From consumers to partners: Discover L’Oréal’s full-circle vision for sustainable beauty

An emerald green carousel carrying a lineup of oversized beauty products swirling at a corner of the Shanghai New International Expo Center was drawing a bustling crowd. Perched on this chic carousel were a refill of Lancôme Absolue cream, three finished Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream jar and one refillable pouch, as well as a Kérastase Elixir Ultime refillable hair oil. These refills were presented as part of L’Oréal’s latest chapter of its decades-long green campaign. For example, using a finished product and one refill represents a packaging weight reduction of around 40% compared to using two conventional products — a figure the beauty giant points to as proof that beauty can be sustainable. L’Oréal’s appearance at the 2025 Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Expo earlier this month made it the only beauty company to participate for three consecutive years since the expo’s launch in 2023. Each time, it revealed how beauty is going further green. Nowhere is that commitment more visible than in China, which has been a key testing ground for L’Oréal’s sustainability strategies in an array of areas from renewable energy and green chemistry to supplier partnerships and even job creation for marginalized groups. A bold commitment to a green glow-up, halfway in The storied French beauty conglomerate rolled out an ambitious L’Oréal for the Future program in 2020, setting a sweeping roadmap to address climate change in addition to social inequality. The goals, centered on four key pillars — steward the climate transition, safeguard nature, drive circularity, and support communities, range expansively from reaching 100% renewable energy use across its operations and stores, sustainably sourcing at least 90% of biobased materials for its formulas and packaging, offering water-saving solutions to consumers in water-stressed markets, to reducing by 50% virgin plastics for packaging as well as Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 57% compared to 2019. Now at the halfway point of the program, L’Oréal has made big strides with its pioneering initiatives in China. Its factories and distribution centers in China have been running on 100% renewable energy since 2019, six years ahead of the group’s global target. Its Yichang plant became the group’s first waterloop factory in the Asia-Pacific region back in 2020. In China alone, L’Oréal has introduced refill options for more than 10 of its brands, making the North Asian market far outpace others. The group’s first-ever 100% recyclable pump was developed by its China research teams in 2022. Meanwhile, it has kept its social engagement front and center, from training over 13,000 disadvantaged women to work in beauty professions to awarding more than 200 Chinese female scientists as part of a global campaign. Much of the climate innovation is happening in China. For L’Oréal, the world’s second largest beauty market with a bold climate agenda holds a significant weight. As China pursues its ambitious “dual carbon” goals — peaking emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the country’s regulatory landscape and shifting consumer expectations have set the stage for evolving sustainability initiatives. In turn, influencing 100 million consumers, its current consumers base in China which it expects to expand to 150 million by 2030, has far-reaching implications for shaping the behavior of global shoppers. To further boost its sustainability effort, L’Oréal launched a plan called Sustainable Innovation Accelerator last month as a midway milestone under the global L’Oréal for the Future program. This initiative pledges 100 million euros ($114 million) over the next five years in breakthrough low-carbon technologies, including partnering with Chinese startups focusing on decarbonization and circular economy. The group has already gone a long way in fostering local partnerships. At the expo, it recognized top 10 North Asian suppliers for their contribution to carbon footprint reduction for the third year in a row, to encourage more suppliers to join its decarbonization drive. Such suppliers must meet three key criteria: either SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) approvement or a clear emissions timeline, improved CDP (carbon disclosure project) ratings, and scalable, replicable low-carbon practices. “We aim to work with partners, in particular small- and-medium-sized enterprises, in developing alternatives to plastic, and low-impact manufacturing and nature-based solutions, and also cultivate institutional sustainability leadership,” said Jee Seon Park, Chief Sustainability Officer of L’Oréal North Asia and China, during an interview with Jing Daily at the expo. From ingredients to packaging — an unprecedented full-chain revolution in China At the carbon neutrality expo, L’Oréal exhibited its Hyaluronic Plump shampoo, which features the all-plastic pump first developed in 2022 at the L’Oréal China Research and Innovation Center after more than 300 tests. By removing all metal components (particularly the springs) found in traditional pumps, the single-material packaging is much easier and less costly to recycle without complicated disassembly. Other low-carbon packaging examples are equally impressive: for Prada’s Mesh Cushion Foundation, using a finished product and a refill reduces package weight of 25% compared to using two finished products; for Shu Uemura’s Petal Skin Foundation, the new packaging, made from recyclable plastic, is 15% lighter than the previous generation. For the packaging of each product, the “reduce, replace and recycle” (3Rs) principle stands as a central design philosophy. Alongside its packaging breakthroughs on display, there was a renewable hyaluronic acid made through a biotechnological method which can produce tons of hyaluronic acid with only a few grams of lactic acid bacteria. It’s one of L’Oréal's latest achievements in pushing boundaries in green sciences, which aim to transform the entire value chain to protect biodiversity and regenerate ecosystems. L’Oréal now sources 1,600 ingredients from 350 plant species. Another prime example is the industrialized production of Pro-Xylane (used in Helena Rubinstein’s Replasty cream), the first in the beauty industry made in line with the 12 principles of green chemistry. From raw material sourcing and formula composition to production, packaging, and transportation, L’Oréal has been working to inlay sustainability across its entire value chain in China. This progress wouldn’t be possible without its close partnership with local businesses. By collaborating with local suppliers, recycled materials are turned into new products through different technological processes. For example, used makeup products are repurposed into pigments and crayons; shampoo and lotions are processed into car care products like wax, cleaning agents, and windshield washer fluid; and used face masks are made into thermal insulation cotton. Park points to L’Oréal’s partnership with Yuanyi, a Shanghai-based environmental tech firm. A winner of the 2023 L’Oréal North Asia Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program, which started in China in 2020 to create cutting-edge beauty tech solutions, Yuanyi appeared at this year’s expo with a renewed promise to fully recycle unsellable products through innovative processes. The pair will work together to reduce carbon emissions by 1,680 tons annually, equivalent to planting more than 80,000 trees, in addition to creating over 20 jobs as some recycling processes involve manual operations. The group has also expanded cooperation with Chinese biotech innovators, including investing in Veminsyn Biotech to identify new bioactive ingredients. Such collaborations that began in China are now attracting more startups across Asia, accelerating innovation and efficiency throughout L’Oréal's entire value chain. During the interview, Park mentioned Solstice — a dedicated decarbonization financing platform through which L’Oréal offers financial support to its suppliers for them to adopt science-based carbon reduction methods, from their procurement and operations to inclusive hiring. “L’Oréal is embedding the conception of sustainability into every link of its value chain to make environmental protection not just an option, but part of everyday life,” she noted. Turning sustainability into a lifestyle through chic consumer communication and engagement However, instilling environmental protection into daily life has long been a challenge, according to Lan Zhenzhen, Chief Corporate Affairs and Engagement (CA&E) Officer for L’Oréal North Asia and China. “Consumer communication and engagement are essential for a sustainable journey,” she told Jing Daily at the expo. China has set national emissions reduction goals, the government is pushing industries to comply, and companies are embracing low-carbon tech innovation. One of the conundrums, however, remains convincing increasingly budget-conscious shoppers to believe that green alternatives are worth paying for and that responsible consumption is not necessarily dull and tedious. “We’ve observed in consumers a ‘say-do-gap'’ when it comes to sustainable consumption, which means they are aware of the need to protect the environment, but find it hard to act on it. To bridge this gap, we keep curating diverse initiatives to actively engage them,” said Lan. To attract the Gen Z demographic to its decarbonization campaign, L’Oréal has designed a series of activities, the latest of which involves bringing the “Refill Carousel,” reminiscent of childhood days, from the expo to campuses including Shanghai’s Fudan University, in the hope that these youngsters will become pioneers in sustainability education. In addition, L’Oréal has been assembling more “Partners of Tomorrow” — stakeholders including policymakers, research institutions, industry experts, and influencers — to update climate data and raise awareness about sustainability to the public. During the expo, L’Oréal also released audio content featuring brand ambassadors calling on consumers to use recyclable products, leveraging celebrity influence to amplify green beauty. Through these efforts to bridge the “say-do-gap” among consumers, the company is making green consumption affordable, accessible, and, in the meantime, fun and engaging. At the expo, the group signed an agreement with JD.com to build the first sustainable beauty consumption incentive program on the platform, the country’s largest retailer. Through this program, consumers earn “Green Points” by purchasing beauty products tagged with a “Green & Low‑Carbon” (青绿·减碳) label on JD.com, or choosing no-gift-box, refill, or recycling options. Then they can redeem the points for exclusive offers. The program is expected to expand to the entire beauty category of JD.com, once again positioning L’Oréal as an industry leader. “The conception of sustainability is deeply rooted in the Chinese wisdom of ‘beauty in harmony,’ which aligns closely with L’Oréal’s pursuit of the ‘way of beauty’ that pursues sustainable harmony between people and nature,” said Lan. “As the Chinese economy is shifting toward a new dual-engine development model driven by green industrial chains and sustainable consumption, we are joining forces with a variety of partners to spearhead a new wave of sustainable consumption.” As a global beauty leader, L’Oréal understands that the transformative power of beauty lies not only in shaping identities and cultures, but also in inspiring climate action. It is the same pioneering spirit that is now driving the group to make beauty sustainable. In its latest move, the group launched its first global multi-brand, multi-category, multi-channel campaign #JoinTheRefillMovement to coincide with World Refill Day today. By mobilizing its iconic brands, retail partners, and millions of consumers worldwide, L’Oréal is turning refills from an option into a new norm, reinforcing its vision that true beauty can be circular, responsible, and accessible to all, in China and beyond. By transforming sustainability from a moral obligation into a desirable, experience-driven value, L’Oréal is not only redefining what beauty means in a climate-conscious era, but also offering the entire industry a framework for systemic change. L’Oréal’s decades-long commitment to sustainability stands as a beacon for the global beauty industry, pointing to a future where beauty becomes a powerful conduit for cultural expression, technological innovation, and social impact.

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From consumers to partners: Discover L’Oréal’s full-circle vision for sustainable beauty