Aromatica debuts South Korea’s “first” refillable skin care store for zero waste beauty

30 Jun 2021 --- South Korean beauty brand Aromatica is inaugurating Aromatica Zero Station, a zero waste store offering refillable beauty products.

The space is a combination of retail, a refill station, aromatherapy, recycling and upcycling center, and tea house.

The beauty refill station is South Korea’s first, according to the company. Consumers can buy their post-consumer recycled plastic or glass bottle at the store or bring their own.

There are 18 products on offer, including rosemary shampoo, aloe vera gel, conditioner, body oil and toner.

A plethora of refillable options
The refill station boasts several noteworthy zero waste options like soap bars and refill pouches that significantly reduce the amount of plastic used.

Up to 97 percent of Aromatica products are made with 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and 90 percent recycled glass.

The recycling space is a learning and hands-on experience for consumers, the company suggests.

The store helps visitors separate, recycle and dispose of their empty containers properly according to their material.

Only Aromatica products are collected to guarantee a high-quality recycling process and avoid composite plastic containers.

Moreover, in collaboration with the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, the company opened “Plastic Mill Garosugil,” a venue that upcycles plastic lids into soap holders.

Consumers can buy their post-consumer recycled plastic or glass bottle at the store or bring their own.Upcycling stores?
Spearheading zero waste in South Korea, Aromatica redeveloped an existing House of Aromatica store into the new refillable store.

The company reused and repurposed materials from the former store, such as glass, wood, bricks, and furniture for the construction process. The recycled materials were upcycled into floors, cabinets, product displayers and more.

In addition, Aromatica recruited environmentally aware creatives to design upcycled furniture made of disposable masks, glasses and papers for the zero waste space.

The brand is known for its natural essential oils instead of synthetic fragrances and every product is natural, organic and vegan. Products are directly produced at its own eco-friendly smart factory in Osan, Gyeonggi-do.

Notable refillable beauty moves
Other personal care and cosmetics players have also launched or tested refillable schemes to boost their environmental sustainability profiles.

The store helps visitors separate, recycle and dispose of empty containers properly by material. The Body Shop unveiled an ambitious rollout of refill stations across 500 stores globally this year, and a further 300 stores in 2022. The company will also extend its in-store recycling scheme Return, Recycle and Repeat across 800 stores in 14 markets by the end of 2021.

TerraCycle’s reusable packaging platform Loop is expanding its partnership with US beauty retailer Ulta Beauty by launching a circular cosmetic packaging platform. Customers can shop online at a new Ulta and Loop collaborative website for beauty and personal care products in durable, sustainable packaging that will be refilled and reused.

Meanwhile, P&G Beauty unveiled its first-ever reusable and refillable aluminum bottle system at scale for hair care applications.

In the same space, Henkel’s salon hair care brand Authentic Beauty Concept has set up product refill stations in select hair salons throughout Europe.

By Kristiana Lalou

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