If you want to do your bit for biodiversity and the climate, are you better off buying natural products – whose credentials might or might not be questionable – or synthetic ones produced in a factory? The answer is not as clear cut as you may think.

Chemicals that cause harm to human health or to the environment can be found in everyday household products, from cleaning sprays and food packaging to furniture and cookware. Some toxins end up inside our bodies or stay in the soil, water and air that surrounds us for decades and sometimes longer. Some naturally occurring ingredients can have powerful effects on our bodies. Botanicals such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus and rosemary can trigger allergic reactions or skin irritation, and people have varying degrees of sensitivity. Natural products are not necessarily free of harmful chemicals, and synthetics ones are not always worse for us.

Quality control is a priority in terms of safety too. The Dr Craft team looks at every extraction in great detail using state-of-the-art chemical analysis. "When we extract an ingredient from mandarin peel, for example, we know how much of it we have got in the extract, but at the same time we don't want to unintentionally concentrate another ingredient that might occur naturally that then causes a problem," says Blackburn. "So we test it to make sure we’re not including anything we don't want as well. We're combining world-class chemical analytical facilities and knowledge with sustainability principles in a cosmetic lab."

By designing out waste, finding regenerative solutions and developing sustainable alternatives, pioneers like Gouldstone, Rytokoski and Blackburn are leading the way towards a more circular economy based on chemical ingredients that are good for us and beneficial to the environment.