Estée Lauder Touts Circular Economy Initiatives, Joins CE100

(Credit: Estée Lauder)

Skincare and makeup giant Estée Lauder says it will continue its efforts to help drive a circular economy through sustainable packaging innovation and is backing up its claim by becoming a member of the Circular Economy 100 program, run by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The CE100 is a global platform that brings together cross-industry corporations, governments, cities, academic institutions and emerging innovators from around the world to “accelerate the transition to a circular economy,” the organization says. The network enables members to collaborate in the hopes they will unlock new opportunities that support the objective of building a framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design.

Estée Lauder says its packaging designers and engineers are re-working the company’s packaging portfolio, including using low-impact sourcing, bio-sourcing, material substitute, weight elimination and integration of recycled content. The company plans that by the end of 2025, 75% to 100% of the packaging of its brands will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable; in achieving this goal, the Company will increase the amount of post-consumer recycled material in packaging by up to 50%.

Earlier this week, another skincare brand, Olay, announced that it is piloting new packaging for its bestselling Olay Regenerist Whip moisturizer. During the pilot, the moisturizer will be sold with a refill pod that fits into the original moisturizer jar. If the pilot is successful and the company rolls out the refill pods as a product to be purchased separately, the company says it could save as much as a million pounds of plastic.