Cosmetics giants agree to stop using shark oil

Lucy Cockcroft, The Telegraph 30 Jan 08;

Two cosmetic giants have agreed to stop using shark liver oil as a base for moisturising creams and lipsticks, amid concerns over threats to the survival of some species.

International companies L’Oreal and Unilever have agreed to replace the compound squalene, found in shark livers, with other oils from plant sources, in a significant victory for the campaign group Oceana.

Deep-sea sharks have large reserves of squalene, widely used as an emollient in various creams, lotions and glosses, as their livers comprise up to one-third their entire body weight.

Intensive fishing to supply the cosmetics industry has contributed to a dramatic population declines of certain species, including the gulper and kitefin.

Unilever said it had stopped using shark oil in high street brands such as Pond’s and Dove some years ago, and is withdrawing its use from the entire European range by April 2008.

A spokesman said: “This is part and parcel of becoming as responsible as one can in our supply chain.”

L’Oreal is now completing the phase-out of shark oil in skincare products.

However, 12 make-up formulas, including 8 lipsticks under the Shu Uemura brand name which is owned by the company, remain unaltered.

In a letter to Oceana, a charity set up to protect the world’s oceans, L’Oreal spokesman Pierre Simoncelli wrote: “We hope to finalise this substitution programme for these remaining formulas in 2008.”

Beiersdorf, which makes Nivea products, Boots, Clarins, Sisley and La Mer have all either made the decision to stop using animal-based squalene some time ago or had a policy to never use it in the first place.

Rebecca Greenberg, a marine scientist with Oceana, said: “Some of the biggest names in the cosmetics industry are recognising their corporate social responsibilities and choosing not to contribute to the extinction of these important animals.

“Shark-based squalene has a readily available substitute on the market that comes from a purely vegetable origin. Squalene can be obtained from olives where it has the same qualities of animal-based squalene and is less expensive than the animal version.

“We encourage people to become educated and responsible consumers by asking cosmetic retailers about squalene sources and directing their purchases towards companies that have never used this animal-based product in cosmetics or that have made the decision to replace it.”

Oceana said the market for squalene in cosmetics had driven fishing for sharks including gulper, kitefin and Portuguese dogfish, all of which live at depths between 1,300m and 1,500m.

The world squalene market is between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes. Some components from the liver oil are also used in alternative medicines for healing wounds and reducing pain.

Shark’s fin is used in soups, and its skin for sandpaper or for leather in luxury items such as handbags.

Cartilage from tropical and deep-sea sharks is also used in dietary supplements and as an alternative treatment for osteoarthritis.

Deep-sea sharks are particularly vulnerable to overfishing as they are slow-growing, long-living and produce few young.

Oceana said that over a third of European shark and related ray populations are threatened with extinction.