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From Concept to Consumer: A Product Sustainability Journey

Company Feature, Nov 1, 2023

From sourcing raw ingredients to helping shape our products' end of life, we are committed to enhancing the consumer experience while keeping quality, sustainability, and safety top of mind across our portfolio of unique brands. We consider sustainability principles at every stage of the end-to-end product journey.

Innovate and Formulate

Our highly trained scientists, researchers, engineers, product developers, and technical professionals create breakthrough innovations, in line with cultural and behavioral trends.

We use our peer-reviewed green chemistry methodology to help guide ingredient selection and formulation decisions through the lens of human health, ecosystems, and the environment.

  • Aveda chemists used real-time analysis and experimentation in the Botanical Repair hair care collection to leverage an alternative conditioning agent that uses fewer materials, which contributed to more than 350,000 kilograms in material use savings across the portfolio, over the past five years.
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  • Estée Lauder’s Nutritious Skincare collection is over 90% naturally derived and formulated with responsibly sourced skin-essential nutrients, from wild-harvested Sweet Kelp to Red Algae fermented by the power of the sun. Nutritious is the first ELC franchise to receive full EWG verification across all products.
  • La Mer’s new Moisturizing Soft Cream is formulated using responsibly sourced Giant Sea Kelp, with micronutrients that the skin can more readily recognize and receive. La Mer’s signature fermentation process uses light and sound energy to enhance the activity of sea kelp, vitamins, minerals, and other natural ingredients

Plan and Source

Where possible, we use sophisticated technologies to match ingredient and material supply with product demand to reduce waste.

We work with suppliers to help ensure practices are in place that demonstrate respect for human rights and the environment and help biodiversity. For example, we:

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  • Map certain supply chains back to the mill or farm. Understanding the source of raw materials helps us target and address risk and opportunities. 
  • Establish expectations for suppliers and monitor their adherence; we work with suppliers on continuous improvements to align their performance with our goals and objectives.
  • Recognize the importance of driving positive impact through collective action in communities in and around our sourcing locations, such as Australian Sandalwood, Palm Oil through Project Lampung, and Kaleka Mosaik.

 

Manufacture and Package

After we have developed a product formula and sourced its ingredients and materials, manufacturing at scale begins. We use the most sophisticated processes and cutting-edge, automated equipment to manufacture superior beauty products efficiently.

We also place a focus on packaging our products responsibly by including packaging sustainability guidelines in new product launches and reviewing existing packaging to identify areas of enhancement with the consumer and planet in mind. Decisions like which materials, colors, and sizes to use are part of our day-to-day conversations, helping to ensure we can create elegant packages that demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and enhance the luxury expected from our brands.

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We aim to elevate the luxury feel of our products, while also providing a durable alternative to virgin plastic, recyclable, recycled or refillable packaging. An example is our use of glass packaging to advance Estée Lauder’s luxury and sustainability design approach helped to drive the relaunch of its iconic Revitalizing Supreme+ Moisturizer Youth Power Crème, which offers a refillable pod to help minimize plastic packaging weight by 90%*.

*AFTER HAVING PURCHASED YOUR FIRST REVITALIZING SUPREME + REFILLABLE AND RECYCLABLE GLASS JAR. COMPARED TO PREVIOUS NON-RECYCLABLE PACKAGING DESIGN. 


Deliver and Distribute

We focus on optimizing our facility locations, delivery routes, and shipping materials to most efficiently distribute our products to retailers and consumers worldwide.

By prioritizing having local distribution centers and transitioning air shipments to lower-emission modes (like ocean or rail), we work towards decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions:

  • In Asia Pacific, we opened up a new regional distribution center in Guangzhou, China in 2022 and invested in new fulfillment centers in Korea, Japan, Australia, and other markets. 
  • In Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), we recently optimized our distribution network by setting up a new regional distribution hub (Cheb) in the Czech Republic to serve ELC’s Eastern Europe markets. We also updated and expanded a new warehouse at our Oevel, Belgium global manufacturing and distribution facility.

We also work towards improving our shipping materials across regions:

  • In EMEA, we also work towards having shipping boxes free of plastic, tape, and unnecessary paper. We have also replaced the branded inner boxes that protect our final products with Forest Stewardship Council-certified plain carton packaging.
  • In North America, some of our brands including Estée Lauder, M·A·C, Origins, and Clinique, use e-commerce shipping boxes that are made of 100% recycled content.

Recycle, Refill, Return

We offer options for consumers to recycle, refill, or return spent product packaging.

Several brands, including Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Clinique and M·A·C, offer product take back programs in select markets.

  • Back 2 M·A·C is intended to help consumers responsibly dispose of empty product packaging by recovering and recycling, where possible, M·A·C’s packages. What is not recycled is converted to energy. In fiscal 2023, Back 2 M·A·C donated $100,000 to Plastics for Change to support the collection of over 550,000 pounds of plastic in India while providing social services to approximately 200 plastic collectors and their communities for one year.
  • Le Labo consumers can refill certain eau de parfum glass bottles online in the United States or in person at select labs worldwide.
  • Killian offers a refill service for its iconic 50ml perfume and 30ml travel sets and its carafes. 

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