Hair Care Products

Material Composition Assumptions

The default bill of materials for a representative hair care unit (approximately 400 ml shampoo or conditioner bottle, ~390 g total including packaging) includes:

• Formulation (~355–365 g net content): Water (60–80% by mass), anionic surfactants (sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate) ~10–15%, amphoteric surfactants (cocamidopropyl betaine) ~3–5%, conditioning agents (cetyl alcohol, dimethicone, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride) ~3–8%, preservatives (phenoxyethanol, methylisothiazolinone), fragrance, and functional actives
• HDPE bottle (~28–35 g): Extrusion blow-moulded high-density polyethylene; natural or pigmented. HDPE is preferred for its chemical resistance and recyclability in kerbside collection streams
• PP or PE cap (~5–8 g): Injection-moulded polypropylene flip-top cap, or PP disc cap; flip pumps for conditioners add ~10–15 g including stainless steel spring
• Label (~1–2 g): BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) pressure-sensitive label with solvent-based or UV-cured ink
• Secondary packaging (~8–12 g allocated per unit): Corrugated cardboard transit tray or case, shared across 6–24 units

The CCI score of 0.9 kgCO2e per unit is anchored to the CarbonBright estimate of ~1.25 kgCO2e for a 350 ml shampoo, adjusted downward slightly for a 400 ml format (larger bottle, lower per-unit packaging overhead) and calibrated against Unilever’s cradle-to-gate disclosures. The per-kg figure of 2.3 kgCO2e/kg reflects a relatively dilute, water-heavy formulation in a recyclable plastic bottle — substantially lower than cosmetics formats with glass packaging or concentrated petroleum-derivative ingredients.

The score covers cradle-to-gate manufacturing emissions. The use-phase contribution from consumer hot water heating during washing is separately estimated at 3–8 kgCO2e per unit of product consumed (depending on shower duration, water temperature, and grid intensity), but is excluded from the CCI score for consistency with the manufacturing-focused methodology.

Manufacturing Geography

The default manufacturing region is the EU, with significant production in China and the USA. Major hair care producers — Unilever (Dove, TRESemmé), Henkel (Schwarzkopf), L’Oréal (Garnier, Elseve) — operate large-scale manufacturing sites in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and the UK for European markets, with analogous sites in North America and Asia serving regional demand.

• EU grid intensity: ~300 gCO2e/kWh. European manufacturing facilities have strong incentives to procure renewable electricity under EU regulatory frameworks; several Unilever and Henkel sites have achieved carbon-neutral operations through a combination of on-site renewables and RECs.
• China grid intensity: ~565 gCO2e/kWh. China is a major supplier of HDPE resin and packaging components, and a significant manufacturing base for private-label and Asian-market brands. Supply chains frequently involve resin production in the Middle East, pellet manufacturing in China, and bottle blowing at or near the filling site.
• USA grid intensity: ~390 gCO2e/kWh. North American production is concentrated in the South and Midwest, serving domestic mass-market and value-tier brands.

The default score uses EU as the primary manufacturing reference with a blended Scope 2 grid intensity of approximately 350 gCO2e/kWh across all sourcing. Scope 1 (steam generation, hot water for batch processing) is the primary direct emission source at the factory level.

Regional Variation

Region	Grid Intensity	Estimated Score Adjustment
EU average	~300 gCO2e/kWh	Baseline (default)
USA average	~390 gCO2e/kWh	+30% on Scope 2 (adds ~0.04 kgCO2e)
China	~565 gCO2e/kWh	+88% on Scope 2 (adds ~0.11 kgCO2e)
Nordic (Sweden/Norway)	~30 gCO2e/kWh	-90% on Scope 2 (saves ~0.12 kgCO2e)
India	~700 gCO2e/kWh	+133% on Scope 2 (adds ~0.17 kgCO2e)

Note: Scope 2 (factory electricity) represents approximately 14% of the total footprint. Regional grid variation has a moderate effect because Scope 3 upstream emissions — dominated by HDPE bottle production and surfactant synthesis — account for ~80% of the score and are largely insensitive to the manufacturing location of the filling facility.

Provenance Override Guidance

A supplier or manufacturer may override the default CCI score by submitting:

1. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) per ISO 14067 or a full LCA per ISO 14040/14044 for the specific SKU and manufacturing site.
2. Packaging specification sheet including exact weight (g) of each component (HDPE bottle, PP cap, pump mechanism, label), verified recycled content percentage (rHDPE), and certification level (e.g., PCR content verified by third party).
3. Formulation ingredient emission factors from Ecoinvent or equivalent for key surfactants and conditioning agents. Biosurfactants (e.g., rhamnolipids, saponins) typically have lower upstream footprints than petroleum-derived equivalents.
4. Factory energy mix data including PPAs, RECs, or on-site renewable generation documentation.
5. Refill system documentation — brands operating refill-at-retail or refill-pouch models can demonstrate per-use emission reductions; lifecycle data for the refill system (e.g., pouch weight, fill cycle efficiency) should accompany any override.

Unilever’s product environmental footprint methodology and Henkel’s Scope 3 disclosure framework are recognised as valid third-party frameworks for category-level overrides.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 0.9 kgCO2e per unit represents a mid-range estimate for a 400 ml liquid hair care product (shampoo or conditioner) in an HDPE bottle. CarbonBright’s LCA for a similar 350 ml product reports ~1.25 kgCO2e; the lower value here reflects format adjustment and the exclusion of retail and end-of-life stages. Published estimates range from ~0.5 kgCO2e (concentrated refill format, rHDPE packaging) to ~1.8 kgCO2e (full-size bottle, virgin plastic, air-freight distribution).
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 dominates at 80% (0.72 kgCO2e per unit), driven by HDPE packaging and surfactant synthesis. Scope 2 (factory electricity for mixing, heating, filling, QC) is 14% (0.13 kgCO2e). Scope 1 (direct combustion for steam and hot water) is 6% (0.05 kgCO2e).
• Functional unit: One 400 ml hair care product unit including primary packaging (HDPE bottle, PP cap), cradle-to-gate. Secondary and tertiary packaging included on an allocated basis.
• Use-phase exclusion: The Ethical Consumer and Carbon Trust analyses both note that consumer hot water use during shampooing accounts for 59–93% of the full lifecycle footprint, depending on system boundary and regional grid intensity. This use-phase contribution is excluded from the CCI score but is noted here because it dramatically exceeds the manufacturing footprint and is the primary lever for consumer-level impact reduction.
• Shampoo bar vs. liquid: Solid shampoo bars eliminate the water content (~70% of liquid formulation by mass) and typically use cardboard packaging, reducing per-wash footprint by 50–80% on a functional-unit basis. This is not reflected in the default score, which covers the conventional liquid format.
• Confidence is medium because LCA data for hair care products is available from major brands (Unilever, Henkel, L’Oréal) but not routinely disclosed at SKU level. Formulation variation (surfactant type and load, silicone content) and packaging weight variation across brand tiers introduce meaningful uncertainty.