Health, Wellness & AnchorCert Pro

In 2019, we saw an explosion of ‘Conscious Consumerism’ where consumers put their health first and foremost. Sales of organic products grew and ‘plant based’ and ‘clean’ products emerged on supermarket shelves. The trend for health and wellness shows no signs of slowing down, in fact, quite the opposite and it is touching more aspects of consumer buying behaviour. 

The past year has seen all of us focus more on our health and research carried out by Mintel on Health Management1 showed that nearly half of adults have higher personal safety standards because of COVID-19 and this has led to a shift in consumer behaviour as they seek brands and products that put their health and wellness at the forefront.

Through research carried out by IBM2 consumers were asked what brand attributes are important to them and 46% of respondents said it was ‘very important’ that products have health and wellness benefits with a further 31% said this was ‘moderately important’. 

Of the attributes that they say are important, 77% say they would be prepared to pay a premium for brands or products that provide health and wellness benefits.

With so much attention on what consumers put in their body, the focus will inevitably shift to what they put on their body.

A report published by unchecked.uk3 noted that, between 2016-2019, just half of 178 councils across England, Wales and Scotland tested consumer goods for dangerous chemicals. Of the 3027 items tested, 24% were found to contain hazardous chemicals over and above the permitted legal limits and the hazardous chemicals were mostly found in cosmetics (48%), jewellery (26%) and children’s toys (13%).

These worrying statistics will be of significant concern to the 20% of the UK population who, according to Allergy UK4, are affected by one or more allergic disorder, in fact, the UK has some of the highest prevalence rates of allergic conditions in the world. Unbelievably, 44% of British adults now suffer from at least one allergy and that number is rising all the time.

It is estimated that almost 20% of the population suffer from metal induced skin allergies but are not always aware, as Professor Michael Rudenko MD PhD FAAAAI, Immunology and Medical Director at The London Allergy and Immunology Centre, explains; “Contact allergy to metals can result in irritation and damage of the skin. Very often it does not happen straight away and can take many hours to manifest, making it difficult to link to exposure, which is why many people may be unaware they have an allergy.”

This was something that concerned M & S who approached AnchorCert Analytical after discovering, through their own consumer research, that nearly a quarter of their customers avoided fashion jewellery as they were fearful of an allergic reaction. M & S wanted a test for their products that went beyond the statutory Nickel, Lead and Cadmium test.

Through extensive research and development, including analysing the data of over 1000 individuals with known skin allergies, the AnchorCert Analytical team were able to identify 16 different metals which have the potential to cause an allergic reaction. The most common, Nickel, is restricted by the REACH regulations but other metals such as cobalt and chromium are not restricted and can be found in many items such as jewellery, watches, hair accessories, clothing trims and other similar consumer products.

Using this data, the team developed a unique test method; AnchorCert Pro. AnchorCert Pro assesses an article for the presence of the 16 elements. Using the results from the test, a brand or retailer can work with their manufacturer and amended the manufacturing process accordingly to ensure that the finished article is highly unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.

M & S adopted the AnchorCert Pro testing regime and, in 2017, re-launched their jewellery collection. Through improving their products to ensure they were extremely unlikely to cause an allergic reaction, not only did they improve the overall customer experience, they also made their jewellery and watch collections accessible to the nearly 25% of customers who were not  buying and this had a positive impact on sales.

Dippal Manchanda MSc, CChem, CSci, FRSC; Technical Director at AnchorCert Analytical, who led the project says: “By assessing the allergenic potential of metal elements that are present in jewellery, we can considerably reduce the likelihood of an adverse skin reaction. The results from the AnchorCert Pro methodology will enable manufacturers to minimise the usage of common and lesser-known allergens and help them to produce jewellery and similar products which are kind to sensitive skin. For certain consumers, this means they will be able to enjoy wearing jewellery for the first time.”

The AnchorCert Pro test method also includes statutory compliance in relation to REACH Nickel, Lead and Cadmium regulations so this one test is all that is needed to give consumers unrivalled protection against metal induced skin allergies.

For more information about AnchorCert Pro and how this could benefit your brand, please contact Rebecca Ray, AnchorCert Pro Brand Manager at rebecca.ray@theassayoffice.co.uk.

1 https://www.mintel.com/blog/personal-care-market-news/wellness-trends-to-watch-in-2021

2 https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/EXK4XKX8

3 https://unchecked.uk/research/investigation-chemicals/ 

4  https://www.allergyuk.org/information-and-advice/statistics

5 European Surveillance System on Contact Dermatitis (ESSCA)