LAHORE: South Korean cosmetic company Tony Moly Vice President Young Ro Yoon has said that the brand is introducing new trends of makeup in Pakistan with natural ingredients that are 100 percent safe for skin and health. Elit Pakistan CEO Pervaiz Iqbal Awan was also present on occasion. Tony Moly was launched on Thursday with the aim to provide safe and harmless ingredients in cosmetics. Young Ro Yoon further explained that the cosmetic industry of Pakistan is dominated by multinational brands and the quality of local products was not as per international standards. “This was the reason that we decided that the people of Pakistan should be given 100 percent natural and harmless products which are being used by millions of people across the world,” he said. While introducing Tony Moly, Young said that working in more than 40 countries, Tony Moly was founded in 2006 in South Korea. In a span of nine years, the company has around 1,000 employees while it is offering a wide range of products with 188 different varieties. He informed that last year Tony Moly’s sales were more than $300 million. He added that several products in Pakistan are containing harmful ingredients, which can cause skin cancer; even a cheap lipstick can contain lead. “Tony Moly’s focus is completely on the safety of its consumers and this is the reason that we have already established a Research & Development Department that remains busy in researching safer and quality products the whole year,” he explained. He went on saying that Tony Moly was meeting the international standards in this regard as its products were approved from the Environment Working Group, which is internationally acclaimed for such products. He added that Europe and US had the most strict laws for cosmetic companies and Tony Moly was successfully working over there which is a proof of the quality of its products. “We launched at Sephora Europe in 2016 in 14 countries, covering more than 800 outlets. Before us entering the EU market, we prepared almost for two years to meet EU standards and finally registered to the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal,” he said. Tony Moly’s VP was of the view that the beauty industry was shaped by the ever changing customer demands and choices and with trends to stay updated was imperative for companies to expand geometrically to be a part of the global village. “The same changes are happening in skincare and the makeup industry,” he added. Pervaiz Iqbal Awan observed that people in Pakistan were not generally aware of the hazards of chemicals being used in cosmetics. He added that talcum; whitening and lightening creams in the country contained lead, steroids and other hazardous chemicals, which were causing skin infections, fertility and hormonal issues. He said that since people did not know what they were using on their faces, Tony Moly and Elit planned to launch an awareness campaign in the country, which would beware people about the hazards of chemicals being used in their cosmetic products. Replying to a query, Pervaiz said that a major portion of budget had also been allocated for that purpose which was a real service to country and community. “We wanted long term results and do not want to sell cancer containing products, therefore the campaign to aware people has been decided,” he added. Published in Daily Times, September 23rd 2017.