Garnier’s 5-step engagement program to sustainability in push for Green Beauty

Garnier India recently announced a huge shift in the way that the beauty industry operates with the launch of ‘Garnier Green Beauty’. A complete end-to-end approach to sustainability, Garnier Green Beauty focuses on every stage of Garnier’s value chain, thereby reducing its environmental impact.

With this, Garnier aims to create a positive impact on the environment, by making sustainable beauty more accessible. The five step engagement program to sustainability includes:

• More solidarity sourcing
• Greener and cleaner formulas
• More recycled & recyclable packaging
• More renewable energies
• More actions to fight plastic pollution

In conversation with Adgully, Zeenia Bastani, General Manager, Garnier India, shares some insights on Garnier Green Beauty, their partnership with Plastic For Change and the company’s aims to make all products from 100% recycled plastic by 2025.

Give us some insights into your sustainable beauty initiative and what exactly does it entail?

Environmental, health and social concerns are of utmost importance today. Especially, with how uncertain the last one year has been, customer expectations are skewing more towards what role brands are playing in the society and what are they doing to ensure that they are genuinely committed towards the betterment of the environment. As the world’s leading mass market natural beauty brand, Garnier’s mission is to help create a positive impact by making sustainable beauty accessible to all. With the launch of our sustainability program, ‘Garnier Green Beauty’, Garnier wants to shift the way the beauty industry operates and lead the change for all of us.

The Green Beauty initiative is a complete end-to-end approach to sustainability and through it we aim to achieve the following goals by 2025:

• All products of Garnier to be made with Zero Virgin Plastic
• All packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable
• First brand to implement Product Environmental & Social Impact Labelling, empowering consumers to make more sustainable choices

All Garnier products, all over the world are now officially approved by Cruelty Free International under the Leaping Bunny programme. Leaping Bunny requires brands to forensically investigate their entire supply chain, including all raw materials and individual ingredients, for any cases of animal testing.

Garnier has for years been committed to producing more natural formulas, using sustainable and fair-trade ingredients, even being the first to bring certified organic products to the mass skincare market.

You have carried out several initiatives and product and packaging changes to sustain an environment friendly approach (shared below). Please share some insights on these.

The aim of Garnier Green Beauty is to transform every stage of Garnier’s value chain, reducing or eradicating environmental impact in these areas:

More solidarity sourcing: By 2025, Garnier will have empowered 800 communities worldwide as part of our Solidarity sourcing programme

Greener and cleaner formulas: By 2022, all plant-based and renewable ingredients will be sustainably sourced. By 2025, 100% of Garnier’s new products will have an improved environmental profile

More recycled & recyclable packaging: By 2025, all our products will be made out of 100% recycled plastic and will be 100% recyclable, refillable or reusable

More renewable energies: By 2025, 100% of our industrial sites will be carbon neutral

More actions to fight plastic pollution: By 2025, Garnier will aim to use Zero Virgin Plastic in all packaging, saving 37,000 tonnes of plastic every year an all packaging will also be either reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Tell us about your partnership with Plastic For Change and what are the initiatives that you have lined up with them?

The partnership with Plastics for Change is primarily to help with the social impact of plastic pollution. You will be surprised to know, almost half the people around the world live without access to organised waste collection. Most of the waste pickers are women who live below the poverty line and work in horrific conditions. Through this partnership we aim to support the holistic development of waste picker communities in India. By supporting education for children and providing healthcare, nutrition, financial literacy and empowerment of women and girls, Garnier and Plastics for Change will strengthen the foundation of a healthy and happy community.

How does the year 2021 look like for Garnier? In terms of marketing initiatives, which markets and TG are you focusing on?

We will continue to focus on making sustainable beauty available to all.

Since fighting for environment sustenance is a continuous process, what are the other initiatives that you have lined up?

Green Beauty is Garnier’s long term commitment to sustainability. It is a highly rigorous approach that will continuously improve Garnier’s impact on the planet.