Sustainable Procurement & CSR News - Cosmetics Industry

In our changing world, people are increasingly aware of the need to protect the environment, preserve resources and address climate change – now and in the future. This applies equally to the personal care industry: consumers demand sustainable and eco-conscious cosmetic products aligned with a more sustainable lifestyle.

Ecovia Intelligence, a London-based specialist research, consulting and training company that focuses on global ethical product industries, has given its predictions for the year ahead for sustainable cosmetics…

Evonik is launching a sustainable baobab oil sourced from the near Sahel region of Ghana. Named Ecohance Soft Baobab [1] the oil is refined from the non-edible seeds of the baobab fruit and can be used as a botanical emollient in a wide range of natural cosmetic formulations such as hand creams, hair conditioners and body butters.

The result of the cooperation between Stora Enso, Blue Ocean Closures and AISA, this new tube made of 85% pulp fibers is expected to be commercially available in 2024. For the first time, Stora Enso’s barrier-coated board material Natura Shape is associated with a wood fiber-based closure for an unparalleled reduction in the amount of plastic in the packaging.

Coty is taking a new step in the replacement of ethanol of agricultural origin traditionally used in perfumery with ethanol resulting from carbon capture, with the launch of a first fragrance containing only alcohol made from recycled carbon. Coty announced in 2021 a partnership with LanzaTech to use their CarbonSmart ethanol, produced from carbon emitted by industrial activity but captured before it is released into the atmosphere.

Combining reduction and recycling-readiness, Albéa’s award-winning solution tackles the main current challenges of the packaging industry:

A disruptive design showing the material saving
 A light-weight solution, -55% weight reduction vs standard solution on the market in D50 and -60% weight reduction in D35
A lower carbon footprint solution, -57% carbon reduction vs standard

A customisable solution, as EcoFusion Top can be combined with various sleeve options for laminate and extruded tubes
An E-Commerce ready solution, compliant with the Ista-6 standard
Another advantage is that all these features are contributing to reducing the European Plastic Tax!

In the UK, sales of refillable prestige beauty products soared by 47% to £34m from January to July of last year – more than double those of the total prestige beauty market, which increased 22% in the same period, according to market researcher The NPD Group.

Meanwhile, data from luxury retailer Fenwick found that Google searches for ‘refillable beauty’ had increased 59% over the last year.

While refillables are gaining traction across fragrance and skin care, make-up is leading the charge: sales of refillable make-up shot up by 364% in the period from January to the end of July 2022, compared to the year prior, in contrast to the overall make-up market which saw a 30% year-on-year growth.

“As many beauty consumers are striving to make more environmentally conscious purchasing choices, refillable packaging offers

The beauty industry has an enormous impact on the planet. With an estimated 120 billion units of packaging produced every year, including plastic bottles, jars, tubes, and other containers that end up most of the time in landfills, the beauty industry is a major contributor to the global plastic waste crisis, explained Chloé Soroquère, Co-Chair of the FACCSF Sustainability Committee.

Thankfully, a growing “Sustainable Beauty” movement advocating more sustainable practices is making great strides in reducing the industry’s environmental footprint. From ingredient sourcing, packaging development, product transportation, store operations, to product end of life and waste management, sustainability touches every aspect of the product lifestyle.

In honor of Earth Day, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has issued a report on its latest eco-friendly packaging initiatives and advances in sustainability made by each of its brands.

One highlight: 71% of all ELC's packaging is now recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled, or recoverable. ELC's latest report covers the fiscal year 2023.
 
Nancy Mahon, Chief Sustainability Officer, ELC, comments, “We have an opportunity to take our packaging innovation to an even greater level by continuing to implement sustainability principles that allow us to create elegant solutions for our consumers while keeping the environment in mind.”

Sephora announced the launch of two global sustainability seals, “Clean at Sephora” and “Planet Aware at Sephora,” during the ChangeNow summit in Paris, aimed at increasing transparency and standardization across its product offerings worldwide. These seals, which will be introduced in April, are part of Sephora’s effort to harmonize its environmental commitments and formula communications globally, as shared by its executive team including President and CEO Guillaume Motte.

At Cosmoprof Asia 2023 in Hong Kong, the German colour cosmetics manufacturer has underlined its commitment to providing increasingly environmentally conscious consumers with sustainable, high-performance beauty products, launching a new refillable mechanical lip liner with care ingredients.

Chanel continues to move forward with more environmental-friendly product ranges. Thus, the brand’s Chance eau de toilette range will now boast an anodised aluminium strip instead of the galvanised polished brass that was used until now. To rise to the challenge of this change in material, the luxury fragrance brand has called on the expertise of g.pivaudran, a French-based manufacturer specializing in the development of aluminium parts for the perfume, cosmetics and spirits markets.

Japanese beauty group Kao Corporation has unveiled its new sustainability initiatives to achieve zero plastic packaging waste by 2040 and negative waste by 2050.
The owner of John Frieda and Molton Brown said it will hasten its plans to phase out fossil-based plastic packaging by scaling up its use of recycled material.

Thinner containers and packaging, along with increased packaging capacity and higher concentrated products will be a priority, Kao claimed.

The business will also promote reuse by offering refills and replacement products, and work on designing packaging made from a single material to make recycling easier.

Molton Brown has released its first packaging made from 100% recycled aluminium.
The Infinite Bottle empties collection is a part of parent company Kao’s sustainability push, which aims to achieve net zero waste for plastic packaging by 2040.


“Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and retains its premium finish and structure integrity, which, of course, is important to a luxury brand and from a product safety standpoint,” Beatrice Descorps, VP of Marketing at Molton Brown Global, told Cosmetic

The Italian company, a leader in primary cosmetic packaging, has "revolutionised" the concept of luxury with its paper airless packaging with a pouch- XPaper, putting paper in the spotlight.

Lumson's paper airless option is the "perfect combination of smart design, safety, and functionality with a sustainable twist." And we'll explain why.

Greener than ever. XPaper takes sustainability to the next level. It’s consistent with the principles of the circular economy (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) because once the product inside is finished, the plastic components can be separated from the paper components, making recycling and material recovery easier. In addition, the paper bottle is also much lighter (-50%) than an equivalent PET bottle. XPaper uses 47% less plastic and reduces CO2 emissions by 34%*.