Dive Brief:
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L'Occitane Group signed a deal with Loop Industries to supply the company with 100% sustainable PET plastic, the company stated in a press release. Loop Industries is a technology company that provides sustainable plastic solutions that meet FDA food-grade packaging requirements to corporations.
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L'Occitane Group is the parent company of five brands, including L'Occitane en Provence, Melvita, Erborian, L'Occitane au Brésil and LimeLife By Alcone. The agreement will increase the current use of 30% recycled plastic in the L'Occitane en Provence brand to utilizing 100% recycled plastic in bottles by 2025. The Loop logo will be placed on all packaging containing Loop PET plastic.
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At the time of the partnership announcement with Loop, L'Occitane also stated that the company signed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Commitment to work on plastic waste and pollution solutions with other corporations and governments.
Dive Insight:
L'Occitane is the latest company to commit to the reduction of plastic waste. Last week personal care retailer By Humankind landed $4 million in seed funding to further its mission to provide products that aim to reduce single-use plastic waste. And in January, dozens of major brands including Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and The Body Shop partnered on a pilot program with Loop that will introduce a reusable and refillable packaging made from glass, stainless steel or durable plastic.
The agreement with Loop is not L'Occitane's first foray into reducing packaging waste. The company first introduced an eco-refills program in 2008 that required up to 90% less packaging than the original containers. It also worked with TerraCycle to provide an in-store recycling program for empty cosmetic containers. The L'Occitane Group currently offers in-store recycling at 30% of its locations globally, with the aim of expanding the initiative to 100% of its locations by 2025.
"We have been launching eco-refill products, in-store recycling and bottles made out of 100% recycled plastic for more than 10 years and are continuing to progress on this," said Adrien Geiger, global brand director of L'Occitane en Provence, in a statement. "The innovative technology that Loop provides is a game-changer that can help us fundamentally contribute to solving the growing global concern about plastic pollution."
