how do you reduce the use of deodorant
Answers
The personal care industry has experienced tremendous growth in the recent decade, with the advent of deodorants and antiperspirants into the market. These products help in keeping one fresh, cool, sweat free and also impart a pleasant odour. The basic principle behind deodorants is that they prevent growth of bacteria on the skin and mask the odor through fragrance while an antiperspirant doesn’t just mask the bad odor, but also reduces the amount of sweat produced by reducing the amount of water available on the skin’s surface with astringents. These products come in various forms like roll-ons, pump sprays, sticks, aerosol sprays, etc. and helps in boosting confidence, as a Harris interactive poll had shown that excessive sweating can lead to reduced confidence and may have negative implications for careers and social lives. These products are the best defense mechanism against the sweat pumped out by the 2 million to 4 million sweat glands in our bodies but are these safe for us and the environment, is the big question which needs to be catered to.
The outright misleading and hoax promises made by the advertisements have helped the deodorant market establish a strong foothold all over the world. The hot, humid climatic conditions and the huge profit margins involved has in part, attracted a lot of new players into this segment. The Indian deodorant market has seen a humongous growth with the market size growing from INR 500 crore (US$ 83.08 million) to INR 2,300 crore (US$ 382.18 million) in a period of just 5 years (during 2009-14) and interestingly, rural India accounts for just one tenth of the total sales. Also, the U.S. deodorant and antiperspirant market were seen to be largely unaffected by the recession and a 5.9% increase was witnessed from 2006-11 and it is expected that this market will continue to grow well into 2017. The fact that there is an increasing demand for this broader lifestyle product has attracted both FMCG giants and newbies into this segment, the concern being, that these companies are putting their sales and profits before the health of the consumers, who are at a high risk of various diseases like cancer, Alzheimer, etc.