Sugandha Agarwal, Gayatri Nair, Kiran Tangri, Khang Wen Goh
The integration of Artificial Intelligence into the cosmetics industry has predominantly focused on personalization, marketing, and supply chain optimization. However, its potential to drive sustainable innovation in product development and packaging remains underexplored. Furthermore, existing studies don't adequately consider the relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the areas of industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG9), responsible consumption and production (SDG12), and climate action (SDG13). This review investigates the current and emerging applications of AI in sustainable product formulation, packaging, branding and labelling along with key practical and theoretical limitations, and directions of future research required to unlock AI's potential for sustainable developments within the cosmetics industry. Also, this study aims to highlighting how AI-enabled innovation can support SDGs through sustainable industry development, responsible production, and climate action by explicitly embedding SDG 9, SDG 12, and SDG 13 within its research framework. The undertaken study synthesizes findings from 51 peer-reviewed articles and systematic review methodology by using PRISMA and meta-analysis. The originality of this review lies in its interdisciplinary approach to include triangulated theoretical perspective by linking Resource Based View (RBV) for competitive advantage, Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) for fostering innovation adoption and communication, and Innovation Systems (IS) enabling sustainable innovations through a collaborative network while proposing a multidimensional research framework along with an actionable framework reflecting SDGs-based outcome and concrete future research agenda. The comprehensive research framework systematically maps how emerging AI technologies, such as generative AI and reinforcement learning, can be strategically integrated across key stages of sustainable product development from formulation and packaging to branding to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy. The conclusion shows a pivotal role in advancing SDGs 9, 12, and 13, each representing a vital facet towards a sustainable future. By clarifying the role of AI in accelerating eco-innovation, and by offering concrete limitations, this review contributes to both the academic discourse and the practical advancement of sustainability in the beauty industry. © 2026 The Authors.
School of Management, Canadian University Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; INTI International University, Malaysia; Faculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia; Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia
