Why Is Cosmetics Industry Using Soy-Based Chemicals?

 Soy-based chemicals are an alternative to traditional chemicals, which are derived from petroleum oil or crude oil. Soy milk and soy oil are the most-popular soybean derivates, being increasingly used in the food and beverage industry owing to their high nutrient content. Similarly, the cosmetics industry uses soy-based chemicals in the production of biodegradable soaps, deodorants, and perfumes. Thus, the increasing demand for high-nutrient-content food products and biodegradable cosmetics will fuel the consumption of soy-based chemicals worldwide.

Moreover, the surging need for biofuels, owing to the rising air pollution levels and depleting fossil fuel reserves, will augment the production of soy-based chemicals in the upcoming years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 4.2 million deaths are caused due to ambient air pollution every year. Furthermore, the WHO states that the transportation sector and power sector should shift to clean modes of power generation, such as low-emission fuels, to mitigate air pollution levels.

Furthermore, the rising need for biofertilizers, eco-pesticides, and eco-insecticides, primarily on account of the degrading soil quality and depleting nutrient content in the earth's crust, is projected to create a huge requirement for soy-based chemicals. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) propounds that half the topsoil of the Earth has been lost in the last 150 years and the soil quality has been compromised due to over-intensive agricultural practices. This has resulted in soil salinity, loss of soil structure, compaction, and nutrient degradation, which can be dealt with with biofertilizers and biopesticides.

The Demands of the food and beverage, cosmetics, plastics, and agriculture sectors for soy-based chemicals are met by VertecBioSolvents Inc., Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc., Cargill Inc., Soyaworld Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Co., Cara Plastics Inc., Bunge Limited, The Dow Chemical Company, and BioBased Technologies LLC. At present, these companies are heavily investing in developing countries to produce renewable chemicals as they hold a huge potential for the commercialization of these bio-based products.

As per P&S Intelligence, North America held the soy-based chemicals market share in the preceding years. In the coming years, Asia-Pacific (APAC) is expected to consume a considerable volume of such products due to the mounting investments being made in the renewable chemical sector of China, Singapore, and South Korea. Furthermore, the Middle East and African (MEA) and European regions are expected to create a huge requirement for such chemicals in the foreseeable future.

Therefore, the booming demand for bio-based fuels, nutrient-rich food products, biodegradable plastics, eco-fertilizers and eco pesticides, and bio-based cosmetics will propel the consumption of soy-based chemicals.