London Packaging Week: Insights from The Sustainable Beauty Coalition

Frank revealed that a staggering 120 billion units of beauty product packaging are created annually, with a shockingly low percentage being made from recycled materials or, indeed, recycled after use. The primary focus of the Sustainable Beauty Coalition became clear: waste reduction, resource management, and education.

Frank explained, “We will start with one focus. It is about waste reduction, waste resource management, and waste education. And what we’ve done is create task forces. It kicks off next week. The campaign will be about the ‘Great British Beauty Clean-Up’”, she added, “Everything should be about measuring. But if we can get everyone aligned, what could they do tomorrow to change the reduction of waste in their business?”

The campaign will include six task forces that highlight the industry’s critical role in this endeavour. Task forces 3 and 4, dedicated to professional wholesale businesses and retailers and brands, respectively, were positioned at the heart of the movement. It was noted that collaboration with beauty professionals, like hairdressers and therapists, who were already making strides in recycling, was crucial, “We’re bringing the community of hairdressers, beauty therapists, beauty salons, makeup artists into the wholesale industry piece.” The beauty industry was urged to unify its efforts to reduce waste across the board.

In addition to other vital aspects of their task force mission, there is a focus on government lobbying. Frank commended Victoria Brownlie’s role in knocking on the doors of policymakers to advocate for the industry’s sustainability goals. Legislation is viewed as a tool to drive change and align the beauty industry with environmental best practices.

Both speakers acknowledged the complexities of these challenges and the importance of staying ahead of legislation. They discussed the example of eliminating plastic sachets, an issue that has been on their radar for some time. Frank revealed an exciting R&D project using the by-product from one of Elemis’ product ingredients, starflower, to produce a bio-based sachet. This proactive stance demonstrates a commitment to anticipating and addressing environmental concerns before they become mandates, such as the inclusion of baby wipes in the ban on single-use plastics, which the industry had already anticipated and prepared for.

Plastic reduction is another significant piece of the puzzle, often vilified for its environmental impact. Frank recognised that plastic is a versatile material when used thoughtfully. However, the task force aims to determine alternative materials that can replace problematic plastic components and reduce the drain on finite fossil fuel resources.

Frank gave another example of how Elemis has quickly taken action to reduce waste by eliminating unnecessary items like plastic spatulas, “We actually went out and asked our consumers, do you use the spatulas? The majority said they use it once and then it sits on the side and gets put into the bin. So, overnight, we got rid of thousands and thousands of spatulas. And I’ve never had one complaint”. Elemis also transitioned from traditional multilingual paper leaflets to more sustainable QR codes without negatively impacting consumer satisfaction.