Consumer Corner
Behind the Product: What Sustainability Looks Like in Beauty Development
Beauty Development: Shoppers want to know what ingredients are used, how items are packaged and whether the production process includes thoughtful choices. Beauty brands are taking note, and sustainability is increasingly shaping decisions across sourcing, packaging, production, shipping, storage and replenishment.
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(Feature Impact) Shoppers are paying closer attention to the products they bring into their homes. They want to know what ingredients are used, how items are packaged and whether the production process includes thoughtful choices. Beauty brands are taking note, and sustainability is increasingly shaping decisions across sourcing, packaging, production, shipping, storage and replenishment.
Responsible product lines rarely come from sweeping change. They are built through smaller, connected choices made throughout development. Packaging, ingredient sourcing and production planning influence how a product performs, how much waste it creates and how sustainably products can be produced.
Consider this beauty sustainability information from Laura Badcock, Chief Operating Officer of NourishUs Naturals.
Why packaging matters beyond appearance
“Packaging is often the first thing shoppers notice,” Badcock said. “It can shape how someone feels about a product before they ever try what’s inside.”
A package should look appealing, though appearance is only part of the equation. It also needs to protect the product, travel safely, store well and hold up through regular use. Once the product is finished, the packaging should allow easy recycling, refilling or responsible disposal.
There is no single packaging option that works best for every beauty product. A lightweight container may reduce shipping weight. A refillable option may stay in use longer. A recyclable material may work well in one area but create challenges in another if local recycling systems cannot process it. Even packaging that appears sustainable can create problems in practice if it leaks, breaks or requires excess shipping materials.
Why ingredient sourcing matters
“Ingredient lists have become an important part of how people evaluate beauty products,” Badcock said. “Shoppers often look for familiar oils, butters, botanical extracts and information about how ingredients were sourced, which plays a major role in the environmental impact.”
A product’s environmental footprint is influenced by many factors, including shipping distance, processing methods, storage conditions and supplier practices.
These factors can also affect product consistency and ingredient availability over time. Beauty brands working with wholesale skin care suppliers or private label manufacturers often need to balance ingredient goals with sourcing reliability and production needs.
How better planning can lead to less waste
“Packaging and ingredients are usually the first things people associate with sustainability, but how much product gets made, stored and discarded matters, too,” Badcock said.
Overproduction is one of the biggest hidden sources of waste in beauty and personal care. Products that sit too long in storage may eventually expire or remain unsold. Excess inventory can also create additional packaging waste, warehousing needs and disposal costs.
Smaller batch sizes give producers more room to adjust as trends or demand shift, and producing closer to expected sales windows helps reduce long storage periods and unnecessary waste. Testing new products in smaller volumes and restocking based on actual demand makes overproduction less likely.
How sustainable beauty choices are connected
Packaging, ingredient sourcing and production planning are closely connected throughout development.
“A packaging choice can affect shipping weight, storage needs and whether a package can be refilled,” Badcock said. “Ingredient choices can influence sourcing timelines and how products need to be stored. Production planning affects how much material gets used and how much product could eventually go unsold.”
Beauty shoppers want more transparency around sustainability claims
Sustainability claims carry less weight when those claims aren’t explained in practice.
This shift is pushing many beauty brands to focus more heavily on traceability, supplier relationships and clearer product information. Transparency is becoming part of the customer experience itself.
More responsible product lines are built over time
Responsible beauty products come together through ongoing choices around packaging, sourcing, production and inventory planning. For shoppers, those choices influence the products they bring into their homes.
“The brands that build sustainability into early decisions tend to have the easiest time maintaining it later,” Badcock said. “Once supplier relationships, packaging formats and production routines are in place, small adjustments are far easier than major changes. Treating sustainability as part of product development from the beginning, rather than something to fix later, is what makes it work in practice.”
To find more information on the intersection of beauty and sustainability, visitNourishUsNaturals.com.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
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Health
5 Babyproofing Tips for Baby Safety Month
Babyproofing is about anticipating those discoveries before little ones make them. In honor of National Baby Safety Month, consider these tips you can use to make your home safer all year round.
5 Babyproofing Tips for Baby Safety Month
(Feature Impact) Outsmarting a baby can be harder than it sounds – especially when it comes to transforming your home into a safe place for them to explore. Through their eyes, a coffee table becomes a climbing opportunity, a dangling phone charger looks like a teething toy and a cabinet of cleaning supplies could be an exciting travel destination.
Babyproofing is about anticipating those discoveries before little ones make them. In honor of National Baby Safety Month, consider these tips to make your home safer all year round.
Install Gates and Doorknob Covers
Crawling babies and stairs are a bad combination. Make sure the two never have the chance to meet by securely installing safety gates at the top and bottom of staircases to thwart young explorers. Gates or doorknob covers can also block access to other rooms and areas you’d prefer to keep off limits, like kitchens, bathrooms and laundry areas.
Use Safety Latches Wisely
Cabinets and drawers can contain a myriad of dangerous items, from cleaning products to sharp objects and medications. Even if you have rooms gated off, treat safety latches and locked storage receptacles as a second line of defense to make sure babies and toddlers can’t rummage where they shouldn’t.
Stress-Test Furniture
As babies and toddlers transition from crawling to walking, they often try using furniture to pull themselves up. Tall or unstable objects like TV stands, small tables and bookshelves can tip over if they aren’t properly secured. Try giving these objects a shake to see whether they’re easily moveable or wobbly; if so, anchor them to the floor or wall when possible. While you’re at it, check for sharp corners at the right height to bonk little heads and cover them with softer edge protectors.
Cover Outlets and Stow Cords
Electrical outlets can be tempting targets for curious fingers. Outfit them with covers or plastic safety caps, especially if you don’t already have tamper-resistant receptacles with built-in mechanisms to block foreign objects from entering the slots. As you’re going about your outlet audit, pay attention to cords as well. When possible, tuck them away or secure them with cord organizing systems, and block access to objects like lamps where cords can be used for tugging and toppling.
See the World at Their Level
Although it might feel silly, one of the best ways to spot hazards around your home is to scout for them from a baby’s perspective. Try getting as close to the floor as you can then look around each room for anything that could interest a young child and pose potential danger. In particular, keep an eye out for small objects that could become choking hazards, like dropped coins, batteries or loose toy pieces.
As children grow, so do the needs of your space. Visit eLivingtoday.com for more ideas on designing your home to fit your family.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
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Economy
U.S. Consumer Confidence Slips as Americans Grow More Cautious About the Future
U.S. consumer confidence edged lower in August as Americans became more pessimistic about jobs, income and business conditions over the next six months, despite improved views of the current economy.
NEW YORK — U.S. consumer confidence edged lower in August as Americans expressed greater concern about future business conditions, jobs and household income, even as their assessment of the current economy improved.
The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index fell 0.8 points to 89.4 in August, down from 90.2 in July.
The relatively small decline, however, masks a widening gap between how consumers view conditions today and what they expect in the months ahead.
The Present Situation Index, which measures consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, climbed 6.8 points to 121.2, reversing three consecutive months of declines.
Meanwhile, the Expectations Index, which measures the short-term outlook for income, business and employment conditions, dropped 5.8 points to 68.2.
“Consumer confidence moderated slightly in August for a second consecutive month,” Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in the organization’s Aug. 25 release.
Jobs Look Better Today — But Consumers Worry About Tomorrow
Americans’ perceptions of the current labor market improved considerably during August. About 27% said jobs were plentiful, up from 24.4% in July, while 19.5% said jobs were hard to get, down from 21.7%.
The outlook for the next six months was considerably weaker.
Only 14.6% expected more jobs to become available, compared with 16.4% in July. At the same time, 26.1% expected fewer jobs.
Consumers were also less optimistic about their incomes. About 17.6% expected their income to increase, down from 19.5% in July, while 13.8% expected their income to decline.
Prices Remain on Consumers’ Minds
Inflation continues to influence how Americans feel about the economy. According to The Conference Board, consumers’ written responses frequently mentioned prices, oil and gasoline, food and groceries, trade, jobs, and war or conflict.
Average and median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months also increased slightly.
Interest rates remain another concern. More than six in 10 consumers — 61.3% — expected interest rates to rise over the next year, although that was slightly lower than the 62% recorded in July.
Consumers Are Still Planning to Spend
The softer outlook hasn’t eliminated Americans’ willingness to make purchases.
Auto-buying expectations remained strong on a six-month moving-average basis, while homebuying expectations declined slightly in August but remained on a longer-term upward trend after hitting decade lows in early 2024.
Restaurants, bars and takeout; utilities; and streaming, internet and mobile services ranked among consumers’ leading planned service expenses.
Consumers were less enthusiastic about discretionary activities including movies, personal-travel hotels, airfare, amusement parks, museums and historical sites.
Why It Matters
The August numbers paint a mixed picture of the American consumer.
People are seeing some improvement in the economy they are experiencing today, particularly in the labor market. But their expectations for the next six months are becoming noticeably more cautious.
That divide matters because consumer spending represents a major part of U.S. economic activity. If concerns about employment, inflation and household income begin translating into reduced spending, weakening confidence could eventually become more significant for the broader economy.
For now, the August survey suggests Americans haven’t stopped spending — but they’re increasingly keeping an eye on what may be coming next.
The preliminary August Consumer Confidence Survey was conducted online for The Conference Board by Toluna. The survey period was Aug. 3–16, 2026.
Source: The Conference Board, August 2026 Consumer Confidence Survey®, released Aug. 25, 2026.
STM Daily News Economy News Brief
Sources
- The Conference Board — U.S. Consumer Confidence, August 2026 — Primary source for the August Consumer Confidence Index, Present Situation Index and Expectations Index.
- The Conference Board — Consumer Confidence Survey & Data — Consumer confidence survey information, methodology and release schedule.
Related Economic Data
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Consumer Spending — Official U.S. data tracking personal consumption expenditures. Consumer spending increased 0.2% in July 2026.
- BEA — Personal Income and Outlays, July 2026 — Tracks household income, disposable income, consumer spending and saving.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index — Official inflation data. The July 2026 CPI was up 3.4% from a year earlier; August CPI is scheduled for release September 11.
- Federal Reserve — Consumer Credit — Federal Reserve data covering revolving and nonrevolving consumer credit.
Automotive
Avoiding a Costly Lockout: 4 Reasons to Duplicate Your Car Key
Duplicate Your Car Key: Losing your keys may be frustrating, but realizing you’re locked out of your car – without a spare key – can be truly panic-inducing. Consider these four common reasons drivers make duplicate keys, and how planning ahead can help prevent a lockout from becoming a costly problem.
Avoiding a Costly Lockout: 4 Reasons to Duplicate Your Car Key
(Feature Impact) Losing your keys may be frustrating, but realizing you’re locked out of your car – without a spare key – can be truly panic-inducing. The price of getting back on the road can depend on several factors, including your vehicle make and model, the type of key that needs replacing and whether the situation calls for emergency roadside assistance.
Avoiding a potentially pricey and stressful lockout, which occurs for nearly 4 million Americans each year, starts by planning ahead. According to KeyMe Locksmiths, a service that makes it easy to duplicate car keys at up to 70% off dealership prices, creating a spare before the original is lost, addressing worn keys before they break and keeping backups in secure locations can reduce the need for emergency locksmith services.
“A good rule of thumb is to have at least two working keys for your vehicle,” said Samantha Jahnke, chief experience officer for KeyMe Locksmiths. “If you’re down to one, make a spare while you still have a working key. It can save you stress and expense if you’re ever locked out.”
Consider these four common reasons drivers make duplicate keys, and how planning ahead can help prevent a lockout from becoming a costly problem.
Have a Backup for Lost or Damaged Keys
One car key isn’t enough, because all it takes is one accident or memory lapse to disrupt your day. Maybe you already had a spare key, but it’s been a while since you’ve seen it. Or perhaps you have a habit of locking your key inside your vehicle, so you’d feel better with an extra. Having a spare – or a spare for the spare – gives you peace of mind you have another way to get back on the road without additional hassle.
Give Another Driver Convenient Access
If you share a vehicle with another member of your household, it makes life more convenient for each driver to have their own keys. Instead of passing the primary set back and forth, or arguing over who saw them last, both of you will have reliable access to the car when you need it. Plus, a spare set of keys makes a nice surprise when it’s time to give a new driver in the house access to the car.
Keep a Spare Set for Travel
When you’re far from home, it can be especially risky to only have one set of keys with you. If they happen to fall out of your pocket or get misplaced at the hotel, you could wind up stranded hundreds of miles away, facing the stress of finding a replacement service in an unfamiliar area. Bring a spare to keep in a secure location, like a purse or backpack that always stays on you, so you can focus on enjoying your vacation. If you realize before a trip you don’t have a spare, plan ahead and get a duplicate made before you hit the road.
Make an Extra for a Used Vehicle
Sometimes buying a used vehicle means the previous owner has already done the work of losing the spare key. If your car only comes with one key, make a backup as soon as possible. Having two working keys can also pay off when it’s time to sell or trade in your vehicle, as a missing spare may reduce its value or give a buyer another reason to negotiate.
Learn more about duplicating keys for more than 40,000 different vehicle makes, models and years at CopyKeys.com.
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