Estée Lauder Explores Paper-Based Bottles to Help Meet Sustainable Packaging Goals
Prestige beauty company Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) announced today that it has joined the Pulpex partner consortium, a collaboration of leading packaged goods companies dedicated to developing paper-based bottles.
Pulpex is a first-of-its-kind technology that forms bottles from wood pulp using 100% renewable feedstocks from responsibly managed forests. It was launched in 2020 as a collaboration between venture management company Pilot Lite and beverage alcohol company Diageo. Additional partners in the consortium include Unilever, PepsiCo, GSK Consumer Healthcare and Castrol.
ELC is the first prestige beauty partner to join Pulpex, with the opportunity to scale the paper bottling technology across its brand portfolio. Earlier this month, the company unveiled a series of new sustainable packaging goals, targeting increased use of recycled materials and reductions in the utilization of virgin plastic. The company stated that scaling the Pulpex technology will support its commitment to reduce the amount of virgin petroleum plastic in its packaging to 50% or less by the end of calendar year 2030.
Scott Winston, CEO, Pulpex, said:
“Pulpex is fully committed to collaborating with partners across industries to create a more sustainable future. We are thrilled to partner with The Estée Lauder Companies as the first leader in beauty to join our consortium of leading companies working to create innovative packaging solutions that are better for both our consumers and the planet.”
ELC has launched several sustainable packaging partnerships over the past few months, including working with specialty materials company Eastman, to incorporate a newly developed line of molecularly recycled polyesters, using 100% recycled content, and with materials molding technologies company Roctool to develop and implement sustainable packaging solutions for its products, significantly reducing waste.
Daniel Ramos, Senior Vice President, Global Packaging at ELC said:
“Exploring alternative materials and more responsible concepts into our packaging design is a strategic imperative, but we know we can’t do it alone. Scaling innovation will be key to driving sustainable packaging solutions. At The Estée Lauder Companies, we’ve long understood the importance of partnership across industries in helping to drive meaningful change. Collaboration plays a significant role in achieving our ambition, and as part of the Pulpex consortium, we are proud to help advance solutions not only for our brands and consumers but also for the industry at large.”