L’Oréal sustainability programme lead Erik Troost revealed 92% of biobased ingredients for formulas and packaging materials are traceable and came from sustainable sources in 2022.
Speaking with Packaging Europe, Troost also highlighted that in 2022, 6% of the plastic used in packaging came from recycled or biobased sources and that 78% of the volume of PET used by the L’Oréal worldwide came from recycled source.
Troost said that the beauty brand is “continuously” looking to improve and develop solutions “either during the product development stage by driving the usage of new and improved generations of packaging or by using new material sources through cooperation with start-ups like Carbios, a company that has developed an enzymatic recycling process used to depolymerize PET.”
“With this type of cooperation, we are promoting the use of recyclable PET, avoiding the use of virgin material, and boosting the circular economy.”
“Another development with the potential to have significant impact comes from our refill and recharge categories,” he added. “Lowering packaging intensity and saving on material will help drive our sustainability objectives.”
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Troost also highlighted the importance of L’Oréal’s ‘refill and recharge’ reusable packaging strategy – “we know that using refill pouches can lower plastic usage by up to 81% and help drop packaging intensity by as much as 70%,” he said.
But he added that there is the rest of the FMCG sector is struggling to adapt to a similar strategy. “By engaging with our retailers and with consumers, we aim to drive this category of products which in turn will help us promote more responsible consumption.”
As well as developing enhancing its refill and recharge strategy, L’Oréal plans on investing around £43 million in circular economy initiatives.
“Circularity is an essential requirement if we want to close the loop and move away from a take, make, waste economy,” he added.
