The Japanese multinational firm has partnered with The Sustainable Packaging Initiative for CosmEtics (SPICE) members to work together to influence sustainable packaging policies and agitate positive change in packaging launches and innovation.
Echoing the environment
Consumers today want to understand the environmental performance of products. As such, brands are formulating, designing and revealing packaging items to respond to this demand.
Shiseido joined SPICE on 16th May 2018. The initiative, which is open to cosmetics products manufacturers as well as cosmetics packaging suppliers, was co-founded by international beauty name, L’Oréal, and leading environmental sustainability consulting firm, Quantis.
With its mission to shape the future of sustainable packaging, brands are following suit by answering calls to provide information on the environmental performance of market-based products to consumers, investors and other stakeholders.
The impact of packaging
“Packaging is a visible reminder that products have an impact on the environment,” described Shiseido in a press release.
“These stakeholder groups expect transparency - facts and metrics - to understand if cosmetics brands are making commitments and how they plan on achieving these targets to reduce impacts on the environment,” it went onto explain.
Understanding product footprint
A common challenge for cosmetics companies is that they often experience methodological issues relating to measuring the environmental footprint of their cosmetics and personal care products.
SPICE, which was first established in a bid to overcome these issues, currently has eleven members including cosmetics names: Avon Products,Chanel, Clarins Group, Coty, L’Occitane en Provence, L’Oréal, LVMH, Shiseido, Sisley, along with Cosmetic Valley (cosmetics production technopole, France) and FEBEA (Federation of Beauty Companies, France).
Next age of cosmetics packaging
Using the experience and guidance of sustainability experts at Quantis, along with help from one another, these cosmetics names will create business-oriented methodologies and data to support strong decision making to boost the environmental performance of the packaging value chain.
SPICE will progress the cosmetics industry with considerable advancements in:
- Guiding sustainable packaging policy development based on robust and harmonised methodology;
- Driving packaging innovation based on objective eco-design criteria to progress towards more sustainable solutions;
- Meeting consumers’ expectations by improving communication and providing more clarity on the environmental performance of products.
Key areas to upgrade
As part of its commitment to the SPICE initiative, Shiseido will build a new framework to promote the use of eco-design packages and containers for products, and to develop the appropriate evaluation process using environmentally friendly technology.
In its push to increase clarity, understanding and transparency, SPICE will focus on recycled materials, bio-based plastics, finishing and decorating processes, tertiary packaging and distribution, reusable/rechargeable/refillable packaging and take-back programmes, recycling disruptors, and end-of-life streams by country.
“Packaging is key for the cosmetics industry and companies need robust information and recognised frameworks to make resilient decisions. SPICE will be a key factor in driving their sustainability transformation,” emphasised Dimitri Caudrelier, Director of Quantis France.