Sephora is uniquely positioned to make a mark on the sustainability of beauty.
The specialty retailer has been a shining star for parent LVMH, which noted in its latest financials that "Sephora once again achieved remarkable growth, continuing to gain market share."
In addition, Piper Sandler has reported that Sephora is gaining on Ulta with teenage shoppers in the United States.
With all this growth comes a significant amount of packaging.
To tackle the challenge, Sephora is leveraging take-back programs, refillables and launching a new Planet Aware label.
The new label recognizes brands and products featuring sustainability commitments, including planet-friendly packaging solutions.
Its refillable program, meanwhile, comprises more than 45 brands, including Glow Recipe, Fenty Beauty, Ouai, Maison Margiela, Josie Maran and more.
Finally, Sephora’s empties take back program, Beauty (Re)Purposed, is available at all North American locations, excepting shops located within Kohl's locations.
To date, Beauty (Re)Purposed has collected more than 10,860 pounds of hard-to-recycle material, per Sephora, the equivalent of approximately 217,220 lipstick tubes.
Global Cosmetic Industry reached out to Sephora's director of sustainability, Desta Raines, to learn more.
How does Sephora incentivize shoppers' packaging returns?
Raines: Sephora has been working to close the loop on hard-to-recycle packaging waste in the beauty and wellness industry, and we are so proud of the progress we’ve made thus far via our Beauty (Re)Purposed take-back program.
Since we launched in all U.S. stores in May last year, we have collected more than 10,860 pounds of hard-to-recycle material–which is the equivalent of approximately 217,220 lipstick tubes.
As recycling requirements can be confusing, our focus is very much on educating beauty consumers on how easy it is to give their empties a second life with Sephora following three easy steps: clean it out, drop it off at a Sephora store, and then you’re done!
We’re also looking into other methods of making the process more approachable, like an upcoming Beauty Insider gamification challenge launching in the coming months.
How will the retailer's new Planet Aware seal support its sustainable packaging aims?
Raines: At Sephora, we take pride in helping customers make informed decisions about the best-suited products for their beauty needs.
For over six years, Sephora, in partnership with our prestige brand partners, has offered a broad selection of clean and sustainable beauty options across makeup, skin care, fragrance and hair care.
This year, we’re proud to evolve our offering globally with the new Clean at Sephora and Planet Aware at Sephora seals.
Brands that meet Planet Aware at Sephora criteria adhere to a robust set of 30+ criteria, including ingredient sourcing and formulation, packaging, corporate commitments, and consumer transparency.
