Another stride toward environmentally responsible packaging and practices has taken effect. The members of the Sustainable Packaging Initiative for Cosmetics (SPICE), co-founded by L’Oréal and environmental sustainability consulting firm Quantis, have announced the launch of this sustainability initiative for cosmetics industry companies. SPICE members have joined together to work towards a common goal: to collectively shape the future of sustainable packaging.
 
According to the group, many brands in the cosmetics industry are increasing their level of commitment to work towards a sustainable future for beauty. These leaders are taking measures to progress on their path to sustainability as responsible companies, and to willingly respond to the increasing number of consumers, investors and other stakeholders who want to know more about the environmental performance of products on the market. Packaging is a visible reminder that products have an impact on the environment. These stakeholder groups expect transparency - facts and metrics - to understand if cosmetics brands are making commitments and to learn how they plan on achieving these targets to reduce impacts on the environment.
 
Companies face considerable methodological issues when it comes to measuring the environmental footprint of their products. The results from product environmental footprints help companies make eco-design choices and to credibly communicate with consumers. SPICE was created to address these issues and provide solutions to these challenges in a collective manner by many of the industry’s major actors.
 
SPICE is co-founded by L’Oréal and Quantis and now counts 11 current members including cosmetic companies Avon Products, Inc., Clarins Group, Coty Inc., L’Occitane en Provence, L’Oréal, LVMH, Shiseido, Sisley, as well as Cosmetic Valley (French “competitiveness cluster” for perfumes and cosmetics) and FEBEA (French Federation of Beauty Companies). SPICE remains open to additional members. Cosmetics products manufacturers as well as cosmetics packaging suppliers can join the initiative as corporate members.
 
These members will work together, guided by the sustainability experts at Quantis, to develop and publish business-oriented methodologies and data to support resilient decision making to improve the environmental performance of the entire packaging value chain. These developments will be the result of collective working sessions where members will share experience and knowledge for the benefit of the initiative and eventually to drive cosmetics packaging sustainability achievements on a grand scale.
 
More specifically, the work delivered from SPICE will help the cosmetics industry make significant progress in three key areas: 1) guiding sustainable packaging policy development based on robust and harmonized methodology, recognized by the sector; 2) driving packaging innovation based on objective eco-design criteria to progress towards more sustainable solutions; and 3) meeting consumers’ expectations by improving communication and providing more clarity on the environmental performance of products.
 
"L'Oréal's commitment to be a co-founder of SPICE was driven by the willingness to collectively share on sustainable development progress and to allow cosmetics industry players to work more effectively together,” states L’Oréal’s Global Head of Packaging & Development Philippe Thuvien. “Beyond the development of a robust methodology of environmental footprint assessment, SPICE will ultimately increase the eco-design of our products and will provide the clarity consumers expect to help them make more sustainable cosmetic purchases," adds Philippe Bonningue, Head of Sustainable Packaging at L’Oréal—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors (see more from Bonningue in the July/August issue of Beauty Packaging).
 
To provide more clarity, understanding and transparency, SPICE will explore the following topics: recycled materials, bio-based plastics, finishing and decorating processes, tertiary packaging and distribution, reusable/rechargeable/refillable packaging and take-back programs, recycling disruptors, and end-of-life streams by country. Based on its expertise on product environmental performance and experience leading sector specific initiatives, Quantis will share its know-how and guide the discussions on the above topics to capture, consolidate and prioritize the members’ knowledge to enable them to define and deploy clear actions and developments.
 
"’If you want to go far, go together’ the proverb says and this applies to SPICE. We are honored to co-found SPICE with the ambition to guide a large number of businesses and brands to do just that,” comments Dimitri Caudrelier, Director of Quantis France. “Packaging is key for the cosmetics industry and companies need robust information and recognized frameworks to make resilient decisions. SPICE will be a key factor in driving their sustainability transformation.”