L’Oreal to only use renewable ingredients by 2030
Cosmetics giant L’Oreal will transition all of its ingredients to renewable plant sources and abundant minerals by 2030, the company said today, as the demand for organic and environmentally conscious cosmetics grows.
L’Oreal said that over the next decade, 95 per cent of ingredients across all its brands and ranges will come from plants that can renewed or replanted, and minerals that can be found in abundance.
Currently, around 70 per cent of products are made from renewable ingredients, the makeup maker said.
Consumers have become increasingly aware of the weight the cosmetics industry has on the environment and have increasingly called for make-up made from natural components, while also being recyclable.
The focus on sustainability poses a challenge in terms of adapting packaging, but also developing products that can be preserved and deliver similar results to synthetic goods.
There has been a shift towards “green science”, which has encouraged the group to develop formulas that do not damage aquatic ecosystems when products eventually find their way into oceans, L’Oreal said.
“We decided it was the right moment to do this as there has been a lot of scientific progress,” said, director of sustainable innovation at L’Oreal, Laurent Gilbert, said.
Sun cream and natural hair dyes have been harder to adapt to the new sustainability criteria, so are instead available in a smaller ranges, Gilbert added.
The French cosmetics group, which reported positive sales in the final quarter of 2020, has now sought to counter sceptical consumers by publishing lists of the ingredients used in its formulas.