Estée Lauder Companies enlists Eastman in pursuit of eco-friendly packaging portfolio

31 Mar 2021 --- The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and specialty materials provider Eastman is announcing a global memorandum of understanding (MOU) enabling ELC to reach its 2025 sustainable packaging goals.

The company has pledged that 75-100 percent of its packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable by 2025.

Via the agreement, ELC and its portfolio of brands will begin incorporating packaging solutions enabled by Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies and portfolio of Renew resins – which contain up to 100 percent certified recycled content.

This is the first sustainability-based agreement between Eastman and a major prestige beauty house and will help drive the increased use of recycled and/or recyclable plastics in luxury cosmetics packaging.

“Our suppliers play a critical role in helping ELC continue to move the needle and think innovatively about sustainability,” says Roberto Magana, senior vice president and chief procurement officer for ELC.

“Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies and portfolio of Renew products will help the company achieve its sustainable packaging goals while maintaining the high-quality aesthetic, safety and performance of our prestige products.”

Advanced recycling
Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in everyday items.

Scott Ballard, vice president and general manager for Eastman's specialty plastics division.The recycled content is achieved by allocating the recycled waste plastic to Eastman Renew resins using a mass balance process.

Eastman’s portfolio includes a newly introduced line of molecularly recycled polyesters produced via its advanced circular recycling.

These sustainable resins, which include Eastman Cristal Renew and Eastman Tritan Renew, are made using up to 100 percent International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC)-certified recycled content.

They are chemically indistinguishable from their legacy counterparts and demonstrate the same processing ease of virgin polymers with the clarity, luster, color compatibility and durability cosmetics packaging demands, while providing premium recycled content.

Post-consumer recycled material
Additionally, the company will increase the amount of post-consumer recycled material in its packaging by up to 50 percent in the same year.

“We are excited to help ELC achieve its ambitious sustainability goals right now. Together, we can provide a shining example of what is possible today, not years in the future, to advance the circular economy,” says Scott Ballard, vice president and general manager for Eastman's specialty plastics division.

In the same spirit of environmental sustainability, French cosmetics heavyweight L’Oréal pledged 100 percent of the plastics used in its product packaging will be from either recycled or bio-based sources by 2030.

Edited by Kristiana Lalou

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