SK chemicals equips Estée Lauder Companies with advanced recycling materials for circular cosmetics packaging

17 Oct 2023 --- SK chemicals is partnering with The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) to boost its sustainability portfolio in the cosmetics container market. The South Korean chemicals company has signed a letter of intent with ELC to supply advanced recycling materials for cosmetics packaging. 

Under this agreement, SK chemicals will supply Ecotria Cr and Skypet Cr, which incorporate advanced recycled materials, and Ecozen Claro, which can be incorporated into a recycle stream. The ELC will develop packaging utilizing the materials supplied by SK chemicals. 

“Through this agreement, we believe positive synergies can be created in business and environmental aspects. SK chemicals leads the circular recycling plastic technology, and has partnered with ELC, the leader of the global cosmetics market,” says Ahn Jae-hyun, CEO at SK chemicals. 

“We will continue to work harder to create a sustainable cosmetics container ecosystem.”

This year, SK chemicals made a US$100 million asset purchase agreement with Shuye, a Chinese company specializing in green materials, to secure the “world’s first” mass production system for recycled raw materials and PET.

The companies will gradually increase the amount of recycled materials in their cosmetic packaging.Gradual recyclate increase
The ELC is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products and is a global steward of luxury and prestige brands. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under 20 brand names, including Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Clinique and La Mer.

SK Chemicals’ advanced recycling method uses a chemical technology that decomposes waste plastic into monomers. The technology is crucial for advancing packaging-to-packaging recycling, helping solve plastic waste issues in a circular and innovative way, according to the company. 

SK chemicals and ELC will gradually increase the amount of recycled materials in their products and replace other non-recyclable materials with designs incorporating recyclable or recycled materials, helping to move ELC’s packaging sustainability goals forward. 

In other developments, ELC expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to leverage generative AI across brand sites to upgrade the digital experience, while ELC’s annual net sales dropped 10% from US$17.74 billion in the prior year due to Inflationary pressures and recession concerns.

Edited by Natalie Schwertheim

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