Vegan hair care refill stations: Henkel’s Authentic Beauty Concept brand unveils novel packaging concept
11 Nov 2020 --- Henkel’s salon hair care brand Authentic Beauty Concept is setting up product refill stations in selected hair salons throughout Europe. The move is dubbed a “first” for the segment and marks an important step toward increasing the brand’s environmental sustainability.
Conscious consumerism is no longer just a trend, Henkel says, when discussing what inspired the initiative.
“Consumers are increasingly taking measures to reduce their impact on the environment – with more ethical and transparent purchases. This includes the brands they choose to buy from,” the company says.
The Authentic Beauty Concept Refill Bar prolongs the life of a once single-use plastic bottle, cutting customer plastic consumption.
The aim is to gain experience during this first phase of use, so that refill solutions can be implemented in even more salons in the coming years.
The new refill bars are available in selected hairdressing salons in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, UK, and Portugal.
How does it work?
First the stylist provides a personal, professional consultation on the client’s hair routine and recommends the right Authentic Beauty Concept product.
Authentic Beauty Concept is setting up refill stations for its hair care products in selected European salons.As a second step, the stylist fills a bottle made from 92 percent recycled plastic with the respective product using the Refill Bar.
Each bottle is finally labeled with an 85 percent bio-based polyethylene (PE) label, a renewable alternative to conventional polyethylene. Once consumers have used up the product, the bottle can be brought back to the salon and refilled, completing the cycle.
“As a brand, we believe that we can all make a difference, even with small actions. When we put all of those individual efforts together, and come together as a community, we can create real change and make bigger steps in the right direction,” says Authentic Beauty Concept.
A well-rounded approach
Authentic Beauty Concept is a brand utilizing carefully-selected vegan formulas, free from silicones, sulfates, parabens, artificial colorants and mineral oils – further supporting its eco profile.
While recycling remains an important factor within sustainability, refill and reusable systems are accelerating positive change, Henkel highlights.
“Taking the same notion as the ‘reusable coffee cup,’ why not establish a similar routine in hair salons, encouraging a circular economy?”
On the sustainability path
In 2019, Authentic Beauty Concept paved the way as a brand with purpose, not always taking the easy established route to fulfil its sustainability vision. All its bottles, jars and cans are recyclable.
Authentic Beauty Concept has also started reworking all bottles and over-the-counter (OTC) as well as Backwash jars out of 80 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, hitting the market in 2021.
Each bottle is finally labeled with an 85 percent bio-based PE label, a renewable alternative to conventional PE.The brand has produced a carefully crafted seminar, giving hairdressers a wider awareness and understanding of sustainability. It also launched a gift box campaign, supporting One Percent for the Planet – a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental organizations.
Circularity efforts
In similar eco-friendly moves, Henkel is boosting its Beauty Care portfolio’s eco-friendliness by relaunching three major retail brands – Nature Box, Gliss Kur and Syoss – in packaging with increased proportions of recycled plastic.
Last month, P&G Beauty unveiled its first-ever reusable and refillable aluminum bottle system at scale for hair care applications. Its Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Herbal Essences and Aussie brands in Europe will feature the new packaging, enabling “200 million households across Europe to reduce, reuse and recycle their packaging.”
Lastly, Hair care brand Schwarzkopf partnered with TerraCycle to make the former’s retail hair care, color and styling products recyclable in the US. Starting January 1, consumers can collect and mail in the empty product packaging from participating Schwarzkopf hair care products.
Edited by Kristiana Lalou
