Sephora introduces its innovative recycling program, Beauty (Re)Purposed, in collaboration with Pact Collective, aiming to reduce hard-to-recycle packaging waste in the beauty industry. As concerns surrounding plastic waste and its impact on the environment continue to rise, this initiative offers an accessible solution for customers to participate in sustainable practices.
Sephora’s Beauty (Re)Purposed program, available in all 600 stores across the U.S. and Canada, seeks to address the challenges faced by the beauty industry in dealing with packaging waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 9% of plastic in the U.S. is recycled, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that some plastic items can persist in marine environments for hundreds of years.
Recognizing the need for a more sustainable solution, Desta Raines, Director of Sustainability at Sephora, said, “The reality is that discarding beauty packaging can be complex for many consumers. It was important for Sephora to find a partner like Pact who shares our values and, in collaboration, can help to educate our clients and the broader industry in making the process more accessible for all”.
The Beauty (Re)Purposed program consists of two simple steps: cleaning out the product at home to ensure packaging is clean, unbagged, and free of liquid or product, and then dropping it off at a Sephora store. The collected beauty empties will be repurposed into a variety of useful items, such as carpet, pallets, asphalt, new packaging, or even energy.
In a similar move, Benefit Cosmetics, also owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has partnered with Pact Collective to establish a mail-in recycling program for up to five empty beauty products per month. Joanne Marzan, Benefit’s Director of U.S. Ecommerce, expressed the brand’s commitment to sustainability, saying, “Partnering with Pact to offer a takeback program was a natural fit for us, allowing us to move towards a more sustainable future and to provide consumers with easy solutions to do good”.
Both Sephora and Benefit’s recycling initiatives are part of LVMH’s Life360 program, the company’s environmental performance roadmap. These brands follow in the footsteps of MAC, which has expanded its Back to MAC sustainability program, processing over 340,000 pounds of empty MAC containers in 2022 alone.
Sephora’s Beauty (Re)Purposed and Benefit’s mail-in recycling program reflect the beauty industry’s growing commitment to sustainable practices. By providing customers with accessible and convenient recycling options, these brands are taking significant steps towards a greener future.
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