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dc.contributor.advisorWilliam Aulet and Kit Hickey.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMaupin, Meghanen_US
dc.contributor.otherMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Integrated Design and Management Program.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-15T20:24:22Z
dc.date.available2018-10-15T20:24:22Z
dc.date.issued2018en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118539
dc.descriptionThesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018.en_US
dc.description"June 2018." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_US
dc.description.abstractThe $17 billion U.S. skincare industry negatively impacts women's health. It sets unrealistic beauty standards and ideals that are meant to influence consumers' product choices. Skincare products are unevenly regulated, and many formulations contain chemicals that harm individuals' health and end up in toxic landfills and watersheds. Skincare companies offer products with ingredients that are not verified or tested for safety or efficacy. Additionally, skincare products have historically been created for fictional archetypes, and insufficient attention has been paid to consumer's unique and changing skin needs. The short-term and long-term health outcomes resulting from skincare product usage affect divergent populations differently, due to the behavioral differences between women of different ages, ethnicities, and geographic locations, as well as other demographic and psychographic factors. This thesis examines these factors and looks beneath the skin of the industry, challenging the current modus operandi of its players. Using data mining techniques, the correlation between these factors are identified and used to predict skincare product waste. Unsupervised learning is used to group skincare consumers by their consumption behavior, as opposed to their demographics. A diverse sample of skincare consumers was chosen to score the skincare products in their everyday routine with both an individual health and environmental safety score. One solution supported by the research is innovation and new companies that are focused on customer education, ingredient transparency, and the measurement of individual safety outcomes resulting from skincare product usage.en_US
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityby Meghan Maupin.en_US
dc.format.extent77 pagesen_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherMassachusetts Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.rightsMIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582en_US
dc.subjectEngineering and Management Program.en_US
dc.subjectIntegrated Design and Management Program.en_US
dc.titleThe societal and environmental impacts of the skincare industry : a case for innovationen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.degreeS.M. in Engineering and Managementen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Programen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Integrated Design and Management Program.en_US
dc.identifier.oclc1055161568en_US


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