in advertising and public relations to cover up their environmentally harmful behavior in favor of business [90,91,92] [84,85,86].

Comment 6: Page 14, similar and related to previous comment, please give some additional attention to the necessity to regulate environmental and sustainability claims as the major communication channel with costumers.

Response 6: We have taken the reviewer's suggestion on board and added the need for regulation of communication channels with consumers. [Page 17, lines 519-524]

Companies should share information with a sense of responsibility and sincerity about environmental issues, not to promote a favorable position [90] [57]. Disadvantageous information should not be disclosed, and continuous monitoring should be made to ensure that favorable information is being used without any legal problems. It is worth examining whether adequate regulations are in place and whether they need to be supplemented [93][91].

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

I was pleased to read the article Sustainable assessment of the environmental activities of major cosmetics and personal care companies This study is needed. However, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed.

An abstract should describe the purpose or need of the study. In my opinion, the introduction section was very lengthy. This section explains the study's context and objective. The research gap should also be narrowed after analyzing previous studies. The research method is not adequately explained in the first section.

The results of this study are not supported by significant and recent literature, although they are relevant and have been adequately discussed. Additionally, the most recent research articles should be cited.

Author Response

July 13^th, 2023

Dear Editor-in-Chief, Sustainability:

Best regards,

Ki Han Kwon, PhD, Professor

Point 1: An abstract should describe the purpose or need of the study.

Response 1: Thank you very much for the valuable comments. We completely agree with you and have added need and purpose to the abstract. [Page 1, lines 18-23]

Therefore, it is necessary to check overall environmental activities, including not only brand companies, but also OEM/ODM companies and retailers.

Despite the urgency of environmental issues, there has been a lack of research on specific and practical environmental activities of cosmetics and personal care companies, and the environmental responsibilities of OEM/ODM companies and retailers have been overlooked. Therefore, the need for this study was recognized. The purpose of this study was to expand the scope of assessment to include not only cosmetics brand companies, but also OEM/ODM companies and retailers in general, to identify the actual and concrete environmental activities being carried out.

Point 2: In my opinion, the introduction section was very lengthy.

Response 2: In the introduction, we have removed unnecessary sentences that were too long, but we have added previous studies, the need and purpose of this study later in the introduction.

Global environmental issues such as rising sea levels due to melting of polar ice caps, natural disasters on a global scale such as droughts, heavy rains and floods, air pollution from fine dust, and destruction of the global ecosystem and biodiversity due to a decrease in forest area are constantly being reported. Despite global agreements through the United Nations, and activities of initiatives, governments, businesses, and consumers, it is not enough to overcome the current environmental problems. It is time for all cosmetic and personal care related companies to step out together to improve global environmental issues, not from branding, marketing, and CSR. Recently, small and medium-sized brands are rapidly being introduced into the market according to customer needs segmentation. Therefore, the proportion of OEM/ODM companies that manufacture products for these small and medium-sized brands is increasing [5]. In addition, the role of retailer, which distributes and sells products, is becoming increasingly important [6]. The boundaries between brand companies, OEM/ODM companies, and retailers are also collapsing. Brand companies distribute products directly, and retailers develop their own brands and products. In a 2022 Bain & Company survey of 3,947 U.S. consumers, important catalysts for sustainable shopping were products and brands (32%), consumers (28%), retail (19%), and government (19%) [7]. As the roles of OEM/ODM companies and retailers have become important, their environmental activities must be checked and included in the management.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to suggest ways to check and encourage environmental activities of companies related to cosmetics and personal care. The differentiation of this study is as follows. First, only the environmental part of corporate sustainability is focused. Second, the scope of previous studies was mostly focused on the cosmetics and personal care brand companies. Since the influence of OEM/ODM companies and retailers is increasing, they are included in the study. Third, it is to find out whether the environmental activities of companies related to cosmetics and personal care are not temporary corporate branding activities but are actively and continuously conducted with sincerity. Finally, the role of environmental issues for each company group is summarized, and strategies suitable for each and common to the cosmetics and personal care industry are proposed.

According to a recent study, sustainability activities are not simply image improvement or CSR dimensions. Through many consumer studies, it has been shown that eco-friendly products, advertisements, images, and efficacy have a positive effect on consumer attitudes and induce product purchases [33,34]. A company's sustainability activities affect brand attachment and attractiveness, which creates positive WOM and induces purchase intention [35]. McKinsey and NielsenIQ analyzed sales data from 32 categories, 44,000 brands, and 600,000 SKUs in the United States over a five-year period from 2017 to 2022 to determine the relationship between sustainable claims and sales of brands or products. In 68% of categories, it was found that existing products with ESG-related claims had better sales performance than existing products that did not. The same results were obtained in the categories of bath and shower, cosmetics, nail grooming, and hair care. However, it could not prove a causal relationship between ESG-related claims and brand purchases. It was confirmed that sustainability claims can be a means of differentiation and affect the repurchase rate [37]. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in business management. Corporate sustainability disclosure is essential to improving corporate value [38]. Recently, leading cosmetics and personal care companies are establishing ESG strate-gies by integrating social responsibility and environmental issues in connection with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Point 3: This section explains the study's context and objective. The research gap should also be narrowed after analyzing previous studies.

Response 3: We greatly appreciate your valuable comments. We've added prior research on cosmetics sustainability since 2020 to clarify the context and purpose of the study in the introduction. [Pages 5-6, lines 220-273]

From 2020 until recently, research on sustainability in cosmetics has focused on CSR and its relationship to brands. The relevance and authenticity of CSR has been shown to influence brand trust [37]. In e-commerce, CSR activities have been shown to influence purchase intentions and customer loyalty [38]. It has been shown that CSR increases customer satisfaction, which leads to a company's reputation [39]. However, consumers' understanding of CSR and CE was still low [40]. Sustainability-related stimuli influenced brand attachment and brand attractiveness, generating positive WOM and enhancing intention to join a brand community [41]. Sustainable and eco-friendly packaging and marketing efforts have influenced purchase intentions [42]. However, there were still some misunderstandings, and there is a need for a clearer standard for consumers to recognize them [43]. There was also research into ingredients, formulas, and packaging to develop sustainable products. There have been studies on reusing waste as cosmetic ingredients, optimizing formulas by evaluatinsg them for health, ecosystem health, and the environment, using sustainable packaging, and using bio-based and recyclable materials as sustainable packaging [44,45,46,47]. There have been studies on best practices for sustainable product development [48]. Some studies evaluate sustainability in the entire cosmetics lifecycle and conclude that there are no 100% sustainable raw materials/packaging materials [49]. There have also been studies to identify the environmental impact of cosmetics in the production, consumption, and use stages, focusing on raw materials and packaging, and to propose improvements [50], There is also research that suggests ways to use water sustainably in the cosmetics industry [51]. Others have proposed strategies to increase sustainability across the cosmetics lifecycle [52]. A study showing that multinational cosmetics companies are doing more to improve their sustainability practices than their counterparts in developing countries, which needs to be improved [53], and an example of how Unilever is building a network of business partners and conscientious companies [54]. However, there is a lack of studies from 2019 to 2023 that analyze environmental issues in the cosmetics industry through sustainability reports or non-financial performance reports. The first study was to analyze the non-financial performance reports of 8 major cosmetic multinational companies to determine whether these companies disclosed circular economy (CE) information and to identify each company's CE strategy with the circular model and amount of information [55]. The second study was to identify the contents and quality of circular economy and environmental information disclosed in the sustainability reports of major cosmetic brands. The contents of the sustainability reports of 26 cosmetic brand companies released between 2014 and 2019 were reclassified into the framework of the Climate Information Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) to analyze whether terms related to Circular Economy and Environmental Information were sufficiently exposed. As a result, it was found that CE was not properly reported in the areas of governance, strategy, management and performance [56]. To date, little research has captured the actual and specific environmental activities of companies.

Previous studies on sustainability in cosmetics have shown that there is a need for research on corporate behavior.There is an absolute lack of research on the environmental behavior of companies. Companies actively promote their environmental efforts and commitments through various channels. However, in many cases, there is enough misleading information to cast doubt on their sincerity. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the actual environmental activities of companies [57]. In the literature, there is a lack of studies that identify the actual and specific environmental activities of companies. It is also difficult to find studies that compare and evaluate cosmetics and personal care companies on the same basis. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to: 1) assess the actual and concrete environ mental activities of companies; 2) identify the proactivity of companies by comparing and assessing their environmental activities with the same standards; and 3) expand the assessment to include not only brand companies but also OEM/ODM companies and retailers to understand the behavior of the entire industry and guide active environmental activities of cosmetics and personal care companies.

Point 4: The research method is not adequately explained in the first section.

Response 4: We totally agree that our research methods were not sufficiently described, so we have revised them to be more specific criteria in PRISMA flow diagram. In section 2.1, we have described how we have identified, screened, and included the full set of research materials. In 2.2, we have described the companies and items we have evaluated to assess companies' environmental activities. [Pages 6-8, lines 276-370]

Corporate environmental activity analysis method 2. Method

2.1. Material identification, Screening, Eligibility, Included

2.1.1. Materials Identification

Research sources were found in the following way. The first was to find the company's annual report, non-finance statement, sustainability performance data, and sustainability report, etc. Eighteen cases, including annual reports, non-financial performance, and sustainability reports, of 16 cosmetic and personal care related enterprises were utilized. Second, keywords such as cosmetics, environmental, eco-friendly, and sustainable were searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, and Scopus. Through this, references, articles, reports, books, etc. were discovered that could establish the purpose and direction of the study and support the research results and discussions. As company reports have different disclosure dates, the most recently published data was used. References were selected that had contents qualified for this study.

2.1.2 Eligibility Criteria

The most recently published reports were used as the disclosure date varies from company to company. In addition, references and materials were selected for their eligibility for this study. These included studies on environmental issues related to cosmetics, sustainability related to cosmetics, studies on companies' green or sustainability activities, and studies on sustainability reports of cosmetics.

2.1.3. Screening and Data Extraction

Various types of references were used, including research papers, review articles, books, magazine and news articles, reports from consulting firms, research firm data, and website information. References were applied only to cases in English, and university dissertations and dissertations, cases unrelated to this study, cases that were far from the topic or out of focus, and cases that could not be accessed were excluded.

2.1.4. Study Included and Data Extraction

This study used a descriptive review method. A PRISMA flow chart was used. Papers, articles, reports, etc., found through keyword searches in PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, and Scopus, and corporate sustainability-related reports, 105 out of a total of 470 were finally selected. Excluding the 18 corporate reports or data, 79 of the 87 references were to articles from 2020 or later. The PRISMA flow diagram is shown in Figure 1.

2.2. Analysis sources and references

The sources for analysis are those disclosed by companies, such as each company's annual report, non-financial statement, sustainability performance data and sustaina-bility report. The date of disclosure differs for each company, so the latest published data is used. In addition, this study was created by searching for words such as cos-metics, environmental, eco-friendly, and sustainable. This study was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, and Scopus. Therefore, a total of 338 papers were studied. This paper was successfully completed using a total of 87 references in this study using the PRISMA flow chart shown as a Figure 1.

2.2. Assessment of companies' environmental activities

2.1. Analysis companies 2.2.1. Assessment companies

2.3. Environmental activity analysis items 2.2.2. Environmental activity Assessment items

Point 5: The results of this study are not supported by significant and recent literature, although they are relevant and have been adequately discussed. Additionally, the most recent research articles should be cited.

Response 5: Excluding corporate sustainability reports, of the 33 total references used in the results and discussion, 21 were from 2023 and 10 were from 2022 (plus 7 new articles).

But Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and Douglass have created their own standards for clean beauty, driving brands to switch to safer and cleaner formulas and educating consumers. So, consumers are using safer products, and brands are switching to clean formulas. Retailers are now setting standards for clean beauty and environmental activities and are launching campaigns (see Table 7). These campaigns are expected to play a significant role in inducing manufacturers' environmental activities. Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and Douglass have created their own ingredient standards, leading brands to switch to safer, cleaner formulations and educating consumers about unsafe ingredients. Retailers are now extending their standards to eco-friendly and launching campaigns (see Table 7). While these campaigns are expected to play a large role in the transition to eco-friendly products, they can also be abused for greenwashing for corporate profits, requiring responsible behavior by companies and active management and supervision by third parties. Companies are actually using environmental messaging in advertising and public relations to cover up their environmentally harmful behavior in favor of business [90,91,92] [84,85,86]. [ Page 16, line 493-502 ]

Toxic ingredients are still in the air, water or land, accumulate and adversely affect human and wild animals [69]. Toxic ingredients in personal care products contaminate groundwater through underdeveloped and inefficient sewers, adversely affecting humans and freshwater animals [69] [89]. [ Page 17, line 512-514 ] .

[85][102]. Consumers, however, may prioritize affordability and accessibility over eco-friendliness. Product efficacy may also be more important than environmental friendliness [86]. However, consumers may prioritize affordability, accessibility and availability over environmental friendliness. Also, the low efficacy of products can be a barrier to sustainable purchasing intentions [86][103] [ Page 18, line 582-584 ]

Environmental legislation for the cosmetics and personal care industry should be created and continuously checked [87]. Governments should develop environmental legislation and related systems for the cosmetics and personal care industry and support and increase investment in companies [87] [105]. [ Page 18, line 595-597 ]

We expect this study to contribute from three perspectives. The first is a practical per-spective: the study will not only assess the authenticity, transparency, and objectivity of each cosmetics and personal care company's environmental activities, but also pro-vide a basis for cross-company comparisons to pressure the industry to take action [35,36,57]. [ Page 19, line 606-609 ] It is significant in that it encourages the environmental activities of OEM/ODM companies and distributors, which have been neglected despite their growing influence, and lays the groundwork for the need to develop common standards and frameworks for monitoring the environmental activities of companies involved in cosmetics and personal care [101]. [ Page 19, line 610-614 ]The second is from a theoretical perspective. We identified a significant lack of prior research on the sustainability activities of cosmetics and personal care companies [55,56]. [ Page 19, line 614-616 ] Third is the methodological perspective. In the past, evaluating a company's environmental activities was not easy [100]. [ Page 19, line 619-621 ] Meanwhile, as companies actively engage with the UN's SDGs, their sustainability reports have begun to be framed within the framework of the UN SDGs [33-35]. It also contributes to future research by developing a framework for comparing and evaluating companies' actual and concrete behavior towards the environment [101].

[ Page 19, line 610-614 ]

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Thanks for the opportunity to review very interesting research.

The strengths of the study are its incredible relevance, the logical presentation of materials, the influence of the subject of the study is clearly shown, the methodology is described in sufficient detail, the results are also quite logical, filled with visual representations of the study in the form of tables and figures, which facilitates the perception of the material and will undoubtedly attract a larger circle of readers.

Yet, despite the merits, the presentation of the article is quite raw and could be better in the following areas:

first, in the abstract to emphasize the novelty of the study

secondly, there are some gaps in the analysis of the literature, for example, the issue of social responsibility is raised (l. 158-160), but the publications are for 2020-2021, so my advice is to add the most recent ones, for example https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136317

moreover, it should be added a comparison with existing studies, in which it is necessary to emphasize the novelty of the study and its practical / theoretical / methodological contribution and highlighting how the author's research differs from them. It could be a separate section.

further, underline article’s limitation;

at last, if possible, mention the ways for further research.

I hope that the authors will do their best to make the necessary corrections to the article in order for really interesting research to be published.

Author Response

July 13^th, 2023

Dear Editor-in-Chief, Sustainability:

Best regards,

Ki Han Kwon, PhD, Professor

Point 1: first, in the abstract to emphasize the novelty of the study.

Response 1: We greatly appreciate your valuable comments. We totally agree with your comments. In the manuscript, we have not only emphasized the novelty of the study. [Page 1, lines 34-44]

Not only brand companies, but also OEM/ODM companies and retailers must act responsibly and actively. Be-cause the three company groups have distinctive characteristics, they have different key roles for the environ-ment and should be more proactive. It is necessary to secure future-oriented goals, transparency of progress, and objectivity of results. In addition, the industry should set up a framework for environmental management indi-cators and evaluation standards. Therefore, in this study, the cosmetics and personal care companies (Brands, OEM/ODMs, Retailers) are more encouraged to take responsibility and roles in environmental issues and suggest the direction the entire industry should go in the future.

The novelty of this study is, first, that it identifies the actual and specific strategies and practices of cosmetics and personal care companies on environmental issues; second, it establishes common standards for environmental issues and compares corporate environmental activities. Third, the study included OEM/ODM companies and retailers, whose influence has been increasing in recent years, to understand the status of eco-friendly activities across the industry. The study not only assesses the authenticity, transparency, and objectivity of each cosmetics and personal care company's environmental activities, but also provides a cross-company comparison to put pressure on the industry to act. It is significant in that it encourages the environmental activities of OEM/ODM companies and retailers, which have been neglected despite their growing impact, and lays the groundwork for the need to develop common standards and frameworks for environmental monitoring of cosmetics and personal care companies.

Point 2: secondly, there are some gaps in the analysis of the literature, for example, the issue of social responsibility is raised (l. 158-160).

Response 2: We agree with the reviewer. We have misinterpreted the literature (Lines, 158-160). So, this part has been deleted.

Recently, leading cosmetics and personal care companies are establishing ESG strate-gies by integrating social responsibility and environmental issues in connection with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Point 3: but the publications are for 2020-2021, so my advice is to add the most recent ones, for example https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136317

Response 3: We acknowledge the lack of recent papers, so we have replaced 14 in the manuscript with recent papers. Thirteen were published in 2023 and one was published in 2022. In addition, excluding corporate sustainability reports, of the 33 total references used in the results and discussion, 21 were from 2023 and 10 were from 2022 (plus 7 new articles).

[The reference we have revised in the introduction]

Despite global agreements through the United Nations, and activities of initiatives, governments, businesses, and consumers, it is not enough to overcome the current en-vironmental problems. Raw material sourcing, packaging, production, transportation, and sales for the cosmetics and personal care industry have caused various global en-vironmental problems such as climate change, waste, water shortage, habitat destruc-tion, and water & air pollution [3,4]. The cosmetics and personal care industry is con-tributing to a range of global environmental issues such as climate change, waste, wa-ter scarcity, habitat destruction, and water and air pollution, yet many companies still lack an understanding and integrated business management of sustainability [3,4]. [page2, line 61-65]

Sahota, A. (2013). Introduction to sustainability. sustainability: How the cosmetics industry is greening up, 1-15.
Suphasomboon, T., & Vassanadumrongdee, S. (2023). Multi-stakeholder perspectives on sustainability transi-tions in the cosmetic industry. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 38, 225-240.

Due to the nature of the industry based on chemical components and chemical energy sources, a large amount of carbon is emitted at all stages, from raw material supply and demand to production and disposal [8]. Due to the nature of industries based on chemical components and chemical energy sources, a large amount of carbon is emit-ted at all stages, from raw material supply and demand to production, transportation, and disposal, and this amount is gradually increasing [8][5]. [ Page2. , line 94- 97 ]

Sahota, A. (Ed.). (2014). Sustainability: how the cosmetics industry is greening up. John Wiley & Sons.
Galimova, T., Ram, M., Bogdanov, D., Fasihi, M., Khalili, S., Gulagi, A., ... & Breyer, C. (2022). Global demand analysis for carbon dioxide as raw material from key industrial sources and direct air capture to produce renew-able electricity-based fuels and chemicals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 373, 133920.

UNEP's "Plastics in Cosmetics" report emphasizes the importance of managing harm-ful plastics in cosmetics [13].UNEP's "Plastics in Cosmetics" reports on the current in-discriminate use of plastics in the cosmetics industry and the lack of management[13] [10]. [Page3, line 118-120]

Leslie, H. A. (2015). Plastic in Cosmetics: Are we polluting the environment through our personal care?: Plastic ingredients that contribute to marine microplastic litter.
Plastics in Cosmetics: Are we polluting the environment through our personal care (Factsheet), UN Environ-ment Programme, Available online: https://www.unep.org/resources/report/plastics-cosmetics-are-we-polluting-environment-through-our-personal-care, (accessed on 5 Jul 2023).

UV filters are being detected in broad environmental compartments such as surface waters, oceans, seas, coastal waters, ground waters, lakes, rivers and sediments [24,25]. Personal care product residues, including organic UV filters, are being detected in aquatic environments such as surface water, groundwater, and drinking water[24,25][21.22] [Page4 , line 157-159 ]

Zhang, P. P., Shi, Z. G., Yu, Q. W., & Feng, Y. Q. (2011). A new device for magnetic stirring-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction of UV filters in environmental water samples. Talanta, 83(5), 1711-1715
Jurado, A., Gago-Ferrero, P., Vàzquez-Suñé, E., Carrera, J., Pujades, E., Díaz-Cruz, M. S., & Barceló, D. (2014). Urban groundwater contamination by residues of UV filters. Journal of hazardous materials, 271, 141-149.

21.Scheele, A., Sutter, K., Karatum, O., Danley-Thomson, A. A., & Redfern, L. K. (2023). Environmental impacts of the ultraviolet filter oxybenzone. Science of The Total Environment, 863, 160966.

Hawash, H. B., Moneer, A. A., Galhoum, A. A., Elgarahy, A. M., Mohamed, W. A., Samy, M., ... & Attia, N. F. (2023). Occurrence and spatial distribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment, their characteristics, and adopted legislations. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 52, 103490.

Microplastics do not decompose and remain in the water for a long time, such as being deposited as sediment or floating in the water, contributing to plastic pollution [27]. Microplastics have been found to spread even to pristine areas, affecting island life [27] [24]. [Page4 , line 166-167 ]

Derraik, J. G. (2002). The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review. Marine pollution bulletin, 44(9), 842-852.
Jang, M., Shim, W. J., Han, G. M., Cho, Y., & Hong, S. H. (2023). Plastic debris as a mobile source of additive chemicals in marine environments: In-situ evidence. Science of The Total Environment, 856, 158893.

Fragrances used in cosmetics and personal care such as perfumes, body and hair sprays, and detergents interact with other particles in the air in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to form harmful ozone and pollutants harmful to human health. [30,31,32]. Fragrances used in cosmetics and personal care contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which interact with other particles in the air to form ozone and pollutants that are harmful to human health. [30,31,32][29,30,31]

Senary, K., Tawfik, A., Hegazy, E., & Ali, A. (2016). Development of a waste heat recovery system onboard LNG carrier to meet IMO regulations. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 55(3), 1951-1960.
Blessy, A., John Paul, J., Gautam, S., Jasmin Shany, V., & Sreenath, M. (2023). IoT-based air quality monitoring in hair salons: Screening of hazardous air pollutants based on personal exposure and health risk assessment. Wa-ter, Air, & Soil Pollution, 234(6), 336. [Page4 , line 177-179]

Recently, leading cosmetics and personal care companies are establishing ESG strategies by integrating social responsibility and environmental issues in connection with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is usually disclosed through non-financial statement reports such as sustainability reports. Therefore, through the ESG strategies in these reports, it is possible to confirm the interest and role of companies in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [39,40,41]. Recently, major cosmetics and personal care companies are establishing ESG strategies in connection with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Interest in ESG is rapidly increasing. ESG is disclosed through non-financial performance reports and can contribute to achieving the SDGs. Through the disclosure of a company's transparent ESG strategy, it is possible to confirm the company's progressive attitude toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [39,40][33,34] Companies with more active IR activities have been shown to disclose more sustainability performance [41][35]. [ Page5, line 208-215 ]

Morea, D., Fortunati, S., & Martiniello, L. (2021). Circular economy and corporate social responsibility: Towards an integrated strategic approach in the multinational cosmetics industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 315, 128232.
Baratta, A., Cimino, A., Longo, F., Solina, V., & Verteramo, S. (2023). The impact of ESG practices in industry with a focus on carbon emissions: Insights and future perspectives. Sustainability, 15(8), 6685.
Fortunati, S., Martiniello, L., & Morea, D. (2020). The strategic role of the corporate social responsibility and circular economy in the cosmetic industry. Sustainability, 12(12), 5120.
Mustafa Khan, N. J., & Mohd Ali, H. (2023). Regulations on Non-Financial Disclosure in Corporate Reporting: A Thematic Review. Sustainability, 15(3), 2793.
Cubas, A. L. V., Bianchet, R. T., Reis, I. M. A. S. D., & Gouveia, I. C. (2022). Plastics and Microplastic in the Cosmetic Industry: Aggregating Sustainable Actions Aimed at Alignment and Interaction with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Polymers, 14(21), 4576.
Sun, Y. (2023). Can the innovation in sustainability disclosures reflect organisational sustainable development? An integrated reporting perspective from China. Sustainable Development.

Companies are adopting international standard disclosure guidelines because they want to gain trust based on transparency and objectivity [42]. Companies are adopting international standard disclosure guidelines such as GRI, TCFD, and CDP to gain trust based on transparency and objectivity [42][36]. [ Page5 , line 215-219 ]

Afzali, H., & Kim, S. S. (2021). Consumers’ responses to corporate social responsibility: The mediating role of CSR authenticity. Sustainability, 13(4), 2224.
Diwan, H., & Amarayil Sreeraman, B. (2023). From financial reporting to ESG reporting: a bibliometric analy-sis of the evolution in corporate sustainability disclosures. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-37.

[References we have revised or added in the discussion]

[ Page 19, line 610-614 ]

Morea, D., Fortunati, S., & Martiniello, L. (2021). Circular economy and corporate social responsibility: Towards an integrated strategic approach in the multinational cosmetics industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 315, 128232.
Baratta, A., Cimino, A., Longo, F., Solina, V., & Verteramo, S. (2023). The impact of ESG practices in industry with a focus on carbon emissions: Insights and future perspectives. Sustainability, 15(8), 6685.
Fortunati, S., Martiniello, L., & Morea, D. (2020). The strategic role of the corporate social responsibility and circular economy in the cosmetic industry. Sustainability, 12(12), 5120.
Mustafa Khan, N. J., & Mohd Ali, H. (2023). Regulations on Non-Financial Disclosure in Corporate Reporting: A Thematic Review. Sustainability, 15(3), 2793.
Cubas, A. L. V., Bianchet, R. T., Reis, I. M. A. S. D., & Gouveia, I. C. (2022). Plastics and Microplastic in the Cosmetic Industry: Aggregating Sustainable Actions Aimed at Alignment and Interaction with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Polymers, 14(21), 4576.
Sun, Y. (2023). Can the innovation in sustainability disclosures reflect organisational sustainable development? An integrated reporting perspective from China. Sustainable Development.
Afzali, H., & Kim, S. S. (2021). Consumers’ responses to corporate social responsibility: The mediating role of CSR authenticity. Sustainability, 13(4), 2224.
Diwan, H., & Amarayil Sreeraman, B. (2023). From financial reporting to ESG reporting: a bibliometric analy-sis of the evolution in corporate sustainability disclosures. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-37.
Fortunati, S., Martiniello, L., & Morea, D. (2020). The strategic role of the corporate social responsibility and circular economy in the cosmetic industry. Sustainability, 12(12), 5120.
Tiscini, R., Martiniello, L., & Lombardi, R. (2022). Circular economy and environmental disclosure in sustainabil ity reports: Empirical evidence in cosmetic companies. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(3), 892-907.

Cubas, A. L. V., Bianchet, R. T., Reis, I. M. A. S. D., & Gouveia, I. C. (2022). Plastics and Microplastic in the Cosmetic Industry: Aggregating Sustainable Actions Aimed at Alignment and Interaction with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Polymers, 14(21), 4576.
Luciana Batista, Anna Thal Larsen, Jenny Davis-Peccoud, and Mario Häuptli. Sustainability in Retail: Practical Ways to Make Progress. Bain & Company. 25 Oct 2022. Available online: https://www.bain.com/insights/sustainability-in-retail/(accessed on 30 May 2023).
Kwon, K., Lee, J., Wang, C., & Diwanji, V. S. (2023). From green advertising to greenwashing: content analysis of global corporations’ green advertising on social media. International Journal of Advertising, 1-24.
Sailer, A., Wilfing, H., & Straus, E. (2022). Greenwashing and bluewashing in black Friday-related sustainable fashion marketing on Instagram. Sustainability, 14(3), 1494.
Hartmann, P., Marcos, A., Castro, J., & Apaolaza, V. (2023). Perspectives: Advertising and climate change–Part of the problem or part of the solution? International Journal of Advertising, 42(2), 430-457.
Ebele, A. J., Abdallah, M. A. E., & Harrad, S. (2017). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the fresh water aquatic environment. Emerging contaminants, 3(1), 1-16.
Nozaki, K., Tanoue, R., Kunisue, T., Tue, N. M., Fujii, S., Sudo, N., ... & Nomiyama, K. (2023). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in surface water and fish from three Asian countries: Species-specific bio-accumulation and potential ecological risks. Science of The Total Environment, 866, 161258.
Zor, S. (2023). Conservation or revolution? The sustainable transition of textile and apparel firms under the environmental regulation: Evidence from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 382, 135339.
Bozza, A., Campi, C., Garelli, S., Ugazio, E., & Battaglia, L. (2022). Current regulatory and market frameworks in green cosmetics: The role of certification. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 30, 100851.
Bozza, A., Campi, C., Garelli, S., Ugazio, E., & Battaglia, L. (2022). Current regulatory and market frameworks in green cosmetics: The role of certification. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 30, 100851.
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Sahota, A. (2013). Introduction to sustainability. sustainability: How the cosmetics industry is greening up, 1-15.
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Point 4: moreover, it should be added a comparison with existing studies, in which it is necessary to emphasize the novelty of the study and its practical /theoretical / methodological contribution and highlighting how the author's research differs from them. It could be a separate section.

Response 4: Thank you for the meaningful comments. First of all, we have added the previous studies on cosmetics in the introduction section to clarify the context and purpose of the study and added the novelty and its practical, theoretical, and methodological contribution of this study at the end of the discussion section. [Pages 5-6, lines 220-273] [Pages 19, lines 559-630]

4.7. The novelty, its practical / theoretical / methodological contribution

We expect this study to contribute from three perspectives. The first is a practical perspective: the study will not only assess the authenticity, transparency, and objectivity of each cosmetics and personal care company's environmental activities, but also pro-vide a basis for cross-company comparisons to pressure the industry to take action [35,36,57]. It is significant in that it encourages the environmental activities of OEM/ODM companies and distributors, which have been neglected de-spite their growing influence, and lays the groundwork for the need to develop common standards and frameworks for monitoring the environmental activities of companies involved in cosmetics and personal care [101]. The second is from a theoretical perspective. We identified a significant lack of prior research on the sustainability activities of cosmetics and personal care companies [55,56]. Given the urgency of environmental issues, more research on corporate behavior should be conducted. A re-search of the environmental activities of the cosmetics industry should be conducted in parallel. It is significant in that it suggests a need and direction for research on the environmental activities of companies. Third is the methodological perspective. In the past, evaluating a company's environmental activities was not easy [100]. As ESG has become increasingly important, companies have begun to proactively disclose non-financial performance such as sustainability. Meanwhile, as companies actively engage with the UN's SDGs, their sustainability reports have begun to be framed within the framework of the UN SDGs [33-35]. As a result, it became possible to evaluate and compare the environmental activities of companies, although not sufficiently, and the study proposed a method of utilizing non-financial performance reports of companies as a material for evaluating the actual environmental activities of companies. It also contributes to future research by developing a framework for comparing and evaluating companies' actual and concrete behavior towards the environment [101].

Point 5: further, underline article’s limitation;

Response 5: We have revised the conclusion to make the limitations of this study more visible.

[Page 19, lines 646-653]

These are the results of an analysis focusing on companies' annual reports, non-financial statements, or sustainability reports. The lack of targets, goals, and commitments does not mean that the company does not manage sufficiently. Because it is based on open sources, there may be gaps with actual company goals, plans, and actions. In addition, since the time of disclosure is different, there is a limit to comparison at the same point in time. Companies must provide sufficient and prompt transparent information.

Limitations of this study: First, this study focuses on information that is publicly available on companies' websites, such as annual reports, non-financial statements, or sustainability reports. The absence of published goals, targets, or commitments, or the lack of sufficient information being disclosed, does not mean that the company is not doing enough to manage the environment. Because it is based on open source, there may be gaps in the actual company's goals, plans, and actions. Second, because each company has a different timeframe for report disclosure, comparisons at the same point in time are limited.

Point 6: at last, if possible, mention the ways for further research.

Response 6: As suggested by the reviewer, we have added future research at the end.

[Pages 19-20, lines 659-668]

On the other hand, this study is the result of selecting and analyzing the 16 most in-fluential brand/ODM/retail companies. Their market influence is great, but still limited. It is necessary to understand the environmental activities of Small and middle size companies. It is also necessary to study consumers' attitudes and behaviors toward the environment. Consumer participation is the most key factor for corporate environ-mental activities. This is because the business is not sustainable if consumers do not generate sales and profits.

There is an overwhelming lack of studies on the actual and specific environmental activities of cosmetics and personal care companies, so further research is needed. It is necessary to study and update corporate actions on a regular basis to stimulate companies. This study analyzes 16 of the most influential brand/ODM/retail companies, whose market influence is large but still limited. It is necessary to understand the environmental activities of small and medium-sized companies. Finally, there is a need to study consumer attitudes and behaviors toward the environment. Most consumer environmental activities have been studied from a branding and marketing perspective. There is a need for research that drives consumer environmental behavior from a different perspective.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors took into account all the comments and corrected their study accordingly, of course, it’s a pity that my recommendation as a source of literature was not useful to them. However, I think that the study can be published in this form.