Sustainability is the most-heard word with any immediate launch in the beauty world. Designers are creating products that remain beautiful while generating much less waste.
Has your heart broken when getting rid of a bottle? There are multiple initiatives to prevent this from happening again, so in this article, we’ll show you three of them. Ingenuity, transformation, interest in the present, and courage are necessary characteristics to undertake ideas in luxury fragrance sustainability.
Giorgio Armani: A sustainable path with “My Way”
Giorgio Armani takes a step towards sustainability with the fragrance My Way. This refillable bottle is designed to last and grow with the environment.
For the first time in the luxury cosmetics sustainability sector, an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand refill system is proposed for consumers. As shown in the picture below, simply unscrew the dispenser, flip the 150ml refill, and attach it to the fragrance bottle.
Giorgio Armani’s “My Way” refillable perfume.
This way, the original bottle just needs to be screwed back on and that’s it, you have a refilled bottle without spilling a drop of perfume. Together, the 50ml bottle of perfume and the 150ml refill allow a 55% reduction in the use of glass, a 64% reduction in the use of plastic, a 75% reduction in the use of metal, and a 32% reduction in the use of cardboard.
Armani has thought of everything, as the glass of the dispensers and refill bottles is recyclable. This greatly facilitates the recycling process, as the cap and top of the bottle can be recycled in a regular recycling plant, and the glass part can be disposed of in the appropriate container.
The creative duo Hunter & Gatti, campaign directors, talk about My Way:
“With the MY WAY campaign, we have created something truly different and unexpected.”
Hunter & Gatti have brought a unique vision to the project and its entire process, as they often focus their creativity on their highly artistic essence with touches of abstract brushstrokes. The campaign contains a series of chapters starring the “My Way” woman, represented by Adria Arjona.
These series of moments are designed to be captured with great authenticity. So that the viewer can feel involved and adapt the perfume as their own. This exchange of values aims to link a long-term responsible commitment, a pact between the viewer and the brand to combat climate change.
MUGLER: for responsible luxury
In the 18th century, all aristocratic mansions had their own perfume fountain. This object, besides decorating the mansion, also scented the most elegant rooms. The main use of the fountain was to refill the expensive crystal bottles of its owners.
Christophe de Lataillade, Mugler’s creative director, confesses:
At MUGLER, we are inspired by themes, not eras.
The luxurious past was revived in 1992 thanks to MUGLER with its first fountain for the perfume “Angel.” With this ingenious initiative, Maison Mugler began its journey towards responsible luxury. This was just one of the small steps in a long journey.
To date, a Mugler bottle is refilled every 25 seconds worldwide. Without being mathematicians, we calculate that this means 4,320 bottles are reused every day. The brand’s goal with this initiative is for you not to throw away the bottle. Mugler wants you to only buy the naked perfume.
Mugler bottles are designed to last forever. The brand adds that with this fountain, it wants to establish easy access to luxury for all women, refilling the bottle drop by drop until reaching the right fragrance level. This is a big step for sustainability in luxury cosmetics.
Currently, the three jewel bottles of Mugler: Angel, Alien, and Aura, are refillable. Adding perfumes to Mugler’s collection of refillable perfumes is aimed at preserving and implementing a circular economy. Each piece of the fountain is dissociable, so any piece of the fountain can be replaced when necessary. This key element makes the Mugler Fountain even more responsible.
From left to right: Angel, Alien, and Aura.
Both the fountain and the cartridges for refilling perfumes have increased their level of sustainability. The new Fountain, unlike the old one, reduces environmental impacts by an average of -54%, and climate change impacts by -87%.
As for the cartridges, the difference between the old and the new ones is also remarkable. The new cartridge reduces environmental impacts by an average of -21% more, and climate change impact by -46%.
Left: Mugler Fountain. Top right: Alien. Bottom right: Angel.
This vision of sustainable luxury is supported by a specialist. The circle begins and ends with a beauty advisor, caring for the bottle entrusted to her. This specialized service reflects luxury of a different kind, as the ambassadors treat each bottle as if it were a precious stone. As a genuine gemstone, it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a batch number that the advisor writes down.
LANCôME: Idôle and the world’s smallest refillable fountain
The initiative begins by thinking about responsible consumption. Lancôme also joins the production of refillable, rechargeable, and recyclable products so that consumers have more flexible habits and the possibility of making more sustainable consumption decisions.
Lancôme currently offers the Absolue range and the Idôle perfume as refillable products. By 2025, if you buy Lancôme products, they will all be 100% recyclable. But today, the luxury skincare range Absolue offers the possibility of refilling its products thanks to a refillable capsule system.
Pot of cream from the Absolue range, créme fondante soft creme by Lancôme
Since 2018, only with the Absolue line, 250 tons of glass have been avoided, equivalent to two Louvre pyramids. The fragrance Idôle, on the other hand, offers the world’s smallest refillable fountain. In this fountain, you can refill the fragrance. With this initiative, Lancôme aims to reduce environmental impact in terms of its production.
Lancôme has also incentivized other initiatives. With its program “Caring Together for a Happier Tomorrow” and its three pillars: making the world flourish, living responsibly, and Write Her Future, it plants its seed so that together we can ensure that a sustainable future has the possibility to flourish. This brand is an example to follow in luxury cosmetics sustainability.
